While I'm very openly a snobby tack ho, I am not at all even a little a clothes horse. I buy what's cheapest and wear it til it dies. My very advanced age and lack in interest in a gym membership means that I wear nice-ish breeches, but that's it.I do like to ride in gloves. I use $20 noble outfitters gloves. They last me a decently long time and don't hurt my soul to pay for.
But everyone is different. Are more expensive gloves better? Would Roeckls magically make me close my fingers and hold on to the reins? Do the blisters on your bare hands remind you to sit a little straighter?
I don't know. Teach me about gloves.
Gloves are about the 1 thing I don't splurge on. As long as they're on the thinner side, I'll wear them.
ReplyDeleteI always wear gloves, except riding western with split reins, because there is no actual real contact going on there. I used to just wear whatever cheap gloves, usually crochet something, but then I found Roeckl and I am never, ever going back. They are a perfect fit for my long, skinny fingers and weirdly narrow hands, they are super comfortable and flexible, and the amount of grip is perfect. Totally worth the $50 price tag, IMO, and I can usually get a couple years out of each pair.
ReplyDeleteI have skinny hands with very long fingers which makes finding gloves that fits very difficult. I pretty much have to choose between gloves that fit my palms and are too short for my fingers or gloves that fit my fingers and are super loose in the palm area. I started riding and blew through two pairs of gloves in 10ish months riding twice a week. I broke down and bought a pair of Roeckl (I didn't know anything about them other than they were hella expensive) 2+ years later they are still holding on and I've been riding daily for the last year (sometimes two horses). I don't do anything other than toss them in the wash and hang dry them when they get stinky. Are they on their last legs? Yes, but they have held up so well to my abuse and I doubt I will ever buy another brand again.
ReplyDeleteEven though they run about $40 a pair, Roeckl Chester gloves have changed my life and my riding...for realz. I have a better feel of the reins in these gloves, and they wear like iron. I don't find them to be super hot in the warm weather, and my fingers don't freeze off in the winter. And BONUS! they come in all kinds of fun colors. To me, the $40 per pair is $40 well spent.
ReplyDeleteI ride in Heritage brand because I have the stubby fingered hands of a stereotypical carnival worker... Roeckls look ridiculous hanging off the tips of my fingers.
ReplyDeleteI also like the crochet knit ones. I ride in them basically all year round. That's all I've got. Gloves are gloves. I wear out a pair every few months, so I don't get attached.
I also have and love Noble Outfitters gloves but I will say the BF got me a pair of winter Roeckls for Christmas and they are lovely. They are the thinnest yet warmest winter gloves I have ever owned which is NOT an easy award to win. Chances are I'll be buying a pair of "summer" Roeckls this year because of how much I love my winter ones.
ReplyDeleteI'm completely on the other side of the fence: I hate wearing gloves while riding. I feel like I have so much less sensitivity with the reins (And IMO, if you get blisters while riding sans gloves, something is wrong). Also doing up buckles with gloves is not fun. I'm planning to show recognized shows this year where I need to wear gloves, so I've been trying to get used to riding with gloves, but I do not like it.
ReplyDeleteI have short stubby fingers so finding gloves to fit can be a challenge, but I've found a few good pairs over the years. I always wear gloves in the winter for catching my horse, grooming etc. but I always take them off for tacking up and actually riding, even in the unheated arena in an Alberta winter.
I'm super picky about gloves (I bet that's shocking to exactly no one) since I always ride with them. They have to be thin enough to still give me a good feel, they have to wear like iron, they have to fit me well (I have really long fingers), they have to have good grip, and they have to be attractive. I freaking hate gloves that get crunchy after they've been wet so that rules out pretty much everything leather. I also freaking hate anything that bleeds color onto my hands. I've had great luck with Roeckl's, I get about 2-3 years out of each pair and they tick all my other boxes too, so to me they're well worth the money.
ReplyDeleteI live in the cheap-o cotton grippy ones, they are like $7-9 depending on which place you get them from. I like the flexibility and breathability. I sweat a LOT, even my hands. My gloves come off after a lesson totally soaked. So I don't have to worry about ruining a more expensive pair...and eventually, they are going to have holes where I hold the reins, so I don't have heartburn about that, either. I usually rotate between 2 pairs, and they last me about 4-6 months per each pair. I think that's a pretty good ROI :)
ReplyDeleteI used to do the whole SSG XC gloves for schooling, Roeckl's for showing, but then I went to vet school and decided, if I'm springing that much money for a pair of gloves, I'm going to wear them all the time.
ReplyDeleteSo now I somehow ended up with with a winter pair, a sewn-up, faded schooling pair, and then just got gifted a new pair. I really love them- they're thin and grippy. I still prefer to ride gloveless for flatting, but I like the grip over fences.
The best part? My faded/stitched up schooling pair is probably at least 5 years old.
I have freakish tiny hands and I'm ridiculously picky about my gloves. My go to is SSG Hybrid. Those suckers and some rubber lined reins, my hands don't slip. Even on cross country in the pouring rain, I could hang on to the Princess going into her favorite water jump. I'm willing to shell out for the gloves that fit, don't interfere with my feel of the reins, and keep a grip even when raining or humid or sweaty. I refuse to wear cotton anything, too thick. I look for spandex panels for stretch and very, very thin leather. Technical palms are fantastic. Since I wear them every ride, I replace them every six months. Every spring and every fall, new gloves. In summer I will wear those crochet gloves with the very thin leather palms, nice in the humidity.
ReplyDeleteI've bought 2 pairs of Roeckls before & was disappointed both times.. they wore out in between the ring & pinky fingers. Big holes. :P My favorite pair of gloves so far are a pair I'd never heard of before that I got for $12 on a trip up to Canada.. & now I don't remember their name! Keela? something like that. But I've had them going on 2 years now & they are holding up fantastic & when I wash them they look almost new again! I wish I'd bought more pairs while I was up there..
ReplyDeleteI love Roeckl, but I have a tendency to lose gloves. Because of this I try to stay between the $20 to $30 range and buy brands I like when they are on sale. I'm only really picky about fit and making sure they aren't too thick. I love leather (preferably tackified) most of the year, just not when it's hotter than hell. Since I hurt my neck, I don't have a very strong grip and need all of the help I can get from gloves.
ReplyDeleteRoeckl Chester gloves are worth the price tag. And machine washable.
ReplyDeleteI have countless pairs of Roeckls (typically due to me losing them and then finding them when I break down and replace them) and no matter how many other pairs I have tried I always choose the Roeckl. They are classy, thin, and durable. I find that mine last better when I make sure to wash them more than I sometimes remember too. As with anything they will last longer if you care for them. Ditto the above - well worth the money.
ReplyDeleteNot really a glove snob, but I sweat like crazy because I'm disgusting and the SSG Lycrochet gloves are the only things that mop up my sweat and are breathable. LOVE
ReplyDeleteI hate gloves with a passion.
ReplyDeleteAlso my bare hands almost or never have blisters, even riding bratty school horses in college. Can't remember the last time I had blisters.
Anyway, there's just something about tightly fitting clothing on my arms that I can't stand. I don't wear turtlenecks or long sleeves (exception of loose jackets or loose hoodies so I don't freeze).
I have a pair of nice black show gloves from IHSA but that's it. I guess I wore gloves a couple times riding in below freezing if the backs of my hands were already bleeding but it really has to come to that point before I put on gloves.
I love gloves, I had a trainer that insisted they create a more steady contact with the horses mouth. Something about how your skin can't move with the rein at all but the glove can, combine that with steady hands and your horse enjoys a very stable ride (you know...in theory land). Those pretty pink gloves are my first roeckls and my swollen arthritis joints are not super huge fans of how narrow the fingers are. I'm a whatever I can find on sale as they all fall apart in a few weeks anyways glove shopper.
ReplyDeleteI HATE wearing gloves with a passion so if I don't have really good ones, they type that you can barely tell you're wearing them, I won't wear them. I'm with a lot of other people that the Chesters are amazing and all that I'll order from now on. Mine have lasted a year so far and still going strong so I'm comfortable with the ROI :)
ReplyDeleteI always wear gloves when riding. I like the Heritage Performance gloves because you can use a cell phone while still wearing them. And they don't have any annoying metal bits in the fingers, the material just allows your finger to work on your phone. I used to love my arias gloves, but unless they come up with cell phone capable gloves I'm not going back. The heritage ones fall apart pretty quickly, but they cost under $20 to buy so I can just replace them as necessary.
ReplyDeleteGlove hater here. I just... I can't. I lose so much dexterity in gloves, it's not even funny. I can't stand it. I've only blistered once while riding, and to be honest, if the instructor had had that freight train of a Clyde/TB cross in a bit instead of a hackamore, like she'd been when I rode her previously, that wouldn't have happened.
ReplyDeleteThe one exception is lunging. I learned the hard way what happens when you're not wearing gloves and the horse flips you the bird and bolts. (Also learned that day that the bottom of a 50 gallon water trough is clearer than the top, and that it's also cooler in 100 degree weather, even if the trough IS black.) For that, I actually have a pair of gloves that my parents brought me back from a trip to Europe. No-name, but awesome.
I don't like to ride in gloves. My reins are very soft and I like the close feel. However, this winter and I think age has weathered my hands so that my skin is really unhappy. So I've started riding in gloves again. I've always shown in SSG Soft Touch Riding Gloves. They are leather and flexi and close feel. My everyday summer gloves are now my everyday gloves, SSG Technical Coolmax/Aquasuede Plus Riding Gloves. Like not wearing gloves at all as far as the feel in my hand is concerned. And my hands are happy again. <3
ReplyDeleteRoeckls. All the time. For me, they truly improve the feel. They're pricey, but they last a long time.
ReplyDeleteI was a confirmed 20+ year SSG wearer. Then I bought Roeckls on sale when I was in Austria last year. I'm not going back. They are absolutely worth every penny - because of their grip, I can use my favorite plain reins and have a much lighter feel than trying to keep a death grip on my Thinlines while a certain Haffie tries to remove the reins from my hands. TOTALLY worth the money, and I'm never buying anything else.
ReplyDeletei rode in gloves religiously (usually cheap-y crochet and leather types, my go-to fave) all through college when i rode lots of ottbs who loved giving me blisters. then i kinda stopped when i started riding dressage bc i found it even harder to not let my reins slip out.
ReplyDeletethese days i pretty much only where gloves for shows... which probably isn't ideal (and it's a pair of used black roeckles that were in a donation bin. i just stitched up the holes and we're good to go!). oh and i try to remember to wear gloves for jumping too bc i have a nasty habit of ripping off my finger nails or scratching out chunks of flesh... don't ask me how tho...
You reminded me I need new gloves
ReplyDeleteI wear gloves for everything. I've gotten a little lazier about lunging in gloves, but I used to do that too. If I feel like I am going to have a rodeo on the end of my lead rope or lunge line - then yes to gloves. Riding and driving? I feel utterly nekkid without my gloves. I can't stand it!
ReplyDeleteI think this is probably because it was beaten into my head as a younger that gloves were part of the getup. We wore gloves, and helmets, and tucked our shirts into our britches, and wore belts. And hairnets, if we had enough hair - no ponytails. And if you weren't turned out like that, you went back to the barn.
Now I'm kind of slobby when I ride - but the helmet and the gloves are a must!