It’s about time that riders have enough information to compare the safety performance of different equestrian helmets — and that’s finally going to happen now that the Virginia Tech Helmet lab has been fully funded to study equestrian helmets. More than $425,000 was raised through the collaborative efforts of the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF), […]
According to a study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery, revealed that 45.2 percent of TBI among adults were related to horseback riding, Over the years, I’ve had two concussions — at least that I know of. The last one occurred about 10 or 12 years ago, while I was hunting. There is an in […]
Teaching horse safety for kids (and for adults) is one of the ways we can minimize the risk of enjoying horses. As a mother, I had one of those “uh oh” incidents years ago when my daughter was about four and I had just brought home a new horse. The first day I turned my […]
A study published in Applied Sciences suggests that current riding helmets do not prevent skull fractures in adults when crushed from the side, as may occur if a horse falls on its rider. The study team comprised Connor, Michio Clark, Pieter Brama, Matt Stewart, Aisling NĂ Annaidh and Michael Gilchrist, variously affiliated with University College […]
The FEI’s Eventing Frangible Device Working Group has introduced updated standard for frangible cross-country fences. The team spent six months reviewing slow-motion video of horses jumping fences, and took into consideration testing performed by British Eventing, MIM at Chalmers University (SWE), and the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL). A frangible/deformable fence is a fence that is […]
Some lessons stick with you a long time. This one, I didn’t even have to learn the hard way. Instead of living though the experience myself, I watched it happen. When I was about 12, I was trail riding at the barn where I took lessons. It had been a long ride and the horses […]
Scott Linklater, the husband of late Canadian eventing rider Katharine Morel has started the Katharine Morel & Kerry On Eventing Safety Fund to raise $250,000 to help horse trials organizers in Canada fit Mim or frangible safety equipment to fences. So far, the GoFundMe campaign has raised $20K.Morel and her mare Kerry On both died […]
After a rider dies from a rotational fall, one of the top questions is whether protective vests really work. When I first started riding after my accident, I pulled out my Charles Owen protective vest. Sometimes you want to have a little extra padding if you have an unscheduled dismount. When I started eventing, back […]