PrintOur columnist delves into the ongoing discussion of safety helmets, head injuries and personal choice.
A few weeks before Courtney Dye’s horrible riding accident that left her with severe head injuries, she took part in a U.S. Equestrian Federation High Performance clinic in Florida working with Steffen Peters and me.
As always when I watched Courtney ride, I admired her instinctive and extraordinary ability to bring out whatever positive features a horse may possess. At the end of the day, Courtney showed me a video of a couple of horses for potential sponsorship, and we discussed which one of them would be the best match for her to make into a future team horse.
Fast forward to the Palm Beach Derby (Fla.) the first weekend in February, when I observed trainer Lendon Gray receive a phone call by ringside and heard her exclaim: “That’s awful!” Now we all know what she found out on that call.
During the show, there was a moving ceremony with prayers to bring Courtney out of her coma. And, thank God, today she’s not only awake but also recovering quite well.
Courtney isn’t my only close experience with head injuries due to a horse that fell. I had a very experienced student in New York whose horse stumbled and fell with her at the walk. This rider is still in a coma, three years later. I wasn’t present, but the description of the accident was as undramatic as any event could be, and yet the consequences are devastating. I stood at my student’s bed at the hospital fully aware that our roles could just as easily have been reversed.
Neither rider wore a protective helmet at the time of the accidents. Would their injuries have been less severe if they’d worn safety headgear? Since all research indicates that this is the case, the debate about mandatory regulations for safety helmets for dressage has intensified.
Just The Facts
The subject was put on the Fédération Equestre Internationale Dressage Committee agenda at the last meeting, and the medical information that accompanied the issue presented the following facts and opinions:
- Head injuries appear to account for approximately 10 percent of horse-related injuries and are the injuries most likely to result in hospitalization or death.
- A fall from 60 cm (approximately 3') can cause permanent brain damage, and a horse elevates the rider up to 3 m (9') above the ground.
- A human skull can be shattered by impact at as low as 7km/hour, and the most likely ages for injury to occur are 5 to 14 and 25 to 44.
- In Great Britain, hospital admission for equestrian injuries declined 46 percent after helmet design improved and they entered routine use.
- The U.S. Pony Clubs decreased their head injury rate by 29 percent after mandatory helmet use.
You would think that the above information would make us all run for head cover, but that isn’t necessarily the case. The problem with dressage, as Dr. Craig Ferrell pointed out to the FEI Dressage Committee, is that while helmets are considered ugly, the top hat is considered elegant and is also highly traditional.
