Work in progress, comments wanted!

Over the past years I have bought a large variety of Equestrian Riding breeches/tights and my experiences have been from extremely satisfied, to a complete disaster. I'd like to share with you some of my findings to help you get the right breeches/tights for you. Things you need to take into consideration are; your level and amount of riding, your sizes, your budget.

First of all, there is the Jeans. Let me get this out of the way straight away. I love Jeans, but not matter what your discipline, if you ride in jeans in the correct riding position (which is the same for all english and western riding if you look closely ;)) you will eventually get problems in the nether region. There IS a reason riding breeches have been around a long long loooooong time. If you want to influence your horse with your seat properly, you want a close contact. If you like jeans and/or the jeans look, then buy breeches that have the jeans material. Many of today's brands are available in the Jeans look, and they are all quite nice.

Material and durability


Climate Control

Size and how to measure

How much do you ride?
If you are the occassional rider, perhaps only once a week in a lesson, or perhaps 2-3 times a week on your own, your requirements of breeches are much less then the person who rides several horses on a daily basis. This may seem obvious, but the more you ride, the better the quality of your breeches should be. Simply because they will last longer and can withstand the test of time better.

And what is your budget
 Now this may be surprising, but sometimes it is better to buy a higher quality brand, then to keep on buying cheaper brands. During my pregnancy I gained 93 lbs (yes, unbelievable), so after the baby was born, I started to loose weight, but it would be a long time before I was back in my pre-pregnancy breeches. I started by purchasing some cheaper brands, but with the amount I was riding, they would be finished and have 'ventilation holes' within 3-6 weeks. In the first 6 month when I started riding again, I spent $350.00 on a large variety of pants. And then it hit me. I bought a nice, high quality pair for $200, and that one is going on for a year now. So buying the better brand in the end saved me more money, then keep on buying a cheaper variety. My point it that you should buy the best quality you can afford, without exceeding your budget, yet, sometimes it is cheaper to buy at the higher end of your budget, then several times well within your budget.

Thank you for listening to me. If you have suggestions to improve this guide, drop me a line. I'd be happy to listen to your suggestions!