Dropping helmets - WWYD?

[Ginandcolic]

Fabulous Tack Room MNers, you've provided me with some excellent advice in the past and I wanted to get your thoughts on something that happened to me at the weekend. I do not know whether to speak to the stable manager about this or whether my view is informed by out of date knowledge.

I used to ride a lot, I'm currently getting back into it as my DD learns to ride. When I was learning (35+ yrs ago), I was always told that if you dropped your riding hat, you needed to replace it. Is this still right?

The reason I'm asking is that I went riding with DD at the weekend - I have my own hat and I'm waiting for DD's new one to arrive as she has just grown out of her old one. The stables said it was fine as she could borrow one of theirs. However, when the girls helping out with finding a hat were trying to locate one that would fit DD, they kept knocking the hats off the shelves where they were stored onto a concrete floor.

The shelves were about 1.5m high and they knocked off a LOT, I'd say over 20.

We ended up using DD's old, small one, as I felt that being a bit tight (not painfully so) was better than wearing one which may well have been dropped on concrete repeatedly.

So my question is: are hats now made to be more robust and I'm just overreacting here?

I'm not sure if this makes a difference but this is a new stables for us. After trying a few and having some less than ideal experiences, we have found one we love but a friend recommended this new one and our normal one was not open over the weekend.

TIA for your thoughts!

I’m far more laid back than I should be with stuff like this but I would not like this at all. They’ll be pretty fucked if it’s happening all the time and I would also worry me about their attitudes to other things

Thanks Lastqueen I was not at all happy about it but they were so chilled about it, I just assumed it was fine and I was being overly fussy. I'm glad I got DD to wear her old hat.

I also wondered about their attitude to safety elsewhere and I think we won't be going back again!

I would have mentioned it to them there and then and to management. It could have serious consequences and either shows stupidity or obliviousness. I would still report it even if you don't go back - you could be helping someone out.

Thanks Kendrick that's a good point. I think I was just in shock that they didn't bat an eyelid about all the hats being knocked off and were laughing about "I hate it when that happens" like it happens a lot. I just assumed I was in the wrong and that things had moved on since I learnt.

The replies here make me think my reaction was right so I may well email the stables.

Report them to them to the BHS.

I wouldn't be too concerned about a hat being dropped from say table height as a one off but that does sound really bad practice.

The stables need to sort better storage and replace the hats. I would raise your concerns the owner may not realise how careless the staff are being.

This was why my Mum never allowed us to use borrowed hats when we were learning. You just don't know how well cared for they are or how old they are or whether they have been involved in accidents.

The place DN went they did at least keep them in the owners office so only her or her assistant handled them meaning there was a bit more care and oversight than them being in the tack room and handled/fitted by the helpers and casual staff.

Thanks everyone. So from all your comments, it seems that hat tech has not moved on to be more resilient to drops since I learnt as a child.

I emailed the stables this morning, no response yet.

Such a shame as we really liked the instructors and the horses are cared for brilliantly but I don't want to take chances with safety.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond

I wouldn’t ever borrow a hat or buy a used one for this reason. They are designed to absorb impacts without changing shape so damage is often not visible. You only get one head.

The reason you're advised not to use a dropped hat or one where you've fallen and hit your head is as a PP says because damage can be internal and not always visible. Technology in hats has improved in lots of ways, but not in this way. The hats may be fine, but you can't tell.

I am always leery of borrowed hats for a similar reason. A one off drop wouldn't bother me, but if the hats are always getting bashed about (sounds pretty odd) then I would be worried about damage.

If you are happy with the stable in all other ways, I wouldn't necessarily change, but I would be wary in terms of checking things like tack for damage (this will be obvious and visible) before you get on.

Are you able to say where in the county this is, even just the county. We might be able to recommend some other schools

@Postapocalypticcowgirl unfortunately tack damage isn’t always obvious. My dd once had a brand new (as in first use that day) stirrup
leather snap as she went over the first jump
in the warmup .. they’d looked absolutely fine when we put them on.

OP I’d get your dd her own hat if you like the riding school in other respects

Thanks Polkadot we are in SE London and we're happy to travel a bit so we've been looking at places in Sussex, Kent etc

Thanks please DD is between hats as she is on the verge of growing out of her old one and we're still waiting for her new one to arrive.

The tack point is a good one. There's a stables where we ride on holiday (it's too far for us to travel as a one off) and they always go through the tack check with us before we ride which I find really reassuring. Nothing like that happened at the hat-dropping stable but I guess they could well have checked before they brought the horses out.

Wrong side of the river for me, I’m in Essex but I’m sure others will help :)

Dropping a hat on concrete is going to damage it. I'm sure the stables isn't going to replace hats that get knocked onto the floor though. I would always use my own hat.

Yep my friend had a bit snap while riding. No evidence of damage before but all of a sudden the ring and mouthpiece were no longer attached to one another!