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Of Ponytails and Helmets

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  • #21
    Having just done a swan dive off of a horse and onto my head not one week ago, I put "ponytails, yes!" as that is what I was wearing at the time. I'm fine. No damage to my head or neck, fortunately, but I'll have to replace my helmet.

    I spent two years fitting motorcycle helmets while I was in college, and the guidance and training that I received from the manufacturers was that an ideal fit always involved feeling the contact with your helmet all the way around. It should not glide over the forehead, but should instead pull the skin up and down. Your helmet should not bobble when shaking your head backwards and forward, or from side to side, as these sorts of bobbles will actually make the helmet larger over time as that will continually compress the padding. Honestly, I tried fitting my helmet with my hair up, and I just couldn't get the secure fit I wanted. So I don't wear my hair up.

    Until someone can prove to me though actual science and not just, "I hit my head and I'm fine," that wearing your hair in between your head and your helmet is AS safe as wearing your hair outside of your helmet, I'm not going to do it. Sorry, but I need my head. I use it to make my money to ride with!

    I think it's always important to look neat and presentable, but safety, especially at high levels of competition, is incredibly important. When riding is a professional's livelihood, they need to watch their noggin as well. Seeing a rider with a ponytail doesn't bother me in the slightest, and I'm far more likely to be focusing on their position and way of going than I am the rider's hair.

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    • #22
      Since so many helmets don't even come in proper sizes any more... just sm, med. and lrg. I think that having you hair up is actually a way to help customize the fit of those helmets. Other than that I don't much care if you have your hair up in your helmet or not, but if you are going to do a pony tail it really should be in a neat bun at the base of your neck. Personally I can't stand the feeling of something flopping around on my back... I can't ride in a hoodie either...

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      • #23
        Originally posted by Come Shine View Post
        lol! Someone used to make a helmet with a ponytail port about 14 years ago. Anyone remember it?
        That was Troxel and some of them still accommodate a small ponytail. My Sierra does.
        If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

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        • #24
          I voted maybe. My hair, when long, is thick and doesn't fit under my helmet. Getting a larger helmet isn't really an option since my head is huge in the first place. But you can put a hairnet on and secure your hair at the nape of your neck. This is what I do with my hair. It's currently too short to put in a ponytail at the nape of my neck, so I gather the ends in a hairnet and tuck it just under the back of my helmet. It took some practice to get it right.

          I would never show without my hair contained. Not even a schooling show. I think it just looks so untidy.
          I love my Econo-Nag!

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          • #25
            When buying a helmet if you get one to fit with your hair under it.. wouldn't it be no different then if you had thicker hair?

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            • #26
              Originally posted by kitsunegari View Post
              When buying a helmet if you get one to fit with your hair under it.. wouldn't it be no different then if you had thicker hair?
              A second layer of hair that points up is going to be more slippery than hair that is attached to your scalp, making it more likely that the helmet will shift.
              If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

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              • #27
                As far as safety goes I would say that if the helmet is a good fit and the harness is properly adjusted (key word properly) then the helmet will not slide around with hair up. Its usually a poorly adjusted harness that causes slipping or tipping.

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                • #28
                  Originally posted by Bogie View Post
                  There is very little published research on how putting up hair under equestrian helmets impacts fit and safety.

                  However, on some of the bicycle sites there are statements along the lines of this one:


                  "Raising the helmet on the head destabilizes it by moving the sides, that normally keep the helmet steady, up and away from the sides of the head. Combined with the loss of coverage from the helmet perched up higher on the head, this has potential for disaster in a crash, where the helmet must be stable to remain in position and actually be between the head and the hard place upon impact!"

                  This was specific to beaded or braided hair styles. But it would apply to any way that you wear your hair that keeps the helmet from conforming exactly to your head.

                  I prefer to wear my helmet so that it is closely fitted to the shape of my head. I personally feel that putting hair up under your helmet could cause problems. I guess if you fit your helmet properly with your hair up it isn't going to make all that much difference.

                  However, I think there are lots of people out there riding with helmets that don't fit and when you put your hair up under them they still don't fit.
                  Well, that's BIKES. The difference, though I am not part of the bike world, is that it is traditional for riders to wear their helmets WITH HAIR INSIDE! So, I think the designers at GPA and IRH and all those helmet companies DEFINITELY take that into consideration.

                  and, even if you have long hair, your hair can be properly put up and a helmet can be properly fitted to be safe. but riding with dreads or anything? well, I'm not quite sure how that would work in the helmet department. I'd think most riders would never consider dreads!

                  Hope i don't look like I am attacking you or anything just a statement.

                  Anywho, consider: if you've got a bunch of hair flying all over, I don't care how silky and smooth it is, or how many times a day you brush it: it's pretty easy to catch your hair on just about anything! Ask me how i know but really, you don't want to catch your hair on something when you fall. I used to ride in a pony tail, in the early years. I decided that was a bad idea when i fell off, my hair (long, and yeah, i must brush it a million times a day) got caught on god knows what and ripped a good piece of hair out on the way down. i didn't have any significant bald spot, but I imagine it could've been a lot worse had my ponytail been looser, or something. but it sure as hell HURT! hurt way more than that time i got a hair fracture and pulled a muscle during a fall.
                  (|--Sarah--|)

                  Blitz <3 & Leap of Faith <3

                  Comment


                  • #29
                    Originally posted by see u at x View Post
                    Isn't the general consensus that using a saddle with too many saddle pads loses stability on the horse? Wouldn't it be the same type of principle with the helmet and having a bunch of hair crammed up there? For riding around at home and at lessons, I just wear my hair in a pony tail. For shows, I do the hairnet and pony tail thing. My hair just isn't cut right or quite long enough to do the hunter hair thing even if I wanted to.
                    Well, saddles ARE actually just like helmets! We fit our saddles to our horses. Sometimes, we buy a saddle and it doesn't fit 100% so we use a corrective pad. But you have to use the right one, or the saddle STILL wont fit, or will fit *worse*

                    Same goes for helmets, in a way, but the other way around: YOu have your hair that you need to fit the helmet to. You can either fit your helmet to your head without hair in it, OR you can fit it to your head with hair up. your helmet should hardly ever (unless you have super short thin hair) fit BOTH ways. my helmets do not fit without hair up in them. because i buy the appropriate size that fits my head snugly with hair up in hunter hair style. That's what you're kind of supposed to do.
                    (|--Sarah--|)

                    Blitz <3 & Leap of Faith <3

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                    • #30
                      Helmets are helmets. Heads are heads.

                      You want an equestrian source? Here you go: The Equestrian Federation of Australia states, "Bulky hairstyles and wearing hair ‘up’ may reduce helmet stability."

                      The "tradition" that you refer to was essentially for items of apparel. Earlier generations of equestrian helmets offered no real protection -- so it didn't matter that you put your hair up in them . Plus, most "tradition" today is based on foxhunting. There is no hunter hair in the hunt field -- hair needs to be contained by a hair net but it does not need to be up under a helmet. That seems to have originated in the show ring.


                      I'm glad you personally know those designers at GPA and IRH etc. are designing their helmets so that you can put your hair up in them . . . because there is absolutely NO DATA to support that. I would really like to see comparative data from the helmet manufacturers that would show the safest way to wear a helmet but the manufacturers are notoriously silent.

                      The data that IS out there about helmet design shows that the "mushroom" shaped helmets with more foam padding protect heads the best but riders don't want to wear them.

                      Helmet makers have to deal with the fact that riders don't want to wear products that they consider to be unfashionable even if they work better. It's a hard line to walk.

                      Which equestrian helmets are the safest.

                      Really, I think that there has been a tremendous amount of progress in helmet safety and in the fact that riders now wear approved helmets. That's probably 80% of the problem solved. I'm sure that some people have a system for putting up their hair that only minimally impacts helmet safety.


                      Originally posted by superpony123 View Post
                      Well, that's BIKES. The difference, though I am not part of the bike world, is that it is traditional for riders to wear their helmets WITH HAIR INSIDE! So, I think the designers at GPA and IRH and all those helmet companies DEFINITELY take that into consideration.

                      and, even if you have long hair, your hair can be properly put up and a helmet can be properly fitted to be safe. but riding with dreads or anything? well, I'm not quite sure how that would work in the helmet department. I'd think most riders would never consider dreads!

                      Hope i don't look like I am attacking you or anything just a statement.

                      Anywho, consider: if you've got a bunch of hair flying all over, I don't care how silky and smooth it is, or how many times a day you brush it: it's pretty easy to catch your hair on just about anything! Ask me how i know but really, you don't want to catch your hair on something when you fall. I used to ride in a pony tail, in the early years. I decided that was a bad idea when i fell off, my hair (long, and yeah, i must brush it a million times a day) got caught on god knows what and ripped a good piece of hair out on the way down. i didn't have any significant bald spot, but I imagine it could've been a lot worse had my ponytail been looser, or something. but it sure as hell HURT! hurt way more than that time i got a hair fracture and pulled a muscle during a fall.
                      Equine Ink - My soapbox for equestrian writings & reviews.
                      EquestrianHow2 - Operating instructions for your horse.

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                      • #31
                        Originally posted by hntrjmprpro45 View Post
                        Personally I don't like it because it looks sloppy. I think that regardless of what level you ride at you should strive to make a good presentation even in jumpers.
                        I do too. When I went to Ecuador, the U.S. girls were the only ones to have "hunter hair," and we were the only ones with a reputation for being neat and tidy.
                        http://www.youtube.com/user/supershorty628
                        Proudly blogging for The Chronicle of the Horse!

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                        • #32
                          I will school with a pony tail only b/c the helmet I have doesnt fit my hair in it right now but I still put my hairnet on out of habit, I much prefer hunter hair and will buy the right size to fit my head WITH my hair up.
                          "to each his own..."

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                          • #33
                            My helmet never shifts when I ride with my hair up, but then again I have very very fine hair and when i bought it I bought it to fit with the head up. My schooling helmet is another story, and I wear a ponytail to school. The dang wind almost blew it off today.
                            If only horses would use their athletic powers for good instead of evil. ~ MHM

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                            • #34
                              Originally posted by superpony123 View Post
                              but riding with dreads or anything? well, I'm not quite sure how that would work in the helmet department. I'd think most riders would never consider dreads!
                              Here's my rhetorical suggestion: think about that for a while and wonder to yourself, whyever not?
                              If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

                              Comment


                              • #35
                                My helmet does not move at all with my hair up. The same brand in one that fits me without my hair up.. it shifts around a lot.

                                Comment


                                • #36
                                  As far as hair potentially affecting fit, the amount of hair and its texture will be a factor. Shoulder length hair in a ponytail flipped up is not going to be a big deal. Waist-length hair coiled up under a helmet certainly would be.

                                  I will agree that I don't like to see a loose ponytail in a big important international class where everything else is polished to the nines. Braid it or put it up.
                                  If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. - Lemony Snicket

                                  Comment


                                  • #37
                                    I solved my problem and just cut all my hair off

                                    Comment


                                    • #38
                                      Originally posted by Bogie View Post
                                      Helmets are helmets. Heads are heads.

                                      You want an equestrian source? Here you go: The Equestrian Federation of Australia states, "Bulky hairstyles and wearing hair ‘up’ may reduce helmet stability."

                                      The "tradition" that you refer to was essentially for items of apparel. Earlier generations of equestrian helmets offered no real protection -- so it didn't matter that you put your hair up in them . Plus, most "tradition" today is based on foxhunting. There is no hunter hair in the hunt field -- hair needs to be contained by a hair net but it does not need to be up under a helmet. That seems to have originated in the show ring.
                                      Before approved helmets, hair stuffed up in helmets didn't work. The chinstrap made it all possible.

                                      Fit the helmet to the skull, not the hair. In addition to having a helmet that actually functions to protect your skull, you'll probably fit into a smaller helmet that makes you look less like a mushroom -head.
                                      madeline
                                      * What you release is what you teach * Don't be distracted by unwanted behavior* Whoever waits the longest is the teacher. Van Hargis

                                      Comment


                                      • #39
                                        I have waist length and very thick hair. At a competition (I'm an eventer) my hair is either tidily done up in a hair net (not stuffed under my helmet) or braided down my back and tucked under my vest for XC.

                                        I'm not a fan of the flapping pony tail, no matter how short.

                                        For mine, I start with two braids, then weave those together (pulling them one through the other) so they hug the base of my skull. A little twist to tuck in the braid ends and tighten everything up, then 2 hair nets over everything. Voila, nice and tidy and my helmet fits properly.

                                        Comment


                                        • #40
                                          Originally posted by seeuatx View Post
                                          In my pony club days we were not allowed to have hair up under the helmet for fit/safety reasons. But, we had to have our hair secured in a braid or hair net. I would put my hair in the hairnet and then put that in a ponytail. Then, I took a second band and flipped the end of the ponytail up under itself and secured it. It always looked like a nice neat bun and stayed in place for just about anything. It is a much nicer alternative to a flopping ponytail, and not nearly as tacky as a show bow.
                                          Daughter events and we do a version of this. I braid her hair in one long braid and then double it under pushing some up through the original band. Then I add a second band and secure a second hairnet over the whole thing. Makes for a small bun at the back that doesn't come undone and stays neat.

                                          For schooling she just has the ponytail or braid. Helmet just doesn't fit as well when we shove all the hair under it in our feeble attempts at hunter hair.

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