New rider - sort of

DaveUnidexter · #1 14th Feb 2011, 11:17 AM

As i said in my intro, I'm looking at getting back into riding after not having done any (apart from the odd hour or two) for about 20 years. As I'm going to take it up properly, what would people recommend that I should buy?

domane · #2 14th Feb 2011, 11:37 AM

I came back to riding in 2005 after a 21-year break. Get yourself a decent hat, decent boots and if you feel wibbly at all, a decent BP... they are FAR better fitting these days

Trewsers · #3 14th Feb 2011, 12:52 PM

Yep, definitely a Bp - mine is my "safety blanket" but I am jolly glad of it and it is quite comfy! (I returned to horses after a 20 year break too!! ) Also of course decent hat, boots. Oooh and get some comfy jods too!

DaveUnidexter · #4 14th Feb 2011, 01:02 PM

Any recommendations for blokes jods? All the online searching I've done just lists loads of women's and kids! Suspect I'll need to lose weight too!

Trewsers · #5 14th Feb 2011, 01:19 PM

OH likes the following jods:

Hac Tac denim ones (quite small sizes though so go a size up)
Splash Clothing denim unisex jods - quite roomy!!!
Robinsons Requisite gents jods - he's got the pleated ones (which I'm not keen on) and the Requisite needle cordy type ones, which looks surprisingly nice on!!!!

Don't be tempted to ride in jeans unless you've got reinforced thighs and calfs though, OH soon learnt it was better to go with the flow and buy some jods - he had only the one lesson injeans and poor man could hardly bear to get into the bath that night his legs were so sore!!!

selside · #6 14th Feb 2011, 01:24 PM

Hi Dave

Another one here who started again a couple of years ago after 20 or so year break. Loving it, but a lot more fearful than when a teen! Can't help with the blokes jods as I'm another ladeeeey.

Ditto good hat (nice to have your own rather than borrowing the school scruffy ones. I tret myself to a decent one for my 50th! I started off with a lot of stuff off eBay - jods, boots and so on. There is some lovely high quality equestrian stuff out there, but you can cut your cloth according to your budget, buy using such as eBay if you're a bargain tart like me.

My jodboots are from Tesco and I've found them excellent quality if your not worried about labels. Really comfy, leather and a good padded instep. If you have the pennies to spend you'll be spoilt for choice. Do try on if you can though, as brands vary enormously in sizing.

But really I agree with the others - boots, BS standard hat are the only real essentials. You will feel the benefit of jods too, they stretch every which way and give much more freedom of movement, especially for mounting and dismounting.

As for the weight - have you seen how many of us are on the weightloss thread? A bit of extra padding can be a big help when you do a high speed unintended dismount........................

Have fun!

DaveUnidexter · #7 14th Feb 2011, 01:35 PM

Thanks for all the good advice. I'll def need to go and try boots on as I'm a below knee amputee so one 'ankle' is totally fixed and totally disparate calf sizes. I'm going to get my own hat as I like to know the history of any safety gear I use. I've seen the Hac-Tac denim ones cheapish on e-bay so will get a pair of those for starters.

selside · #8 14th Feb 2011, 01:43 PM

Absolutely Dave. I bought my hat new for just this reason. Safety first.

Been up to the RS this morning - one lady had her first fall EVER after many years as a rider, into sand & rubber school surface when her boy stumbled. Out on our hack a gent was bucked off a biggish TB who was being a

and landed with a nasty thud on the tarmac.

Luckily nothing serious to either rider (off home for hot baths, pain killers and careful surveilllance) - BUT both hats have visible damage, despite the different surfaces. You can't be too careful, even with my thrifty Yorkshire ways I wasn't suggesting you buy a second hand hat!

DaveUnidexter · #9 14th Feb 2011, 01:48 PM

I didn't think you were, was just thinking of my own hat vs one of the school loan hats. Most other bits of you can be fixed but heads tend to break permanently.

Laura_107 · #10 14th Feb 2011, 02:17 PM

Yes, heads do have that tendancy

I am another returning rider, I took it up again last year...but I only had a 10 year break. I'm not quite classed as a mature rider, but my teenage years are long gone!

I would go along with what the others say. Tesco's is a good option, my jodphur boots and jods are from there. My boots are pretty decent, better than my mums which were bought from a proper tack shop, and the tesco jods are the most comfortable I own, so comfy I went back and bought a second pair! Though not sure if they do mens.

I wish I had done a bit more research into my hat choice before I got it. I have ended up with an alright hat by chance, but just bought the first one I found (it does fit me though), if I had done my research I probably would have went for a higher quality hat.

I would offer the same advice for if you plan on getting a BP (I dont personally have one, I did consider it for a while, but decided against it for varying reasons), do your research before you go and try on a lot to see which fits best.

The safety gear is (hopefully) going to last us a long time so worth knowing your stuff.

Other good websites to try are equestrian clearance and derby house. Amazon also have a horsey bit.

DaveUnidexter · #11 14th Feb 2011, 04:11 PM

Interestingly Tescos have assumed only women and girls ride! Will be visiting some tack shops over the next month or so to check out BP and boots

pharoah · #12 14th Feb 2011, 04:32 PM

Similiar postition to you, but again i'm lady. I bought a hat (possibly would have got a better one), boots. I haven't bothered with a BP. I'm probably too fat for one. I have fallen off but luckily the body took the impact and just a few aches and pains afterwards. A boy i ride with has a tesco hat, he hasn't fallen off so i can't comment on its effectiveness.

pepsimaxrock · #13 14th Feb 2011, 09:04 PM

presumably tesco hats have passed some sort of quality / safety benchmark. i would rely on that rather than random comment.

i have one for my nieces to share, it fits well. i am not qualified to comment on its safety effectiveness but it has passed the relevant standards.

i have fallen off loads of times, wear a bp when hacking or jumping but not otherwise.

i am not slim and dont have a normal bmi unfortunately but dont have a problem gettin a bp to fit, theres plenty out there - and buy everything except your hat off ebay. x

DaveUnidexter · #14 15th Feb 2011, 08:16 AM

The hat, BP and boots I'm going to buy in person as getting the fit right is essential, for everything else, ebay will be my friend.

Skib · #15 15th Feb 2011, 10:30 AM

Hi - when I started (female) no one thought I would continue, so I bought cheaply as possible.

Later I had the experience of buying for my OH (male) and took a different line because good stuff last longer - good hat, bp and good boots in a sale.

But I waited till he had had a lesson or two, just to make sure he liked riding.

Because a man can start without buying much at all - all you need is a hard hat and shoes or boots with a heel - my OH borrowed a hat and had his first lesson Western style in jeans and wearing his lace up city shoes.
I bought him cheap gloves, and when it rained, he wore his own water proof musto walking jacket.

When it was clear he would go on riding, I did pick him out good quality boots and hat on the grounds they would last longer.
Men cant wear jodpurs but can ride in jeans. Though jeans may rub you.
So later I bought my OH breeches and half chaps for riding English. In the USA and even here though some men prefer to ride in jeans and if you havent got USA style horseman's jeans (with a softer inside seam) a pair of women's tights underneath is said to stop rubbing.

When men ride it seems to me they ride in clothes they like and which make them comfortable. One can assume you love horses or you wouldnt want to resume riding. But what do you mean by "properly"?

What sort of riding or competing or horseownership do you aspire to. School lessons or hacking?

Do you have a particular riding school in mind?
If so you may want to dress like the other students there.
Will you need to fetch your horse from a field, you will need heavier boots if so?
And depending on the school and teacher, you may need a schooling whip.

It is true that local tack shops have very little choice of breeches for men. And you need to find a brand that is comfortable. Rideaway and Derby House both have good catalogues with a choice of men's clothes. Robinson's is generally speaking lower priced. The Mark Todd range has filled something of a gap for men's mid price breeches but they dont suit everyone - not my OH for instance.

You do need to shop around - see from yellow pages wherre your nearest saddlers or riding stores are and may need to drive some distance. You need a saddler you can trust and who stocks a good range of brands.

My experience of buying for a man is that he owns far less than me - He has one pair of warm cord breeches for when its frosty and thermal long johns he owned before he rode. And a pair of lighter breeches for summer. He does have a spare pair too these days, but that is four years later. He does have a couple of Western riding shirts bought in the USA - but mostly he rides in his regular casual shirts. He has a Mountain Horse riding mac (another good brand for men) and a posh winter riding fleece he bought in a sale.

When you see people at the yard with clothes or boots you like, notice what the women choose too. My OH has several things that are duplicates for men of things I myself have found good - He has the same Ariat boots as me, the same Mountain Horse yard boots.

But our history is that he got things bit by bit - I would save your money and see how things go.

DaveUnidexter · #16 15th Feb 2011, 12:22 PM

By 'properly' I meant I've been meaning to go back to it for years and now I've got the time I've decided to take it up raather than just try it out.

I'd like to go hacking but will need lessons too as I'm sure what I remember will be all wrong esp as I had 2 legs last time I rode. I'll give lots of disciplines a try to see if there's one that really grabs me. I can't see myself being an owner for a while but it's an aspiration.

I tend to wear boots generally as I need the ankle support but think the soles may be too thick/agressive tread. I'm usually in http://www.goliath.co.uk/index.php?p=99 or http://www.goliath.co.uk/index.php?p=73

Gloves and jackets I'm ok for as my 'normal' outdoor stuff will do and I've got good base layers too. I live in polo shirts so that shouldn't be a problem either. I've also got some very comfortable longer tailed ventilated long sleeve shirts.

As for riding schools, recommendations for any near Norwich would be appreciated and I think I'll try a couple (at least) out to get a feel for their atmosphere and style of teaching.

Kis Vihar · #17 15th Feb 2011, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveUnidexter

As for riding schools, recommendations for any near Norwich would be appreciated and I think I'll try a couple (at least) out to get a feel for their atmosphere and style of teaching.

There's another male rider on here from Norwich-way called Country Lad. I know he found a good riding school - it might have been this place:

http://www.woodlandparkequestriancentre.co.uk/

You could drop him a PM and ask him.

(I can tell you a couple of places to avoid!)

MistyGal · #18 15th Feb 2011, 12:42 PM

Willow Farm in Ormesby Near Great Yarmouth have a long established riding school, I can reccomend but you would have lessons in a school, hacking is not availiable.
Your best bet would be yellow pages and if you want to hack ask if this is something they offer when you start lessons with them. I would also recommend a couple of private lessons to get you started where you get 1 on 1 attention.

DaveUnidexter · #19 15th Feb 2011, 12:50 PM

Thanks for the responses. I think it'll be just lessons for a short while while I build up my skills and confidence and then look to do hacking. I'll drop Country Lad a PM too.

Thanks for all the help, what a great bunch you all are.

No_Angel · #20 15th Feb 2011, 02:41 PM

We bought a Dublin Onyx hat for my dad, it's the only one that fit him well, it's 'manly' looking and fairly cheap, Troxel hats are also fairly cheap and some are adjustable.
My dad doesn't 'do' jods, he will only ride western so it;s jeans all the way for him.
I ride in jeans myself and have not had any trouble with them rubbing the inside of my legs when riding.