Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Helmets on Horses

I have pretty much given up on horses for mountain riding--I'm a confirmed mule man these days. However, a friend who grew up riding horses and mules in rough mountain country, ranching and chasing lions, has had two bad mule wrecks in the last two years. Both required helicopter extractions and life-flight runs to University Medical Center in Tucson. Fortunately, she is a very resilient 50-something-year-old woman. Unfortunately, I have reached the age at which physical resilience is just a pleasant memory.

I've been "bailed"...kinda like I was water in the bucket.

Thank you.

If my memory serves me I have come off three mules when it was their idea,once when it was mine.The once I ended up in a lot worse condition than the previous 3. However staying on, I probably would not have survived at all.

I don't wear a helmet as I have never seen one that would keep my ears warm at 5 degrees F

I don't ride green mules anymore and don't ride anyone's mule when they ask me to figure out what is wrong with me.I ride short, old mules now.

Was going over regardless so tried to save myself. Always try to stay in the seat, my horses have been steady.

I didn't say the seat was the safest, I said on top is the safest.......

Those are for trailered horses so if they get all wound up inside the trailer they don't bust their heads open. Sort of like the helmets for green riders.

I've seen the commercial horse-haulers requiring that horses wear them, just for added liability protection.

Ed

I think they put those on rental horses so the rider doesn't beat them to death.

I hate horses as much as I do dogs and if a hunt required one, I'd not hunt.



Travis

I used to ride a lot as a kid, and was way too tough to wear a helmet, even when some others started wearing them, including my sister. I've been thrown more than a few times, including into gates and fences and onto rocky ground. I've baled out too, and been stepped on. I got put headfirst into a log once, and was out cold. Another time I went in headfirst and hit hard enough that the hair at the front of my head fell out (it grew back though). In retrospect and with a bit more age if not wisdom, I think I should have worn a helmet, and I would now.

Wife and I don't wear them but our 3 year old will be wearing one for a while

Great thread, thanks to all who took the time to find the humorous pix!

My horse back riding was limited, even though I did own a horse briefly. However, when I was about 30 yrs. old I did a good bit of coon hunting. Went with a friend of mine who liked to hunt on mules. He borrowed one for me to ride. The dogs struck and then treed on the back side of a large, fresh cutover. They had piled the windrows up and when we came to the 1st one, my friend's mule went right on over the windrow. But my borrowed mule balked at it. I kept giving him a little encouragement but apparently gave him a little too much incentive and he sent me off between his ears into the windrow. It only hurt my pride a little bit as we got a good laugh out of it.

He wanted you to go first to see if it was safe.Mules are like that

That right there is funny! I don’t care who ya are! LOL!

The only mule I’ll ride these days is named Kawasaki, and only if I’m driving it. Happy Trails

I thought it funny too, not really politically correct, but I don’t give a cshit about that.

These are now horse rated.

Reasonably priced too.