There have been countless times where I have been pitched, thrown and tossed from horses in my decades of training. I've trained everything from ex race horses to Warmbloods to Arabians and many in between.
I've started lots of young horses too which definitely gives you lots of incentive to rely on a "brain bucket"! Most recently, my boyfriend was riding one of his young horses that I had been helping him with. But this time I was out of town and got a call that he had been thrown, landed hard on his head and was knocked unconscious.
He was taken to the hospital and because of the fact that he was wearing a helmet, was released a few hours later with only a mild concussion. He hit the ground so hard with his head that it twisted the helmet around his head and the straps had to be cut to get it off. You can't convince me that he would have lived through that without wearing it!
Heather Blitz
Read about my call to action to wear helmets here
Heather Blitz is an international Grand Prix rider who has been based in Europe for the past few years. She is also a popular and successful clinician with her Mind Your Riding’ Tour which focuses on the effect of the rider’s body and aids on the horse at all levels and teaches a clear and easy to understand system of training to riders of all levels. Heather’s tours are held in Europe and throughout the U.S.