Addressing Traumatic Brain Injuries in Equestrian Sport

In today's culture, we are driven by the entertainment industry, one being sports. There is no escaping the advertisement for not only professional sports organizations, but also intercollegiate sports. The attention is typically driven towards baseball, basketball, soccer, and football. American football tends to be in the spotlight most due to the ongoing publicity of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and their repercussions. This attention has led to increasingly strict guidelines for personal protective equipment and time off before return to play. Though new guidelines, requirements, and media attention help further reduce TBI incidences in football, the efforts have not crossed over to other sports industries, one being the equestrian sport.

The equestrian sport does not receive national attention for the rates of traumatic brain injuries, but it should; it is one of the most dangerous sports and accounts for the majority of traumatic brain injuries seen.4 Horse-related TBI’s are costly with a mean hospital stay that costs 29,800$,5 but the repercussions of injury do not stop there. Many horse injuries can result in a permanent decrease in work productivity and lead to long-term disability.5 In the Pacific Northwest, helmet use is around 61%,5 this number needs to raise in order to keep riders safe and decrease the cost burden on our medical

In the latest publication of Healthy People, an objective has been added in regards to the reduction of traumatic brain injuries.6 Traumatic brain injury prevention has become a priority not only due to the cost burden on our health care system,7 but also due to the long-term disabilities they can cause. Though Healthy People 2020 does not include a specific population to target in the reduction of TBI’s, the equestrian sport has been said to be more dangerous than bicycling, riding a motorcycle, and football.8 The United States Equestrian Federation, a governing body over the equestrian sport, endorsed the use of helmets, and in 1964 they began requiring their use in hunter, jumper, and hunter/jumper classes for all ages.9 Furthermore, equestrian youth organizations, 4-H and Pony Club, began requiring the use of helmets for participants in all equine disciplines in their sanctioned events in the 80s.9 However, during this time a barrier to personal protective equipment remained in the horse show circuit despite the shifting paradigm in many equestrian organization. For many breed show participants, though there was an option to wear a helmet, judges reserved the right to markdown those in the show-ring for doing so. Though today it is written in many show regulation handbooks that participants