Let’s be real, the perfect Instagram post on your magical riding holiday doesn’t include your riding helmet. They’re not always the prettiest. However… as with many things on Instagram, that perfect picture or perfect drone clip without your hat does perpetuate this growing trend of riding hatless.

We have to recognise that there’s a cultural element to this, there are many cultures (mostly outside of Europe) where riding without a hat is the norm. That doesn’t make it any less dangerous but we’re mostly addressing western riders on holiday here.

We do understand why some people choose not to wear hats, they’re stuffy, hot, can be uncomfortable and when riding on your own horse or a horse you know very well, they may feel unnecessary.

However, that doesn’t really apply to a horse you’ve likely never ridden before in a country you may never have visited over terrain you’re not used to.

We personally don’t believe the perfect Instagram photo without your hat is worth the risk you take by not wearing one.

You may consider yourself a very experienced rider, able to handle any horse but any rider can be caught unaware. All it takes is one spook or one unexpected trip and you’ve fallen off and hit your head. It’s never worth it. Most of our rides also go over rough, uneven terrain which makes falling even more dangerous.

On top of that, if you did have an accident, a lot of insurance companies will not cover you if you weren’t wearing a hat meaning you’d be injured, potentially with life changing injuries, in a country with no insurance.

It’s such a small yet simple choice to wear one, but it really may save your life one day.

We could never force our riders to wear a hat, it is necessary to wear one with some of our operators, but we strongly strongly recommend it and can’t get behind those who suggest it’s optional or even promote it.

If we haven’t quite convinced you yet, here a few statistics that may persuade you:

• Head injuries are the most common type of injury in equestrian sports and the leading cause of death in horse related accidents. In fact 74.83% of equestrian deaths are caused by head and neck injuries.

• Horse riding is the leading cause of sports related traumatic brain injuries.

• Wearing a riding helmet reduces the risk of severe head injury by 50%.

• 2 out of 3 horse riding injuries can be prevented.

We don’t want to scare you but they are sobering reminders that horse riding is a dangerous sport and you’re not immune to falling off and injuring yourself. Do yourself a favour and keep your head protected. Please!