Re: Helmets, DAAD

["sherman" <shermano@prodigy.net>]

Hi Riders:  DAAD, Dead As A Doornail.  That's what I think I would have
been, without my helmet.  We went to a riding stable.  Signed the release
forms.  I got on a mare.  Nice quiet horse.  She had just finished eating
and she didn't even make a mis-step nor take a breath out of line.  I saddle
her up and walked her around the yard, waiting for everyone else to get
ready.  There were five of us riding and one on a bicycle, pulling up in the
rear.
  Not even 5 minutes down the trail, we were walking and talking, getting
acquainted with our horses and each other, then I think I remember my horse
lowering her head.
  That's it.  End of trail ride.  I woke up face down in the sand with a 4
inch crack in my helmet over my left eye.  3 days in hosp, and a month in
rehab for a C-3 bruise later...
  What did I do wrong?
     I used my own saddle on her instead of one she was used to.
     I tightened up the cinch, perhaps a little too tightly.
     I didn't lunge her to see if she had a problem with her tack.
 What did I do right?
     I wore my helmet.
   SCORE:  3 to 1.      I guess I was an accident waiting to happen.
   I learned a lot.  I am still alive to be able to put my new lessons into
practice.
   I will stick with my own horses for a while.
  Any new horse will have to pass some tests before I will mount them.
   I will get better acquainted with any new horse before I will saddle up.
   My new helmet, which I really like because it helps to keep the sweat out
of my eyes, will always be on when I am riding.

  This story is not meant to bring a response.  Just a sneaky way of saying
"ME TOO."
  Sherman, riding and driving Morgans in the north Florida backwoods
community of Gainesville