Week 7 Blog #3

In the article “The Importance of the Helmet,” by Lydia K. Kelly, she talks about the importance of wearing a helmet. She brings up the potential dangers of horses and how they hurt and kill people every year. She gives examples of how even the most disciplined, trained, and worked with horses can at any second throw a rider. If the rider doesn’t have a helmet on they have the potential to break a bone or get a concussion. Horses weight over 1000 pounds, and most of it is pure muscle. They are more dangerous than a motorcycle because they can think and are unpredictable, unlike a motorcycle which is controled by the driver, and it can’t think. Motorcycle riders are forced under the law to wear helmets no matter what age they are. Horse riders on the other hand don’t have to wear a helmet once they reach 18 years of age, and in todays society most kids don’t ride with helmets. Wearing helmets is a very serious issue in the horse world. I agree with the author in that we need to make sure to support the wearing of helmets. With so many adults and trainers that kids look up to not wearing helmets, it makes kids think that it’s cool not to wear a helmet. They are raised resenting the wearing of helmets, and sometimes being sneaky and not wearing them at all. This is particularly dangerous because I know that when I was younger I would do the craziest and most dangerous stuff with my horses that I wouldn’t even think of doing today. What personally helped me wear a helmet more often was when I showed my horse I had to ride english, and it was required to wear a helmet because that was the “look.” This encouraged me and other kids to wear helmets while we were riding at home because it made us feel more professional. One question I have relating to this helmet issue is that how could the government force motorcycle riders to wear a helmet and take special driving tests to even drive one on the street, yet there are little kids riding huge thinking animals who don’t even wear helmets? Why doesn’t the government make a law and enforce it better so that kids aren’t practically driving motorcycles around without helmets or even some supervision?
Article used: http://www.articles3000.com/Pets-and-Animals/143506/Horse-Riding-The-Importance-of-the-Helmet.html