Helmets
Troxel Spirit Helmet Review: A Season of Ozark Trail Rides
Eighty rides, one Arkansas summer, and a plain answer to the question my friend Bonnie asked me in March.
I rode in a felt hat for fifty years. One deer on a gravel road in March changed my mind, and it was not even a bad fall.
Eighty rides, one Arkansas summer, and a plain answer to the question my friend Bonnie asked me in March.
One of these is on my head for every ride. The other one belongs to my friend Bonnie. Here is the honest split, including the part where hers wins.
I rode in a felt cowboy hat for thirty years. One deer on a gravel road changed my mind, and about eighty rides later I still put the helmet on every single time.
I rode in a felt hat for fifty years. One deer on a gravel road in March changed my mind, and it was not even a bad fall.
Forty years in a felt hat, one fall in March, and a tape measure out of the sewing box. Here is the five-step fit I use on my own Troxel Spirit before every ride.
Seven months, about eighty rides, and one fall that was not the helmet's fault. What the listing does not tell you, and what decided it for me.
Five and a half months of daily turnout on one horse with sensitive ears. What fit, what held up, and the two things I would change.
One of these I wore out for a full season on my own horse. The other I have never owned, so I will tell you plainly what the listing and two riding friends say, and where it beats mine.
Ten plain reasons from a trail rider who watched one mask go a full Arkansas fly season on one horse, and what she would do differently.
One fly season, one mask, and a gelding who stopped shaking his head at the gate.
A measurement, a size chart, and five steps that decide whether a fly mask stays on your horse's head all summer or spends July hanging off one ear.
One full fly season on a hard-sweating Quarter Horse, told straight: the ears stayed whole, the fleece flattened, and the sizing is the part that decides everything.
Five months of daily grooming on one sweaty Quarter Horse, and the honest tally of what held up, what I reach for, and what I would change.
Five months of daily use on one Quarter Horse, plus an honest read of what the thirteen-piece kit actually promises.
Five months with one grooming tote on a hook by the barn door, and what it changed about the horse I bring to the trailhead.
Five months, one horse, and a hook just inside the barn door.
Ten unhurried minutes in the barn aisle beats twenty minutes of fixing it at the trailhead. Here is the order I use, and the reason for each step.
Five months, one horse, five washings, and an honest count of what actually comes in the bag.
Two years of daily handling on one Quarter Horse gelding: what held up, what flattened, and the two things I would change.
Two years on one horse with a padded nylon halter, and an honest look at what a rope halter does better.
Two years of daily handling on one gelding, and the cheap halters are the ones I stopped buying.
Ten years of November halter replacements ended in 2024. Notes on two years with one padded nylon halter on a Quarter Horse gelding.
Two fingers under the noseband, a flat hand under the throatlatch, and a knot you can undo with cold hands. The fit takes about ninety seconds once you know what you are feeling for.
Two years on one halter, one 1,050 pound Quarter Horse, and a plain account of what held up, what went flat, and the two things that still annoy me.
I bought one pair a year ago to stop the blisters I got between my fingers on long rides. Here is what a full year of trail miles did to them.
A year in the Heritage Performance Gloves, and a hard look at the Finger Ten pair a riding friend uses, compared on the lines that actually matter on a trail.
Ten plain reasons a trail rider keeps a pair of gloves on the saddle horn, from a woman who rode bare-handed for thirty years first.
A year of trail miles, one pair of gloves, and the blister that finally made me stop riding bare-handed.
A year of trial and error on Ozarks gravel roads, the pair of gloves that finally fixed it, and the handful of habits that keep the raw spots from coming back.
A year of trail miles on one pair of riding gloves, and the plain truth about what they fixed, what they did not, and who should keep shopping.
Eighty rides, one Arkansas summer, and a plain answer to the question my friend Bonnie asked me in March.
Seven months, about eighty rides, and one fall that was not the helmet's fault. What the listing does not tell you, and what decided it for me.
Five and a half months of daily turnout on one horse with sensitive ears. What fit, what held up, and the two things I would change.
One full fly season on a hard-sweating Quarter Horse, told straight: the ears stayed whole, the fleece flattened, and the sizing is the part that decides everything.
Five months of daily grooming on one sweaty Quarter Horse, and the honest tally of what held up, what I reach for, and what I would change.
Five months, one horse, five washings, and an honest count of what actually comes in the bag.
Two years of daily handling on one Quarter Horse gelding: what held up, what flattened, and the two things I would change.
Two years on one halter, one 1,050 pound Quarter Horse, and a plain account of what held up, what went flat, and the two things that still annoy me.
I bought one pair a year ago to stop the blisters I got between my fingers on long rides. Here is what a full year of trail miles did to them.
A year of trail miles on one pair of riding gloves, and the plain truth about what they fixed, what they did not, and who should keep shopping.