Horseback Riding 101

Lesson 2: Basic Rider Equipment for Safe Riding

Proper equipment for adult riders

Approved helmet Jodhpurs Paddock boots Cotton pimple-palm gloves (summer), knitted pimple-palm gloves or thin leather gloves (plain or Thinsulate-line) for winter Acceptable winter outerwear Acceptable warm weather tops For girls with long hair: scrunchies

Does this look awfully similar to the juniors list? It is, and it should be. For adults, there are just a couple of additions and changes.

While juniors can show in paddock boots and jodhpurs, adults must show in tall boots and breeches, although they can train in jods and paddock boots.

And there are some other glove styles adults might consider, notably the gloves with leather palms and string backs, very useful for late winter/early spring and late fall/early winter in temperate climates. Plus, they are quite popular for field hunting, if that’s the way you want to go eventually.

As mentioned above, adult women with medium or long hair MUST put it up in a hairnet under the helmet when they are in horse show. But for lessons and hacking (just riding, in English parlance), securing it with a scrunchie or putting it in a French braid is just fine.

A few words about tall boots

As you begin, you will probably ride in jods and paddock boots. That’s fine. But eventually, especially if you want to show someday or ride with a hunt, you’ll need to get used to tall boots. Many riders, once they’ve experienced a ride in tall boots, never ride any other way again, except maybe the odd bareback ride in sneakers in the summer. Tall boots help your leg position stabilize, and they protect your leg from leather burns as you go through a period of putting a lot of pressure on the stirrup leathers that lay against the tender inside part of your calf. They give a little more ‘sticking’ power because of the leather-to-leather, saddle flap to boot.

Tall boots come in two styles, field boots and dress boots. Of the two, most hunt seat riders prefer field boots. They are easier to get on than dress boots, for one thing, because the lacing right above the instep can be undone to allow a foot with a higher arch to enter the slender boots more easily. And there’s that ‘look’ thing. Over the years, it has become traditional that hunt seat riders wear field boots, except when they move on to Open Jumpers, which means 5-foot fences…so that will take a while. And dressage riders wear dress boots although, at the lower levels of dressage, field boots are acceptable. So there it is: for the next several years of your riding, at the very least, a pair of field boots is your better choice. (Fashion hint: They also make long feet look smaller!)

The American Horse Shows Association rule book says that for shows, boots can be brown or black. In the past 20 years, I have seen exactly ONE pair of brown field boots in an arena at a show in the hunter ring. You can scarcely find them, except in custom-made boots. As a beginner, don’t invest in custom boots. They cost $700, minimum. While they will last 20 years, your leg and foot may change as you gain more muscle tone. And you may want a different toe style and what not as you go on. So get off-the-rack tall boots. And get black.

Tall boots have both a foot size and a calf size. Go to the tack shop for your first pair, rather than ordering by mail, so you can be measured and taught how to properly put the boots on. (Putting them on requires boot pulls, which you will buy at the same time as the boots.) Getting them off requires either a very willing, very strong person who doesn’t mind grabbing the filthy bottom of your boots—after all, they may have MUCK on them—or a bootjack. Buy the bootjack.)

Also buy some Horseman’s One-Step and a bunch of big, puffy Band-Aids. Properly fitted off-the-rack tall boots will hurt like mad until they are broken in (just live with it!) But you can help the breaking in period a lot by slathering One-Step inside and out especially at the ankle, where the stiff new boots will eventually fold, and along the top back edge, inside and out. The boots will bite into the tender part of your leg above the knee at first. So apply those Band-Aids where they hit until they soften up and drop, which they will. Apply the One-Step and set the boots in the sun. Then, while they’re softened up, put them on and wear them around the house for a while. Do this a few times before you decide to actually ride in them. And tell your instructor you’ve got new boots on so he or she will go easy on you as it is a slightly different feel than ‘bare’ legs if you’ve ridden in paddocks and jods for a while.

Eyeglasses and contacts

It should go without saying that you want safety glass in your eyeglasses—or even non-prescription sunglasses—for riding. Some people like to use contact lenses for riding in the winter, especially, as glasses can fog up from the heat generated by a hard-working rider in cold air.

And, while there certainly are blind riders—in fact, the man who invented modern show-jumping was a British officer who had been blinded in World War I, and he invented the modern show jumping course AFTER he was blinded—your eyes are supremely useful in learning how to ride. Where your eyes are looking is where your horse is going to go. Your own body language will follow your eyes. Plus the direction of your eyes will influence the direction of your head, and its position. As your head weighs about 20 pounds, that’s enough to influence the horse, as well. He can feel it if you are looking down, up, ahead, or to one side, and he will automatically try to go in the direction of your gaze. To a point. But every little bit helps. So do what you have to do to make sure your eyewear is comfortable for you and appropriate and lets you see what you need to see.

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