Helmet CPR

Of all of the things I am hard on - boots, breeches, riding tops ... my helmet is not one of them. I take good care of my helmets - all four of them, and they last a long time. (Yes, I know helmets have an expiration date, but none of them are there yet.) Three of them live in my trailer in helmet bags and are reserved for shows, clinics, and away from home lessons. I never set those helmets on the ground or even place them in a situation where they might hit the dirt. Also, Izzy is NOT allowed to nuzzle my head while wearing any of those three helmets.

Burgundy show helmet.

The fourth helmet is strictly for schooling. While I take good care of it, it looks like a school helmet. It's been bashed by tree branches - I do some occasional trail riding, sweat in profusely, crunched on by Izzy - he calls it nuzzling, and baked in the Bakersfield sun. Even with all of that, I do wipe it off when it gets too grungy, and I hand wash the liner. I also lay it on a shelf when not in use so that the harness doesn't get stretched out. Recently, I've noticed that the little pad that covers the chin strap has begun to fall apart. Scratch that; it FELL apart.

Split down the middle.

Helmets are expensive, so there was no way I was buying a new helmet just because the little comfort pad had worn thin. After living with it for several weeks dangling and being rather uncomfortable, I finally took the time to dig out an old helmet with the intention of cannibalizing the chin strap covering. To my surprise, my fifth helmet, one that lives in storage - who knows how many I actually own?, actually had a chin strap covering in better shape than the one I was currently using. I stripped it off the old helmet and applied it to my schooling helmet.

Funky but serviceable.

While the new chin strap pad works just fine, it is rather funky. Who knows how old it is. I sat down over the weekend and did a five minute Google search for a replacement. Had I looked a bit longer, I might have found one designed specifically for equestrian helmets, but as it was, I found something on Amazon that was super cheap that should arrive tomorrow - fair warning, you get what you pay for. 

I am ended up finding a four-pack of chin padding for bicycle helmets for $5.99. I took a screen shot of the pads in red so that you can see them, but I ordered mine in black so that you won't see it when it's on. Will they work? I don't know, but for six bucks I was willing to give them a try.

Since I was buying something so ridiculously cheap, I threw in a set of Dr. Scholls inserts for my new boots (which I still haven't worn - my old ones JUST WILL NOT DIE) and a set of 60 CC catheter syringes. Izzy needs some oral doses of GastroElm, but all of my syringes are broken. 

Is it sad that it's the little things that float my boat? I can't help it if resourcefulness runs in my family. My parents are the same way; they won't throw out anything useful either. You just never know when something might come in handy.

Hey! Is that the UPS truck I hear? Excuse me while I check for a package.