THE likelihood of jockeys being forthcoming about the full extent of their injuries is slim, so the least we can do is try to protect them. While researching head injuries for a recent article, I came across a study about helmets titled: “Do equestrian helmets prevent concussion?” Before reading the study, my answer to that question would have been an obvious ‘yes’, but the results were eye-opening.

For this study, 216 helmets were collected – 176 from amateur jockeys and 40 helmets from professional jockeys, following falls, the damage to each helmet was recorded, along with each rider’s injury. The study shows 139 of the jockeys reported a head injury, but if we cast our minds back to my June 9th article on head injuries, that number is likely to be an understatement.

The head injuries consisted of 126 concussions, six skull fractures, one subdural hematoma (a type of bleed on the brain), one cerebral edema (a build-up of extra fluid in the brain) and five diffuse axonal injuries (a type of traumatic brain injury). Only 75 helmets came back damaged.

Other than the thick layer of mud that was cemented to the front of my helmet last January, there weren’t any other visible signs that I’d taken a fall. If I didn’t know better, I’d probably have carried on using it.

A short lesson in physics

In an effort to find out more about the mechanics of helmet safety, I contacted the Charles Owen team, who supply helmets that are commonly used by jockeys. They were kind enough to set up a call for me with Matt Stewart, head of innovation and testing, and Becci Flanagan, marketing executive, and they let me rack their brains about helmet mechanics for an hour.

In a funny coincidence, Matt was actually part of the study mentioned above which led me to writing this article. Matt and Becci showed me a PowerPoint presentation explaining the mechanics behind helmet safety, testing procedures, and helmet standards and their meanings. They also showed me the results of surveys that Matt regularly carries out. In a nutshell, helmet standards depend on the type of testing they go through. Matt told me: “The aim of the helmet is to slow your brain down when you fall. It’s also lengthening the impact time. If your bare skull was to hit a hard surface, your impact time would be very short and very severe and your brain will accelerate too much.”

More physics

After my fall, a doctor explained to me that it wasn’t the surface I fell onto, or the way I had landed, that caused my injuries, but rather the speed I was going when I fell, so I had some questions for Matt about this.

In the videos that he had showed me of helmets being tested, they weren’t being launched out of cannons at 40mph, they were stationary with big metal anvils being dropped onto them, so I was unsure of how realistic these testing standards were for jockeys.

Trying his best to explain this in English rather than giving me a lesson in physics, Matt told me: “It’s a function of a few things. The ground can absorb some of the energy depending on how hard it is, but the speed is actually based on the height you are falling from.

“It doesn’t matter how fast you’re going horizontally; it matters where you’re falling from in terms of height and that will always remain the same whether you’re still or travelling at speed. You’ll hit the ground at the same velocity. We drop anvils onto the helmets travelling at six metres per second, as that is the most extreme of the common velocities for horse falls. We have to test for the extreme.”

Wait, there’s more?

If the risk of dementia and other psychological symptoms related to head injuries and repeated concussions wasn’t enough to make you think about replacing your helmet, one of Matt’s studies also shows the correlation between concussions and depression.

Matt certainly wasn’t pioneering this idea; you can search on Google Scholar and find a number of publications that will back up his findings. The results are significant. Matt showed me a graph displaying results from one of hs surveys: “We found that those people who were concussed, their mean depression score increased. We can expand this further with mild, moderate and severe concussions, showing that the severity of your brain injury can affect your mental health. Of the people who have had concussion from a horse fall, 58% have had a form of depression afterwards.”

FOR your convenience (and my own curiosity), I had a look at the helmet standards of a few different brands and models. On the IHRB website, it says that helmets must have one of the following standards to be allowed use in a race: PAS015:2011, SNELL E2016, VG1 01.040 2014-12, UTAC/CRITT 04/2015.

KEP Italia helmets are certified to VG1 01.040 2014-12, ASTM F1163-23and ISO 9001:2015, but I was unable to find out from their website if every model was tested to these standards or if it depended on the helmet. Seems a little strange considering every other brand has it listed right next to each helmet.

Champion helmet standards varied depending on the model, but it was very easy to find on their website. The REVOLVE X-Air Nova Mips® Jockey Helmet has four standards; British PAS 015 2011, VG1 01.040 2014-12, ASTM F1163-15 and British Kitemarked to PAS015 2011, while the Pro-Lite Deluxe Jockey Skull has three; British PAS 015 2011, VG1 01.040 2014-12 and British Kitemarked to PAS015 2011.

Charles Owen’s MS1 Pro with Mips is tested to SEI certification ASTM F1163-15, Kitemarked to VG1 01-040 2014-12 and PAS015:2011, and a CE mark to VG1 01-040 2014-12 while their Race II has PAS015:2011 and VG1 01-040 2014-12.

The LAS JC Star and JC Pro are both tested to VG1 040 2014-12 and ASTM F1163-2015.

UOF helmets which I hadn’t heard of until recently are tested to CE VG1 01.040 2014-12 and PAS 015: 2011, European and British standards.

If that’s all a bunch of gibberish to you, you’re not alone. To summarise, helmets that are tested to the most standards are going to be more protective. So, out of the helmets that I mentioned above, the REVOLVE X-Air Nova Mips® Jockey Helmet from Champion has been through the most testing.

OF the helmets you see used by jockeys, each brand is quite different in terms of thickness and the types of lining they use. I wanted to know what role the different materials played in the energy absorption of an impact. This energy absorption is the only thing that can help with stopping your brain rattling around inside your skull when you hit the ground.

For example, the helmet that I was using last year when I fell is designed to break upon impact to disperse the energy. However, the ground wasn’t hard enough for this to happen and well... you can guess how that ended. I’m not saying that is the defining reason for my injuries, but had I known about the mechanisms before purchasing, I might have looked elsewhere for a new helmet.

Matt showed me a halved skull cap with a fibreglass shell, foam block and an EPS liner.

“The hard exterior of the shell helps to expel forces from sharp things like kerbstones, hooves and rocks. It helps to dissipate the energy. The EPS liner does most of the energy absorption. If you fall onto flat ground the EPS liner does all of the work, whereas the shell won’t do much.”

EPS, or expanded polystyrene, is a crushable foam a bit like styrofoam, but is of a much higher quality than the EPS used in disposable crockery.

Rotational motion

Another important layer of protection to know about is Mips (Multi-directional Impact Protection System). This aims to aid in preventing injury from certain angled impacts and to reduce rotational force to the head.

Rotational motion is the result of the brain continuing to move or stretch after your head has come to a quick and sudden stop following an angled impact, like falling off a horse. It can also be caused by impact to the shoulder that leads to movement of your head. I don’t know many jockeys that haven’t broken a collarbone or two so this liner would come in handy.

Rotational motion can cause shearing and/or stretching of brain tissue and increases the risk of brain injuries. The technology was developed in Sweden in 1996, so it’s been around for a while. Makes me wonder why only two of the helmets that I mentioned above actually have it.

FOLLOWING a fall on the track, all helmets are checked and those which are damaged are removed. But, as James O’Sullivan mentioned in my last article, it’s much harder to manage this if someone takes a fall at home or at work, and they are likely to keep riding out with a broken helmet.

Even I’m guilty of this, I would say we all are. Helmets are only manufactured and designed for one use.

You wouldn’t carry on using the same single-use paper coffee cup you picked up at your local service station for years. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, why are you still using faulty safety equipment?

Licensed jockeys have absolutely no excuse either. The IHRB (Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board) offer a subsidy when you are purchasing a new helmet if you hit your head wearing your last one and I’m sure the valets in the weigh room would be more than happy to ensure that jockeys have a properly-fitted helmet.

Matt’s final piece of advice, that he’d urge all equestrians to listen to is: “What value can you put on being off for a week versus being off for a year? What does the price of your helmet matter when you’ve been out of work for a year? Replace your helmet because you can’t replace your head.”