Buying a Riding Hat for a Toddler

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Joss

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Have any of you any words of advise on this? My 2 & half yr old God-daughter (my OH's Niece!!) is getting increasingly keen. She just sits on my old pony who is really retired now he is over 30. We lead her around the yard & up the drive to the house. Only in walk on a mega safe pony but I really do think she should have a hat.

Our nearest saddlery shop is over an hour & half away so do you think I could get one on the internet? Should I measure her head & get the absolute correct fit or go for slightly big & line it with kitchen roll? How quick do their heads grow? Any idea? What have you done with your children?
 
No personal experience but I know through friends you can get adjustable hats for little ones. They are a normal jockey skull but have a harness inside you can alter as childs head grows.
 
I have one that is 52cm that I bought for a wee girl who sometimes sits on my pony, it is way too small for her and because of Christmas post I didn't chance sending it back if that's any good for you. It's BNWT, black velvet, never been worn other than perched on the top of her head to try on, let me know if you are interested.
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when my son was 2 1/2 and started riding he had such a big head he wore my hat which fit him perfectly. I think for a child though I would definitely get it measured correctly and buy it from a shop. I would always worry about the post office lobbing it across the room. I would have thought if you buy a non fitting one and line it with something it is not going to be as safe should she ever need it for a hard thump.
 
The only one we could find to fit my son who was 3 at the time was a charles owen one - smallest size they do is 00 (51). Personally I would go and get measured rather than get something that doesnt fit very well its all too easy to wobble off!
 
Go have a look on the Mark Davis Injured Riders website, because their advice is really good, and although I haven't been on there for a while so you need to check, I think basically they say this -

It is thought that the neck muscles of younger children are not strong enough to support a heavy riding hat and they recommend using a bicycle helmet. Bike hats are much lighter and yet are still made to very high standards (ie need to withstand car impact level).

I think the Pony Club and BHS do not recommend bike hats because of the air vents, along the lines that a twig or branch could poke through and kill a child. However I believe there is as yet no evidence to suggest it is a likely injury.

It would save you time and also be a sensible option but do please check that I am up to date (would look it all up myself but cooking sunday roast
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It is definitely worth having one properly fitted. I found my daughter's head didn't grow that quickly and she got two or three years worth out of her first hat.
 
I took my little ones to my local feed/saddlery shop and tried the various hats on them to find one that fitted well. My little girl who is 2 1/2 now but been riding since before her 2nd birthday also has a body protector. Best to be safe with such little riders as their balance isn't that good. TGM is right heads don't grow that quickly so likely to get a lot of use out of a hat so a very worthwhile investment and something that will fit them for longer than 2 mins!
 
I brought a riding hat about a year ago because I wanted one for our tack room for any little person who wanted to come along ang have a sit on one of our ponies. The one I got was like a bicycle helmet, very light weight so it wasn't too heavy for their heads and it had a dial on the back on the inside. It's really handy because it fits most small heads and it just means there is always something they can wear to be safe!.
 
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