Mounted search and rescue

["Sherry C. Hicks" <shicks@nwinc.net>]

I was looking at one today that had a place for your ponytail. There is a
nice one made for the shape of a ladies head by Lamicel, it's about $150.
Most of our local stores carry Troxel. They can be as low as $30. I think I
paid about $50 for mine.

I always wear a helmet. I hit my head a few times in my adolescence and I
have some scaring related to those old injuries. I have been told that it is
likely I would die instantly with another good blow. I wear a helmet now
when I do anything that moves me through the open air faster than I can run.

I would also recommend that you go to a bike store and get a bike helmet.
It's like buying off the shelf at a feed store or going to a saddle maker
that fits you and your horse. The helmets you get at department stores don't
fit nearly as well. Most of us only have the one brain, and it comes in
handy quite often. For me, a helmet is worth skipping lunch and saving my
pennies for.

Sherry
Tennessee - START

-----Original Message-----
From: msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:msar-riders-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Una Smith
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2006 3:35 PM
To: Mounted search and rescue
Subject: Re: [MSAR] helmet suggestions

Patty Montoya wrote:
>I have seriously thought of using a helmet, but my experience with a
bicycle 
>helmet was so bad

I know what you mean.  Some helmet lines come in few sizes,
and you are supposed to make them fit (sort of) by sizing up
and then adding inserts to fill in the space.  Newer, more
expensive lines have some form of patented fitting mechanism.
But helmets that in my opinion are the very best come in
standard hat sizes, with 1/4 or even 1/8 inch increments.
A good dealer will have an apparatus to slightly adjust the
shape of these helmet to fit it perfectly to your head.  A
well fitted helmet of this type will be comfortable to wear
all day long yet will not shift on your head.


>                                                            Friends have 
>suggested getting a helmet with ventilation, other friends have warned that

>branches can stick through the ventilation hole and knock you off the
horse. 

Count me among the latter crowd.

The current fashion in recreational riding helmets, both for
bicyclists and equestrians, is toward ever more ventilated
helmets modeled to direct air (and sticks) into the helmet.
Ventilation slits on bicycle helmets have been documented to
contribute to severe neck injuries during a crash;  the slits
can catch on uneven pavement etc., abruptly halting forward
movement of the helmet.

For an extensive review of safety design issues in helmets,
visit the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (http://www.helmets.org/);
although their focus is helmets for bicyclists, many safety
issues apply also to helmets worn by equestrians.

One equestrian helmet I have examined meets both marketing
goals and, in my personal opinion, it is little better (in
some cases perhaps worse) than no helmet at all.  That is
the Range Rider.  It comes in just three sizes:  Toddler,
Medium, Large.  It isn't exactly a helmet;  it is several
styrofoam pads joined by hinges, so it molds to your head.
At one time the Range Rider was certified by SEI as meeting
ASTM standard F1163-01, but certification has been withdrawn:
http://www.seinet.org/CPL/astm116301.htm .

The current ASTM standard is F1163-04a.  SEI's web page
listing helmets that meet this standard is a terrific place
to start researching a helmet suitable for your purposes:

        http://www.seinet.org/CPL/astm1163_04a.htm

One helmet not on that list, but which nonetheless I expect
does meet the standard, is Troxel's SafeTech Equestrian
helmet.  This helmet is available to MSAR and other public
service units at a volume discount.  This discount program
has been discussed on MSAR-Riders in the past, and details
and an order form are on http://www.ibiblio.org/msar/ .

Re heat management, I have played polo in July and August 
in Connecticut and New Mexico, in an unvented schooling
helmet.  A wet bandana around my neck has proven adequate
to keep my head comfortably cool.

Stay safe,

        Una Smith
        New Mexico
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