New at horse riding with no riding clothes, send help!!

[carthorse]

I wear Meindl walking boots - mountan boots for real mountains and a lighter pair for winter walking. I would not ride in either of them. I wouldnt want to ride in Commando soles.

As for smooth soles. My very expensive best Italian boots have smooth soles.

Just because something is expensive doesn't mean it's perfect, it just means someone is prepared to spend a lot of money - often the label is the biggest part of the price.

Where you ride is also a factor. If you hack on muddy - does anyone in the south remember mud? - tracks and may have to dismount to deal with badly hung gates or other obstacles then you really don't want smooth soled boots because you'll be slipping around on foot as well as having unsafe footing to remount or carry on riding. For school work or dedicated rides they may be fine, though they seem pointless if you then go and combine them with grippy tread stirrups.

 

[newforest]

I go by practical and comfort over cost.
Being by the sea I suspect it rots stitching or things to shrink.

 

[PePo]

You can ride in non-heeled shoes if you have caged stirrups. I've spent most of the summer riding in mesh trainers as I use caged stirrups.

If you are riding in non-caged stirrups, then definitely get some heeled shoes or boots. Walking boots as others have said, are ideal if you already have them.

I wouldn't recommend smooth soles unless you're literally getting on the horse and getting off it again at the end of the ride - if you need to get off out hacking (or even walking across the yard) the likelihood of hitting the floor is much increased

 

[Skib]

if you then go and combine them with grippy tread stirrups.

My Sprenger stirrups have no grip. I am not stupid.
Who do you know @carthorse that wears fine boots with grippy stirrups?
I guess it all depends on how one was first taught to ride. I was taught with an open Podhajsky saddle, thin leather reins and soft leathers. And smooth stirrups.
It was a male rider on NR who persuaded me to get boots. Fine supple boots give you very close feel against the sides of the horse. He told me he wore his all the time. I bought mine as my reward for learning to canter.
I dont wear mine in snow. And yes they are useless for brnging in from the field. But on our yard many people change their boots to ride.
I bought my long boots in 2006 and have had them re-heeled once. I dont wear them for anything except riding. My husband keeps all my boots well polished.
I dont know if expensive is always best. But I do know that I have never had to replace any of my expensive stuff. And it brings me pleasure. I also know due to the fall in the pound and Brexit I would think twice about buying them now.
But then you are paying to keep a horse and I am not.

 

[Skib]

Thinking about grippy stirrups. How is it that I havent ever lost a stirrup when riding? It could be that learning to ride as a woman over 60, one does things or moves and sits rather differently from people who learned as kids.

 

[Mary Poppins]

I remember when I discovered mountain horse boots with grippy soles, they were a game changer for me. Previously I rode in traditional jod boots which were pretty smooth and was always losing my stirrups. I think the mountain horse boots have given me a much better grip and made me a better rider. I could not go back to smooth soles again.

 

[newforest]

You can ride in non-heeled shoes if you have caged stirrups. I've spent most of the summer riding in mesh trainers as I use caged stirrups.

If you are riding in non-caged stirrups, then definitely get some heeled shoes or boots. Walking boots as others have said, are ideal if you already have them.

I wouldn't recommend smooth soles unless you're literally getting on the horse and getting off it again at the end of the ride - if you need to get off out hacking (or even walking across the yard) the likelihood of hitting the floor is much increased

I rode in the caged for years.
Very comfy and it did mean I could ride with anything I liked.

I changed them to the bow balance and it was just fine to find something else as I changed saddles as well.

 

[Huggy]

I lose a stirrup on a regular basis - embarrassing as I've been riding for nearly 40 years

 

[newforest]

My Sprenger stirrups have no grip. I am not stupid.
Who do you know @carthorse that wears fine boots with grippy stirrups?
I guess it all depends on how one was first taught to ride. I was taught with an open Podhajsky saddle, thin leather reins and soft leathers. And smooth stirrups.
It was a male rider on NR who persuaded me to get boots. Fine supple boots give you very close feel against the sides of the horse. He told me he wore his all the time. I bought mine as my reward for learning to canter.
I dont wear mine in snow. And yes they are useless for brnging in from the field. But on our yard many people change their boots to ride.
I bought my long boots in 2006 and have had them re-heeled once. I dont wear them for anything except riding. My husband keeps all my boots well polished.
I dont know if expensive is always best. But I do know that I have never had to replace any of my expensive stuff. And it brings me pleasure. I also know due to the fall in the pound and Brexit I would think twice about buying them now.
But then you are paying to keep a horse and I am not.

They do.
They have two types of rubber for improving grip.
Unless you have chosen to remove it, in which case you may as well just use bog standard stirrups!

 

[newforest]

I lose a stirrup on a regular basis - embarrassing as I've been riding for nearly 40 years

Maybe that's the problem, those of us who rode as kids have grown up with wonky legs.

 

[carthorse]

@Skib I was going to say the same as @newforest , one of the early selling points of Sprengers was the dual density rubber to give improved grip, along with a flexible footbed so more of the stirrup stays in contact with the foot

I can think of one international eventer I know who has lovely boots and rides with very grippy "cheesegrater" stirrups - given they're his everyday ones I dread to think what his competition ones are, but then he can afford them and everything he wears and does is immaculate. I'd love to say form over substance, but watching him ride is a joy and hi training ethic is wonderful. And over the years I saw enough competition riders doing various things to increase stirrup grip when flat soled boots were the norm and stirrup grips weren't as good. It's the big names that have led the trend for high grip stirrups, but then I guess you know more than them?

For the record @Skib I'm in the fortunate position of not having to worry about what I spend on me or Luka so don't be so patronising with your assumption about my finances. I feel harping on about how much things cost very vulgar, hence why I don't do it (though in the early days of owning him I may have muttered a few choice words about his saddle costing nearly as much as him as I made frantic grabs at it as he messed around tacking up).

Never lost a stirrup riding? What about when you fell off?

@newforest I love my Sprenger bow balance, and find they help no end with my dodgy ankles and achy knee, I like them far more than the normal Sprengers, I tried both and it was no contest for me.

 

[carthorse]

I lose a stirrup on a regular basis - embarrassing as I've been riding for nearly 40 years

I still do sometimes too, I suspect if we're honest we all do at times unless we ride with our feet rammed so far in that it's unsafe or are on incredibly quiet unflappable horses. But I guess you're like me and even if you lose a stirrup it's an inconvenience rather than a problem, I don't think I've ever fallen off as a result though a couple of times in mid canter I've thrown away the other stirrup so I'm at least balanced.

 

[PePo]

I think like anything, it hugely depends on what you do which influences what is best for you.

For me, it's practicality every time as I need footwear that can cope with riding in for hours in all weathers, have enough grip to get me down a steep slippery slope if need be, cope with sloshes and can walk/run alongside my horse in easily.

If I did most of my training in a sand pit rather than unforgiving hills we actually train in I'd make different choices. Heck, I might even become one of those people that wear slip on protective shoes to protect their immaculate boots until they are in the safety of the sandpit

I highly doubt Annie Joppe and Carl Hester try to persuade each other of their footwear choices or over complicate things for a newcomer to riding over something as simple as grip on a shoe

 

[newforest]

I still do sometimes too, I suspect if we're honest we all do at times unless we ride with our feet rammed so far in that it's unsafe or are on incredibly quiet unflappable horses. But I guess you're like me and even if you lose a stirrup it's an inconvenience rather than a problem, I don't think I've ever fallen off as a result though a couple of times in mid canter I've thrown away the other stirrup so I'm at least balanced.

I used to lose a stirrup in canter all the time, it was annoying for me as she felt it and would slow up and come back to trot. Oh boo boo.
Quitting stirrups was a quick way to get halt. We did that in a lesson once for fun from trot not canter.

My RI said she's listening to your seat and weight aids all the time, which surprised me as she's not overly forward. But she's waiting for that downward transition with anticipation

Even professional riders lose a stirrup. I have watched show jumping where they've lost one, it's no big deal.
Heck I went to Badminton and took photos of a rider carrying on after a stirrup leather came off.

 

[newforest]

Ariat boots are in the sale, in case anyone needs boots, or wants boots.

 

[newforest]

I used to lose a stirrup in canter all the time, it was annoying for me as she felt it and would slow up and come back to trot. Oh boo boo.
Quitting stirrups was a quick way to get halt. We did that in a lesson once for fun from trot not canter.

My RI said she's listening to your seat and weight aids all the time, which surprised me as she's not overly forward. But she's waiting for that downward transition with anticipation

Even professional riders lose a stirrup. I have watched show jumping where they've lost one, it's no big deal.
Heck I went to Badminton and took photos of a rider carrying on after a stirrup leather came off.

I come across lovely boots that I sort of dribble over.
If we were in a school setting or on a yard without mud or water I could go wild and have them.
But I need practical and equileather can be wiped clean, sometimes in the stream I just crossed because she needed me to be a lead!!
I would cry if I got mud on the ones I eye up.

 

[Huggy]

I have a huge problem and I do need help, so the thing is I'm new into riding and don't really have the best equipment. It's been almost two weeks and I am riding wearing leggings and my converse chuck Taylor. The thing is there is no near equestrian shop in my town and it's not really easy getting out of town to go buy some. And the other thing is I don't really trust online shopping cause I don't know if the size is gonna fit me.

I really need an advise! Should I keep wearing my leggings and my converse until I have the chance to go outside town or order online??

I wore leggings a lot in the early days and never suffered from it. The only thing I am uncomfortable riding in is jeans - the seam would give me a long bruise right down my inner thigh. Why don't you make sure you're hooked on the riding then treat yourself to a day out wherever there's a horsey shop and go nuts? That's my idea of heaven

 

[Huggy]

How did I not notice how old this post is!

 

[carthorse]

@Huggy it's less than a year old, positively new compared to some that get dredged up

 

[Huggy]

Sharp as a knife, me. Not.