Looking for a medium melton. Not sure if I want frock or regular. My budget is around 300.
Need suggestions and reviews. What do you prefer? Brands, styles, etc. Thanks!
I have a Shire’s tweed coat that I like. It has a nice cut and is correct. I’m not sure what weight the melton the black hunt coat is. They have 2 styles, Clifton and Malborough.
Happy Shopping!
I’ve got the Ovation melton frock which I bought a few years ago and its a heavier weight though I think technically a medium. I think you can still find them though I’ve heard they were discontinued.
LetItBe
I have both a regular coat and a frock coat. Even though the regular coat is a touch heavier, I find myself wearing the frock more when hunting in raw, windy weather. It’s surprising how much of a difference having a little more thigh covered by the coat can make, even with fleece winter breeches.
thanks! So I tried the Shires Marlborough and it fit nicely. Is it easy to keep clean?
A sturdy hunt coat in Melton cloth is incredibly good at keeping out all weather and it will protect against brush and branches and even wire. To look after it, basically dry well after use and then brush off all the mud, horse hair and sweat. I usually do it the next day, once really dry. It is a natural wool fabric, so avoid using harsh chemicals. If you do feel the need to wash off stains, it is better to sponge the coat using a mild soap. Full immersion can cause wool to shrink (unless it is labeled as ‘washable’ and I don’t know if Shires coats are). I ping buttons off for a past time and using waxed thread to sew them on can help.
Out of season, hang in a cupboard with protection against moths!
A great way to help keep buttons from pinging off…place a small button on the back side of the fabric and then sew the two buttons together through the fabric.
Yup, two buttons should work. But I can do two buttons. It is caused by my dismount when I lean too far forward to swing my leg back - PING!
[QUOTE=Willesdon;8298196]
Full immersion can cause wool to shrink (unless it is labeled as ‘washable’ and I don’t know if Shires coats are).[/QUOTE]
So what do you do if your horse launches off the bank into the rain-swollen river instead of going carefully down as you were intending and so ends up falling over into the river-bottom pit you knew was there and were trying to avoid, leading you to basically take a swim and get fully soaked? That happened to me and yes, unfortunately my favorite heavy wool Melton (much needed in this part of the country) did end up shrinking a bit. So now I am wondering 1) what if anything I could have done at the time to prevent it from shrinking in the first place; and 2) is there anything I can do at this late time (this was a couple years ago) to stretch it back out? I loved that coat but Dover discontinued it many years back now. 
Sadly, in my limited and inexpert experience, once wool has shrunk that is it.
Continuing to wear it whilst it is wet and then drying the coat very slowly might have preventative powers…
How about contacting these people for advice since they deal with older fabrics http://www.huntingvintage.co.uk/ (aside from that, the site has lovely photos).
or http://huntingstockmarket.co.uk/shop/Ladies_Hunt_Coats_and_Tweed_Riding_Jackets/14.aspx
Thx, Willesdon, for the info! (Unfortunately since it was 26 degrees out and I had to make it back to the truck and trailer to wait for my ride to finish hunting, keeping wearing the coat was not an option at the time! So… at least I can attest for the record that getting it wet and not doing anything does result in shrinkage! 
)
At least the coat had an adventurous life and an honorable death…
