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  • From: EJRivera@aol.com
  • To: msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Re: helmets in MSAR
  • Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2003 16:24:23 EST

Hi, My name is Edgardo Rivera, and I am developing a Special Operations Support Team in the Saginaw Valley area in Mid-Michigan, part of which involves SAR and MSAR. Our main purpose is to provide operations medical support for those involved in special operations, and in the case of SAR/MSAR our secondary purpose is to complement the searchers carrying out the mission. As a new Team/Unit, this list is very valuable for us to learn from all the expertise and experience out there.

I am somewhat new to this list, though I've been quietly reading all postings for a couple of months. I felt that I didn't have much to contribute so far. However, on this subject of use of helmets, I think I can provide some insightful thoughts and experience. I am a physician specializing in emergency medicine with a subspecialty in EMS/prehospital care. I have been in emergency medicine for 19 years, including medical directorship of ERs and EMS systems in various states/cities involving different settings.

I do see first hand the devastation from head injuries, including falls from horses. It is amazing to hear people with such experience suggest that horseback riding is not dangerous and that they rather protect their skin from the sun and feel comfortable riding. Safety in general must not have excuses. As some of the other prudent posters have said, we take steps to minimize risks whenever possible, and training and equipment are central to safety. Helmets are another piece of safety equipment, that just like vests, backpacks, chaps, etc, may not be comfortable initially but you would get used to it as you find the best fit.

Sunburned skin, heat exhaustion, scrapes and scratches, and even broken bones can be prevented by taking some other measures, but if they still happen they can be treated and healed. Brain injury, with the resultant paralysis, vegetative state, dependency on a ventilator, loss of function, etc, etc (even death), can be prevented as well and minimized with a $40-60 investment. However, if a fall still happens the brain MAY NOT be treated, healed, or replaced. That's your only one with the only cells in your body that will not regenerate. We all have the syndrome of "it-would-never-happen-to-me", and I hope it never does. We can come up with tons of excuses not to use a helmet. None of them really matter when I pick you up in an ambulance and am trying to save your live in the ER. They don't do me any good when I have to deliver bad news to family members about their loved ones. Young people are stubborn and don't know better, but they can be educated. But hearing from those experienced "I have been riding for X years and never needed a helmet" is just incomprehensible! You hope you'd only need it once! I have never needed to used my life insurance, but I carry one!

My recommendation: you cinch and recheck, you desensitize your horses, you train, you use reflective materials, you use safety chains in your rigs, you buckle up in your truck, the list goes on and on, PLEASE, PLEASE for your own safety and well being USE YOUR HELMET WHEN RIDING!

Sorry for the length of my first posting, but I feel strongly this is not rhetoric nor a matter of convenience. It is a matter of life or death!

Regards,
Edgardo



In a message dated 3/19/2003 1:55:23 PM Eastern Standard Time, kovar@1srg.org writes:


Good morning,

As SAR professionals, on foot, on ATVs, on horses, on ropes, or in aircraft
we tend to push deeper into environmental conditions that increase the
chance that we might come to harm. We will go out into weather that we'd
normally avoid, we go deeper into into rough terrain that we'd normally
explore, and we do this with some sense of urgency as "search is an
emergency". All of these factors increase the level of risk involved in the
SAR activity. As part of the "personal safety" rule, we take steps to
minimize these risks wherever possible. This includes training, evaluating
scene safety, working as a team, and equipment.

As the original poster said, and my insurance agent agrees, regular riding
is considered a "high risk" activity. The increased risks due to the SAR
environment would certainly put it in the "high risk" category in many
people's minds.

Head trauma is a concern for horseback riders in any area and helmets are
common in the arena and required by many non-SAR equine organizations. With
the increased risks of SAR, it would seem prudent to wear a helmet.

I wear a climbing helmet while doing rock and alpine SAR. I wear a
swiftwater helmet (frequently my climbing helmet) while working in or near
the water. I wear a flight helmet while flying helicopters. I wear an ATV
helmet while riding ATVs. Not wearing a helmet while riding a horse seems
extremely odd by comparison.

-David

-----Original Message-----
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jorene Downs
Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 10:15 AM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Re: helmets in MSAR



----- Original Message -----
From: "Pennington-Boggio's" <pennbo@bbv.net>
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2003 10:34 PM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] Re: helmets in MSAR


>I'll weigh in a bit here! <G> First we need to think about why
>high-risk activities involve helmets. Comfort is not the first
>concern. Second is to remember that just regular riding is considered
>a high-risk activity. (ask your insurance carrier) The kind of riding
>we do can be major high-risk. [...]

Rule 1 in SAR is personal safety. What kind of high risk riding are you
doing?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co, CA
SAR, MSAR, Swiftwater Rescue, US&R





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