Why do people wear their silk pushed back on a skull cap ??

[Honey08]

You ask "why would it block vision" .The answer is that the further forward you lean ,the further back you have to tilt your head in order to see . Therefore if you can see the peak of your silk ,it is blocking your vision.

Yes of the sky!

I simply tilt my head so I'm looking ahead, it doesn't make a difference to me wherever I'm looking. Even if hanging off sideways!!

I can see the logic for racing when they have their bums up in the air and are looking uphill, so to speak.

 

[Mike007]

If you tilt your head ,you alter your balance .The ligaments and tendons in your neck are connected down in your back and shoulders. The head is 15 % of your bodyweight and the horse can certainly sense the movement . It seems rather pointless to me to put the silk so far forwards that the peak can interfere with vision.

 

[Dave's Mam]

I don't event. I hack.

 

[Dave's Mam]

I know this Mike, but saying my silk angle "Screams Beginner" is a shade insulting.

 

[Honey08]

You can not possibly ride at varying angles without tilting your head. You have to look ahead.. A silk doesn't alter your vision, it's not a baseball cap down over your eyes.. It's just to stop the sun getting in your eyes.

I think it's more down to style of hats and manufacturers wanting their logo on view (and those that paid a lot for expensive hats wanting to make that known, as someone admitted earlier).

It won't make a difference to your riding either way.

 

[sasquatch]

Mine sits back as that's the way the silk is made fits fine but rides up slightly.
It's the one that came with my hat, so I'm guessing it's just how it's made.
I SJ, not event, and needed a replacement hat which is why I have what I have now.

Hat doesn't scream beginner and 'all gear', however I'm pretty sure horses behaviour does at times!

 

[Mike007]

I know this Mike, but saying my silk angle "Screams Beginner" is a shade insulting.

I said "right over the hat" actually . And yes,when I see that ,that is what I think. Do you really ride with it below the lower edge of the hat? Seriously?

 

[brighteyes]

Here's me thinking it was started by the pro's advertising the make of hat they had likely been provided to ride in. And copied by the monkey see monkey do brigade.

 

[Notimetoride]

brightinsel - that does seem quite feasible doesnt it. Hmm, Id never thought of that but yes, the top riders do all have sponsors dont they - i see many with 'Toggi' written on the leg of their breeches and various other brands all over their attire. Interesting . . . .

 

[Scarlett]

Here's me thinking it was started by the pro's advertising the make of hat they had likely been provided to ride in. And copied by the monkey see monkey do brigade.

Pro riders and jockeys have been doing it since long before sponsorships and logos on hats.

 

[seejay]

You sit upright when sjing, you ride two-point when xc eventing.

So does everyone who hunts, all in peaked hats or peaked hat covers.

 

[seejay]

If you tilt your head ,you alter your balance .The ligaments and tendons in your neck are connected down in your back and shoulders. The head is 15 % of your bodyweight and the horse can certainly sense the movement . It seems rather pointless to me to put the silk so far forwards that the peak can interfere with vision.

That's because it doesn't, unless you are riding along looking at the sky. Everything a rider needs to see is in front of them or below them. And of course sitting it right back on the hat ruins the whole point of having a peak at all - to stop you from being blinded by the sun or by driving rain.

 

[SPSP]

I said "right over the hat" actually . And yes,when I see that ,that is what I think. Do you really ride with it below the lower edge of the hat? Seriously?

Don't want to cause an argument, but please don't offend others in this way. Since when did it actually matter how some wears their silk- if it works for them then fine. I appreciate that you're entitled to your own views but don't start attacking other people because of it. Personally, when I watch someone ride I would much rather look at how horse and rider are actually performing rather than look to their hat silk and assume that they don't have a clue what they're doing. Get over it!

 

[On the Hoof]

We'll I'm a novice and I've got all the gear .. By that I mean a good quality hat .. Gatehouse.. Cos I value my brains, BP cos I value my body, hi viz cos I value my life.. The rest is old clothes and cheap jods. I've still got no idea!lol so why do I wear silk tilted back... Cos It keeps slipping back and no other reason . I would be mortified if I heard someone talking about me as someone with all the gear etc just because of my bloody hat silk!

 

[RunToEarth]

So does everyone who hunts, all in peaked hats or peaked hat covers.

I've managed to jump all kind of things out hunting in a fixed peak hunt cap and not upset ligaments in my neck/head/eyebrow.

I exercise with my skull silk half way up my hat because it looks better than pulling it down - and I am much less likely to go hedge hunting out hacking - even with that better vision...

 

[Tobiano]

Hehe never knew there could be such controversy! I am always trying to pull my silk down to keep the sun out of my eyes but it springs back up again. I have a silver hs-1 which is fab for comfort and safety but makes me look like a martian!
And if it was only my kit that made me look like a beginner i would be delighted!

 

[JFTDWS]

I wear mine up because I used to have a silk that was dramatically too small (ill thought out purchase!) and it only fitted halfway down. I'm now in the habit of it, even though that silk has long since died.

That said, I do find the peaks interfere with my vision when pulled down low - not block it, just sometimes encroach on it in an irritating and distracting fashion. But I'm quite obsessive about peaks generally - baseball caps have to be curved and fit just right so they don't annoy me!

 

[Kat]

I am totally unable to find a silk to fit my skull cap properly so mine isn't so much pushed back as perched on top. I'm certainly not showing off a posh skull cap as it is a cheap and cheerful champion junior jockey skull! I'd love to be able to pull it down more.

 

[katherine1975]

I always thought people were showing off the make of their hats. Then I bought a new hat as I needed one and none of the silks go over the whole hat, so I was wrong!

 

[AandK]

Both my new hat (CO J3) and my old one (ProTector) came with silks, which don't go all the way down. It's just how they come these days, hardly something to look down on someone about really...

 

[lucemoose]

You look like a tool if you ride with it down imo,and it flops about pathetically as you ride.

 

[Zebedee]

Personally I loathe the way silks are worn with the peak pointing skywards halfway up the hat. I think it looks ridiculous regardless of the makers label on display, BUT it would NEVER even occur to me to make ANY kind of judgement about the rider underneath the hat ,no matter which position the silk was worn in.

 

[MoodyMare101]

I wear mine like this because it is a bit big, but it is elasticated. I pull mine down at the back to keep it on better and although it pulls the peak up, I like it like that otherwise I can see it when I ride and that annoys me

 

[SpringArising]

nothing screams out "beginner" more to me than a silk pulled right down over the hat.

Haha! Truer words were never spoken.

I remember making sure every millimetre of my hat was covered when I first started riding.

 

[SuperH]

I ride with mine right down and have done for the last 30 years. I have to admit it was a struggle to get it down on my HS1 but I've managed it and it is now securely fastened down with my hat cam band. I like it down as I find it useful to shade my eyes from the sun plus it doesn't get blown off. I noticed when I wore my 'santa hat' cover the last couple of weeks that I really missed having the peak in the low sun at this time of year.

I didn't realise that hat silk angle was so controversial!

 

[Dubsie]

My daughter has a large head, and pretty much the only hat she fits is the HS1. Her first was black, with a rough-ish outer surface, and the hat silk would stick to it so with a lot of tugging she could just about pull it right down and it stayed put as it was stretched firmly onto a rough surface. Always a difficult stretch to maintain as hat silks are clearly made for folk with smaller heads. Her second HS1 (because that's the only one they had in her size at the time) is a limited edition silver, the surface is shiny. This means that no matter how hard you try to pull the silk into place it won't quite reach and because the hat is smooth it has nothing to stick to and always pulls back (for hacking she uses an elastic hatband round the hat to hold her florescent silk in place)

 

[LittleRooketRider]

For me its a combination of a) seeing the peak in my field of vision is unbearbly annoying..I have dodgy eyesight so whilst galloping along its just an annoying flappy blob
b) I'm rubbish at putting my hatsilk on so I hook it on the back and then draw it over the top, so it just sits in whatever position it ends up

I've got a standard skullcap with no logo so not fashion for me

 

[turkana]

I tend to have my silk pushed back, not sure why though, just a habit I guess, I use a big elestic band to hold it on.
I must be a beginner though - as I hack out with a hunting whip, to make opening & closing gates easier but when not in use it is shoved down my boot!
I didn't realise I would be judged for doing that!

 

[Sussexbythesea]

You look like a tool if you ride with it down imo,and it flops about pathetically as you ride.

Does this mean I need to swap my lovely new brown velvet hat cover that completely covers my new champion skull cap for everyday riding for one that doesn't fit but doesn't make me look a "tool"? I was pretty chuffed it fit so well after having stupid silks with peaks that flip up and fall off every 5 minutes. I'd rather look like a tool than be one!

 

[Fun Times]

So just to clarify...if I move my silk to further up my hat I will immediately become an awesome rider and no longer be a beginner/tool?? Excellent. That will save me a fortune on trainers fees. And what is required to turn my horse into Valegro? A jaunty rug angle perhaps??