For most of us, safety while riding gives us piece of mind. Helmet and vest are so important for me, but there is so much more. Recently, I really sat down and took stock of my gear and equipment and how it fit (or didn't fit) into my courage.
As I looked through things, I came down to three categories.
The first one is gear that keeps me safe. This is my “A” list. Helmet and vest are the obvious two but are their others? I evaluated if a piece of gear can actually help to keep me from getting hurt. Here are a few I found that fit into this category:
A. Grab strap/saddle horn/ something to grab onto that is not the horse's mouth. In an emergency, this can give you a few more seconds to dismount safely if needed.
B. Rhythm bells, cattle bells, and things that just have an amazing sound while riding. They can help keep wildlife aware of your presence, so you and your horse are not startled.
The second one is gear that seems to keep us safe but maybe not actually safe.
A. GPS trackers and software that tracks us as we ride. These help after something happens but doesn't prevent something from happening. Same with some way to ride with your cell phone on you and not on your horse.
B. An emergency whistle. It may save your life after an incident but probably isn't going to save you from a fall.
The third group is gear that has no safety use at all. This is the FUN Group of stuff.
A. Color coordinated outfits for you and your horse.
B. Great grippy reins that you can hang onto easily.
Have fun with this!!! Go through your tack and riding gear and really think about what categories it falls into. Once you have the list, sit and focus on your “A” list and really think about how it makes you feel. Do you need to up your gear, new and improved or are you feeling really good with your safety gear.
I recently talked about this episode 31 of my podcast, Turn Riding Fear Around.
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