Wow, I tend to stay out of the back-and-forth games but seriously? I have got to wonder sometimes if some of the rabblerousers (I won't stoop to pointing fingers) just do what they do not because they believe they have a valid point but for the juvenile pleasure of sitting at their computer and cackling "Ha ha ha I got replies!! Oh look at them all frothing at the mouth, I got attention!" Stop trolling and stick to the point of the OP.

I've said it before and I will say it again. Helmet wearing is a choice. I have people at my barn that don't wear and while I will suggest to them that they wear one, I don't browbeat them if they don't. It's their skull, not mine. But you can bet your ass that if someone gets on my horses, or if I get on someone else's, I wear one. One concussion was enough for me, and when I saw the crack in my helmet and realized that it could have been my skull, it just reinforced for me that I had done the right thing.

Why? Because there is a major flaw in the "wear helmets while driving" idea. When you are driving, you are in control of a machine (barring some major catastrophic change). A machine that has no nerves, no fears, no moods, no senses, and is mounted on four wheels that never (should) come off the ground. Any mistakes made WILL more than likely be your own stupidity - or the stupidity of another person. However, with horses, you have to factor in a non-human animal. As wise as we might be and try as we might, no, we do not know what they are thinking, so there is always a huge level of unpredictability. You play with fate every time you walk in the barn.

And once more... yes. People DO have injuries and die despite or because of wearing safety devices. I've known people injured by seatbelts. However, the purpose of the safety devices is NOT to be a 100% guaranteed lifesaver. Sorry, circumstances are just too varied. However, what they WILL do is in most circumstances, they will lessen injuries sustained. I will always choose to bet on being in the percentage of people saved by a seatbelt/helmet, rather than figure "Heck it will never happen, my horse is unspookable/I'm a good driver" or "I'll deal with it when it happens." You can never take all of the risk out of life, but you can help stack the odds in your favor.

For someone to blatantly blame the animal for every single thing that goes wrong is simply ignorant. Horses trip or step in a hole, girths break.... any one of a million things can go wrong. And for someone to suggest that once their horse is "trained" (as hers so obviously was) that they will never spook or have a bad day is just sickening and irresponsible.