“Critical thinking” is the process of evaluating the merit and reliability of a stated fact and deciding whether the fact should be accepted or rejected.

In other words, don’t believe everything you read. Be a critical thinker and a critical reader!

In doing some background research for a riding safety article, I came across a 1995 Emergency Radiology journal that stated there were 30 million horseback riders in the United States. Intriguing. Surely the footnote would refer me to a statistical source. Surprisingly, the reference was to another horseback riding injury article in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Report of May 1990. I found that article online, which indeed stated “…an estimated 30 million persons ride horses.” Their reference was a 1987 article in the American Family Physician journal that also stated the 30 million figure but actually referenced a believable source, the American Horse Council’s 1985 Horse Industry Directory. Wanting to see the actual data (30 million is a lot of riders, even in 1985), I have searched but am still trying to find a hard copy to see the actual data!

Referenced facts should lead directly back to their original source