I was on a trail ride with my dog, riding the gravel back-roads near my home. As we were approaching a paved county road my horse became progressively more agitated.
He reared and I came off, but my foot got caught in the stirrup briefly. I hit head and shoulders first. I was dizzy for a moment, but my helmet saved my head and I was able to get up, catch my horse, and ride home. Later, I found out that I had chipped my ankle as my foot twisted and caught in the stirrup.
Six weeks later I was riding those same roads on a very windy day. My horse was spooking at every blowing bush as we rode through the woods. I foolishly allowed him to gallop when we were almost home. He spooked and I slid half off. My struggle to stay on further upset him and he began to buck. I again landed on my head, this time suffering a concussion. I hate to think what would have happened had I not been wearing a helmet.
I'm going to purchase a new Troxel helmet before I ride the trails again, although my old one still looks pretty good. I'm also going to do alot of training with this horse before we go out on trails again. Thank you, Troxel, for making the helmet that saved my head!