Helmets: a "Gore"y opinion
Allow me to introduce you to "Rick Gore Horsemanship." From my understanding, he is a misogynistic older guy who holds firmly to his belief that most women and every person who rides English has it all wrong. Bits are wrong. Shoes are wrong. Etc etc. As a fellow Western rider, I find him embarrassing. While he has it right that horses are usually not to blame when things go awry, he takes it a step farther to be insulting and crude.
You could go down the rabbit hole yourself on his channel, but I want to draw your attention to these videos on his stance on helmets. If you'd like to skip straight to the start of his rant, go to about 1:48 in the video (Part 1). The helmet business is apparently a racket with the government. Take off your riding helmet, and put on your tinfoil hat. Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37amujWG6tQ If you were able to sit through that, Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiUTFmAwiGM
If you wear a helmet, you obviously:
- have a Superman complex
- should invest in full body armor
- are dumb
- are a jumper who forced your policies and legislation on others
I should point out: I started wearing a helmet after my horse (who is about as bomb proof as they come) encountered a rattlesnake on a trail and spun out from under me. A mild concussion made a pretty significant impression on me about the value of a helmet. I don't judge people for not wearing helmets, but I sure as hell don't judge people for wearing them, either! It's a pretty diverse group of riders in this group--thoughts?