Do you want to get taken for a ride? LOL!!!

[u4ic]

21. helmet, Helmet, HELMET

Last edited Wed Jun 24, 2026, 02:39 AM - Edit history (1)

Jeebus, put a helmet on a newbie. I've seen and read too much, and even had my own brushes - I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a helmet - and I was a very experienced rider. I attempted to transition from a halt to a canter on an unfamiliar horse and got bucked off. I landed on my face - literally. I heard a crunch and realized it was my nose. Thank goodness the visor on my helmet kept me from any further damage, though a deviated septum was bad enough. By the time I got up and ran to the tack room mirror, my nose was as wide as my eyes. I've had a number of other falls, but thankfully not as bad as that one, though right now I'm suffering from severe hip osteoarthritis which dr's think traces back to my first fall, when I was thrown over a jump and landed on a ground rail, on my hip. I've known others who were seriously hurt from falls. "Matt" - whoever he is, a friend, family member, neighbour etc - is an idiot.

That is not a newbie horse. Some horses are whoa, some are go. You need a whoa type for a beginner. Also, depending on what training the horse has, what discipline - picking up the reins as she did means work time. A loose rein is relax, stretch out (some western pleasure is on a looser rein but I'm not as familiar with that style).

At the end, he said no barrel racing for you - so that explains it, he put her on a barrel racer. It also explains the standing martingale, though not all use it. They are high strung and ready to gallop. Like I said, Matt is an idiot - that horse requires an experienced rider. If he led her around, that's a different story.