That is an easy one--get them a new helmet. I hate the way helmets look. I agree that they are uncomfortable and inconvenient.
I also know that I would be dead if I did not wear a helmet....or worse. I could be severely brain damaged so that I would not be able to care for myself were it not for the fact that I wear a helmet.
When I had little experience training wild horses I made a series of mistakes that lead to me coming off of a very fast moving young horse. When I landed my head hit the ground with such force that the chin snap on the helmet broke. The helmet absorbed the blow and then shot off of my head.
When I sat up I saw it as it rested on the ground away from where I landed. So I paced it off to measure the distance of the trip that my broken hemet made after I hit the ground.
Eight long strides--stop reading for a moment and go take eight long strides--look at how far that is.
Without a helmet on my head at that time there would be no Mill Swamp Indian Horses. Every bit of good that has been done over the past decade in our program would have never happened.
Some questions about horsemanship are as blurry as the picture above. This question is not.
Yes, wear a helmet.
A properly fitted helmet is not uncomfortable, once you become accustomed to it. It takes less time to put on a helmet than to put on a pair of pants. I do not see people riding without pants. If you are really pressed for time, put on the helmet and leave off the pants.
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