Riding hat fittings

McNally

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24 February 2009
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My daughter complains of head aches and that her hat feels wrong when she's riding. It was fitted and is about a year old, Of course she will have grown a fair amount over a year so i figured it was just too small. We had a hard time finding this one that fitted (apparently she has an oddly shaped head!)
So i took her to the only place locally i know of now that fits hats and nothing they had fitted properly either.
The lovely fitter then checked my daughters own hat and in her opinion it was the only one tried that actually fitted. She said if that one was one on her shelf its the hat she'd be recommending.
Bit lost now!- I dont know of any other place that does fitting and if they say the current hat is a perfect fit anyway.....what do you think?
 
My daughter is similar with a large odd-shaped head meaning not a lot of hats fit. Recently she'd been complaining hat was too small and headaches, however we went back to the tack shop and the fitter said it was the right size, however she needs to put the hat on correctly ie lower forehead into it then let the back drop over. By plonking it centrally on top of the head and pressing down, she's pulling her hair tight and it's also not going on properly due to the head shape. Have to say she admits it fits much better when put on as advised. Hat fitter let her try next size hat on and it was huge and quite loose - when put on correctly.
 
The padding in her existing hat has probably moulded to her head, that's why it fits the best.

My hat used to give me a headache after wearing it for an hour, and long hacks just weren't fun anymore so I can sympathise with your daughter. I ripped out the lining and changed the padding in it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend you do that. Not least because you lose the safety kitemarks.

Tack shops usually only stock a small range, so it's worth going to a different shop to try. Some hats are adjustable, and some you can add and removing padding e.g. at the sides or front/back to adjust the fit.
 
If your getting head aches from your hat, something isn't right. Normally it's because there is not enough room at your temples which you should be able to fit your thumb up on each side with a gap allowing u to do this. If you can't the head does not fit and you will get head aches due to your temples filling with blood when you get active and no room to allow this hence the head aches.
 
Look on the PRO Tector site. You can have them made to measure. They send out a kit to you so you can measure your head accurately. A livery on my yard did it and has never had such a good fit. Really safe hats too
 
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