One of the biggest controversies in the equestrian world is whether or not riders should be wearing a helmet. Now, while wearing a helmet might not look the prettiest when riding, it is very important to wear a helmet. In English riding, it is common practice to wear a helmet; a lot of more advanced equestrian coaches may not wear a helmet. Now, let’s look at the downsides of what could happen when you don’t wear a helmet.

Now, riders don’t wear their helmets because they do have such trust in their horses, and because they are very skilled riders. This may be true, but that still doesn’t mean that something couldn’t happen. It doesn’t matter what discipline you ride or whether or not you are a highly skilled equestrian, you should alway wear a helmet. Horses are live animals with minds of their own who could act up at any given moment. There is no telling what your horse may do. Even if you are able to have good control of your horse, that still doesn’t mean that you couldn’t get thrown from your horse and become seriously injured. 

According to an article on Springer Open, 70% of equestrian injuries are head injuries. The most common head injuries from not wearing a helmet are concussions and skull fractures. Having these injuries can cause serious lifelong issues. Wearing a helmet is the best possible way to protect yourself. It is always better to be safer when riding than ending up with an injury. Besides, being an equestrian is already a super expensive sport, so why spend extra money on hospital bills from getting injured?