(gentle music)
- Welcome, today, we're gonna be talking
about horse riding gear and equipment.
You can see I've got a lot of it put out around me here,
and this is a very vast topic
which can range greatly
depending on what discipline you're in
and what your personal goals are.
So today I'm gonna be doing
part one of a two-part video series.
Part one is gonna be all about us as the rider.
And I'm gonna be talking about the three things
that I find most important when looking for gear.
The first thing is the function of that gear.
The second thing is our safety with it.
And lastly, is the comfort of it.
So let's get started.
The first piece of equipment that's essential to own
no matter what discipline you ride in is a helmet.
A helmet's main function is to protect your brain
in the case of a fall.
Now, helmets can range greatly into different styles.
There's a lot of beautiful styles out there,
different colors you can get them in
and they can go from very expensive to very inexpensive.
When it comes to finding the right helmet for you
it's important to note that every brand
fits you a little bit differently.
So try on some different brands.
And it's also important to know
that helmets come in oval and in round shapes.
So you want to know the shape of your head,
and if you're having trouble fitting your helmet,
you have to make sure it fits as well so it's functional.
You can consult with someone at your local tack store
that can help you out in fitting it,
or there's a lot of great information online
in how to fit your helmet.
So when it comes to owning a helmet,
if you already have one,
these have a lifespan of around four to five years
before the foam inside of them starts breaking down
and makes them less effective in the case of a fall.
So you always want to replace your helmet
every four to five years.
Lastly, if you have ever taken a bad fall
where you've hit your head,
or you've dropped your helmet on a hard surface,
you want to replace it
because there could be some interior cracking
even if you don't see anything visibly on the outside.
The next piece of equipment
that is important for us as riders is long pants.
We could wear jeans or breeches.
Long pants protect the rider's legs
against chafing or rubbing on the side of the horse.
So these are essential piece of equipment
for the comfort of the rider.
Now, you could wear jeans,
which are common in the Western industry.
I wore these for years and still ride in them,
but I prefer to wear breeches.
I enjoy wearing breeches
because there are a lot like yoga pants.
And I wear yoga pants when I'm not riding my horses.
I think they're so comfortable
and breeches feel a lot like them.
My favorite type of breeches is Kerrits.
I feel like these fit me really well.
I'm not sponsored by them, but they're so comfortable to me.
And they've got a little bit of rubber on the insides
to give me some extra grip.
Breeches are common in the English disciplines.
So next let's talk about what type of footwear we need
when we're riding our horses.
Here are some area boots.
These are really comfortable for hiking in.
I really enjoy hiking in these.
They do have a little bit of a heel on them,
so I could ride in these boots,
but they don't protect my ankles.
So, a better type of boot to wear would be these boots.
These are Western style boot,
and you can see how they've got a nice heel on them,
which prevents my foot from sliding through the stirrup.
They're well above my ankle to protect the side of my ankle
from any rubbing that may occur.
And these Western style boots tend to be
a little bit shorter
because in a Western saddle, you have the fender,
which is this part of the saddle,
and it protects your calf and your leg
from the sweat in here, and from your leg rubbing
against the side of the horse.
This is different from an English discipline
where we have higher boots.
The reason we have high boots and an English discipline
is because we have thin stirrup leathers.
So there's not as much protection
from our leg against the side of the horse.
So longer boots protect our calf
from the sweat and the hair rubbing against our calf.
And they also offer us a little bit more grip.
So when it comes to tall boots, these are dress boots,
which are common in dressage.
There's also field boots,
which are common in jumping.
And many people prefer to wear paddock boots
with half chaps.
This is a really affordable option, easy to maintain,
and a lot of people will hack around in these
when they're riding every day.
So, like always with equipment,
if you are planning on competing your horse,
you want to check what the rules are
for the specific competition you're entering,
and make sure you're wearing boots or equipment
that is suitable for that competition.
The next piece of equipment
that we're gonna talk about are gloves.
Gloves are not a necessary piece of equipment
when it comes to riding, but they can be useful.
And their purpose when we ride is to help us
have a little more grip on the reins
and to be able to offer us a little bit more comfort
when we're holding the reins.
So there's different types of gloves for different seasons.
Here, I have some gloves that I like wearing in the spring,
right now.
And in the fall, these have a little bit
of lining on the inside and could keep my hands
a little bit warmer and are nice and comfortable.
Next, I've got some summer gloves here.
These have holes throughout them.
So they're very breathable on those hot summer days
and can give my hands a little more traction
if they're a little bit sweaty on the reins.
And then lastly, we've got some nice winter gloves here.
These are essential for me.
We have some really cold days here in Ohio.
So having these nice warm gloves
really make all the difference
in my comfort level when riding.
The next piece of equipment that we can have
when riding our horses is a vest.
Not of us like this, but a safety vest.
We commonly see safety vests in sports, like eventing,
but safety vests are becoming more popular
for the everyday rider.
And there's a lot of innovations that are happening
with safety vests over the last few years.
People are now making safety vest
to be lighter weight than they ever were before.
They can actually even fit underneath your show jacket
and they're making them inflatable,
so when you fall off they inflate and protect areas
that we commonly injure when we fall off horses,
like our low back, and our chest and shoulder areas.
So safety vests are something that I currently don't own.
But I'm interested in getting,
and I'll give you guys an update
when I end up purchasing them.
But when it comes to riding our horses,
we're always looking at how to be safer,
how to be more effective in our riding,
and safety vests can be a wonderful addition
if you are looking to be a little bit safer in your ride.
I'll leave some links down below for some articles,
talking more about safety vests.
And I'll also leave some links
about fitting your helmet correctly
if you are new to riding and interested in that topic.
The next video,
we're gonna be talking about equipment for our horse,
and I'm gonna be covering some reasons
why I use that equipment
and going into a little bit more detail.
If you guys enjoyed this video, you can like and subscribe,
and I'll see you in the next video.
(upbeat music)