Helmet Has Arrived

My new Lami-cell helmet arrived. I LOVE it. I am a hard fit. I also get headaches very easily. Even my glasses give me a headache. Baseball caps are cute but kill me. I have a huge head and it is a weird shape. I remember when I first started riding Troxel was pretty much the only option. Troxels don't fit my head at all. If I get one big enough not to squeeze my brains out it won't stay on my head. Then I had a skull cap made by international that was decent but roasted me. Now we have so many options that it is mind boggling. There is zero excuse not to were a helmet. I am sure that people reading this will come up with excuses but none are worthy. Every six months or so a riding friend knows someone who was killed or seriously injured from riding. And none of the injuries I have close hand knowledge of have been jumping. They have all been people tooling around western. 

If you don't wear a helmet you aren't just putting yourself at risk. If you are injured or killed the costs will be astronomical. What will happen to your family? Who is going to take care of your kids, your wife, your husband? Who is going to take care of your horse? Do you think your family is really going to put your horse as a priority when they have millions of dollars in medical bills. And in this current economy the odds of your horse getting a good home aren't great. 

Yes, helmets only protect your head. There are a million other injuries you can incur from a fall. For the most part though if you survive other injuries you have the capability of returning to normal functioning. Head injuries are different. Even when your body repairs itself you might never be you again. I have seen how heartbreaking traumatic brain injuries are. A young healthy man living in a group home, former doctor commits suicide because he can no longer practice, wife taking care of a husband who will never be able to work again (yes I have seen all of this and more). If you aren't responsible enough to wear a helmet you shouldn't own a horse. 

Anyhoo my lami-cell arrived a few days ago and I have had a few rides. It feels so good. The dial a fit harness seems to be the key for me. Then I can get one that is a little too lose and dial it down to the perfect size. I went for a ride in the rain and noticed that it kept the rain off my face and neck. We were out for over an hour and I didn't have my normal headache. It has vents that kept me from getting too hot. It looks very expensive and it isn't. If you have been drooling over the new crazy spendy helmets out there but can't handle over $100 bucks try this out. 

No excuses. Get a helmet and wear it everyday. 

http://www.doversaddlery.com/lami-cell-schooling-helmet/p/X1-36145/

Human Clothing

So often I am posting about saddles and what my horses are going to wear. A few weeks ago it really sunk in that if I want to get into showing again I will need something to wear. It seems that my show clothing shrunk over the last few years (or maybe my waistline grew). That means I will need to get myself quite a bit of apparel and on a budget. Fortunately I still have my effingham field boots and a velvet helmet. It isn't one of the crazy spendy ones that are trendy now but I wouldn't buy one of those even if I didn't have a show helmet.

Here is what I need:

Show shirt: My old show shirt kind sorta would go over my waist but the girls won't even pretend it will button. I will do the occasional dressage school show and combined training even so I think a white one should be my first pick. I have never shown hunters but will be doing some halter and walk trot shows with the baby boy next year so I am thinking it would be fun to have a shirt with some color too. I love the blue ones or even pink. I am pretty sure I have a stock tie around here somewhere for dressage but am hoping since I am only doing schooling dressage that I can get away without it.

Coat: I plan on doing more than just dressage so I want a hunt coat. I really LOVE all the subtle plaids and pin stripes. There were Ariat coats on closeout in great colors but I missed the ball on that (if you are looking and in the size 16 and smaller range check Dover out). My mom decided to get me a coat early for xmas and I was thrilled when a Riding Sport coat came up on clearance (50 bucks baby). I will probably need to have a tailor work on it because my rack is bigger than my shoulders so I need to go up a size. I ordered in in black so it is more versatile.

Here is my new coat (isn't the blue shirt pretty):

Breeches: I have a white pair for the upcoming show in December. I will need some tan breeches for the shows I plan on doing next year. I do dread squeezing myself into breeches and figuring out which are the lease offensive. I need to be able to run in them since we will be doing halter to start. Can't I start a new trend of a black coat and BLACK breeches. 

Helmet: I have a show helmet that actually doesn't give me a headache. However, my friend is moving her horse to Dickie's stable so I need two schooling helmets. I really hate carrying them back and forth. Then I end up without a helmet where I need it. And I have a big old head and chin so it's hard to borrow a helmet. There are three extra's at Bre's barn but they are all tiny headed skinny asses there. The helmet I have currently is pretty nerdy. I got in in silver when I was going on five hour trail rides in the hot sun. It is comfortable and I still love it but I decided to get something slightly cuter for the new barn. It is a Lami-cell and a knock off of the fancy styles but seems to get good reviews. It has a dial a fit system which is great for me because I get headaches easy and my head seems to change sizes from day to day. 

The silver one is my old helmet:

This is my new helmet: