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What is your favorites insulated winter jacket? I don’t produce enough body heat, so something that is insanely warm ( without bulk to ride in), and if down filled 850+ or better. I’m not kidding on how cold I get and I live in the south. 
I don’t think they sell this exact one anymore, but I have this Duluth Trading Company coat and it is awesome. No cold air gets through it. I pair it with a battery heated vest (Milwaukee) if necessary.
https://www.duluthtrading.com/womens-black-hills-water-repellent-hooded-parka-45810.html
It does not have a split vent in the back for riding, but it does have a center seam and I think it could be modified.
It’s a lot like a Mountain Horse coat my friend has, so you might also look at those.
Layers. Don’t just rely on the coat.
Layer, windproof insulated coat, a battery-heated vest, and a fleece headband underneath your helmet should keep you warm 
When it’s frigid I wear my Mountain Horse coat over layers. I love it, and it has so many pockets 
but it’s so warm that I always end up taking it off (if riding in the indoor). For me a heated vest would be overkill, but then I don’t have to teach or stay out in the cold without moving much.
I just bought this one after years of riding in my old school TNF nuptse puffer. I struggle with the cold too-especially with wind and when it is a cold rain (I don’t have an indoor)
I had a gift card and it checked all of boxes (longer, water resistant, two way zippers, no removable liner). I’ve been super happy with it so far. Plus it looks really nice on,
That’s a super pretty jacket!
I really like my Eddie Bauer jackets. I thrifted both of them. One is a women’s Hockey jacket, the other is a men’s but not sure make/model. It is dense, with double layers, additional zipper, huge oversize hood that can fit a head with helmet, and deep pockets. I wish I knew the men’s make/model, it is the perfect length and cut for riding and it’s not so bulky that I feel like the Michelen Man when I do chores! Looking at Bauer’s website, I’d guess it’s an older version of the Bauer Mainstay Insulated Trench.
This is the women’s one I have:
https://www.purehockey.com/product/bauer-hockey-ultimate-hooded-parka-jacket-womens/itm/43165-44/
Based off of my experience I’d buy again. I’m never cold, especially if I layer.
As someone that gets cold under 50*F, you need to layer.
I start with a turtleneck, add a sweatshirt or wool sweater, add a pullover, then add a lands end or LL bean puffy coat or my Carhartt coat.
If you want less layers get a heated vest.
I’ll also say layers that way you can change as you go along. A single coat leaves you locked in.
Anything with Thinsulate.
I have a microfiber coat (really a long jacket) of DH’s, ordered from Spiegel’s in 1998. It is probably seeing its last Winter, but it is hands down the WARMEST thing I own & incredibly lightweight.
Polarfleece is my other GoTo, but not a very good windbreaker, best as a layer underneath.
And it is a horsehair magnet 
I also struggle with cold weather and regulating my body temperature. I’ve tried almost every puffy jacket on the market and live near the headquarters of Big Agnes and Smartwool, and nothing they had made a dent long term. This year I received a heated jacket for my birthday that is an absolute life saver. I am from the south but live in Western Colorado where we routinely have days that are in the negatives overnight and in the teens during the day. This jacket (along with fleece lined pants) have saved my sanity. I have the Ororo brand.
Agreed on the Ororo heated jacket. I have one and love it!
Once you are standing around or your core temperature gets too low nothing will keep you warm. This can happen well above freezing. Having a thermos of very hot tea will help. But I think if you regularly get super chilled then a heated vest or socks would be a great idea. Also cover your head. Wear insulated boots and wool socks. And don’t wear cotton at all.
Fellow perma-cold Cother over here. I joke that my internal “furnace” is a weakly lit candle.
If I’m standing around - game over, nothing will keep me warm (and I have some of the highest end technical gear on the alpine market)
For before / during / after rides - the jacket is only one piece of my layering equation:
I take off / add layers quite a bit (e.g. will put on heavy outer to go bring horse in, but then will take it off while grooming, put it on while doing walk warm up, take it off once I go to trot, take off down jacket once warmed up, put down jacket on for cool down, put heavy outer on to turn horse back out after ride…you get the idea)
My other secret: Wool riding skirt. I have the one from Arctic Horse that is heavy wool outer with a fleece lining. It’s magical.
I’m too pregnant right now to make it worth purchasing for this season, but my next investment is a heated vest to see if it allows me to cut down on my down jacket layer…I get quite michelin-man-esque when fully bundled.
Well, when I ride in the winter in North Dakota, I don’t have an indoor and I usually don’t haul anywhere, so I usually have my UnderArmour (shirt and leggings) on my body, then my snowpants for riding (from Horze.com). Depending on how cold it is (you know, zero degrees Fahrenheit … or 20*F makes a difference) depends if I layer on another shirt over my UnderArmour shirt or not. Usually wear my Columbia Coat. It’s old but it gets the job done. I wear my snowboots outside until I am ready to mount up and then I put on my Ariat insulated riding boots and put on ToeWarmers. If I need do, I have a Milwaukie heated jacket I can layer under my Columbia Coat. I have a fleece helmet cover to keep my head warm and don mittens (not gloves) to keep my fingers warm.
Ditto to the others it’s not so much about what brand of coat. It’s what you put on underneath the coat.
I will second (or third, or whatever it’s at) a heated coat. I have a cheap knockoff brand of the Ororo coat. It’s a down coat with heating in the chest and back. That thing is amazing when I have to stand in the barn forever! But I would recommend getting a non-knockoff-brand, because after a year mine is shredding at all of the seams. I just ordered Ororo coats for my daughter and I for christmas.
The other suggestion I would make are the Oros coats. I have 3 Oros coats - the Orion parka, a shorter hooded coat, and a baseball-style light jacket. They’re made with some material that’s used in NASA space shuttle insulation and have made a line of low-bulk coats and other winter wear. I can confirm that I can only ride in my long coat when it’s stupidly cold, because otherwise I overheat (something I have never done in my life prior to owning this coat!). I don’t think it’s the best coat on the planet for standing around and staying warm, but the minute I generate even the tiniest bit of body heat I am warmer than any other coat I own.
Pikeur has some great long, down puffies this year. I buy them from the UK and exchange rate is super. Warm to ride in and easy snaps to go over saddle.
I agree with all the posters who say wool, layers, and heated items. I live in the Canadian prairies and it gets cold. Last week, with wind chill, we hit -55c which is -67f. It’s not always that cold (this morning it’s -14c which is downright balmy) but it is routinely -30c or colder throughout the winter.
I always wear wool socks. I typically wear blundstones but on really cold days I will switch to my kamik winter boots. I will wear fleece lined riding tights, and when I’m not mounted I will wear fleece lined carhartt pants over top.
I wear the most layers on top to keep my core warm. Typically I will wear either a wool long sleeve shirt or a tmax heat shirt. Over that I will wear a down vest or a heated vest. Over that is always a down filled winter jacket that goes past my hips. I will take this off to ride. On VERY cold days I’ll also put on a sweater between the vest and the jacket.
For my hands I will always wear fleece lined gloves. Sometimes I wear my heated gloves under them, but the battery pack is a bit bulky so I save that for extra cold days. I will also put fleece lined wool mittens over top if I need the additional layer. When my hands get too cold I lose all dexterity.
Finally I wear a fleece lined neck warmer that goes down to my chest and up over my ears/nose. Sometimes I’ll put a scarf over top of that. And I always wear a toque. Sometimes I’ll take off the toque in the barn to groom, sometimes it stays on.
For me the brands of things don’t matter as much as the material they are made from. Wool, fleece, down… these are my go-tos. I know lots of people also swear by silk but I haven’t added that to my wardrobe so I cannot comment.
Thank you everyone who has posted!!! This is all great advice and tips!! I am going to put a heated vest and jacket on my Christmas list.
Next question, for the heated jacket, there are two options, one that is heated down jacket with 850 fill or a heated classic insulated jacket .
Which one? I was leaning towards the down because of the extra fill but maybe the classic would be warmer ?
This is an unrelated thing, but I feel like I need to say it in this context -
There is no such thing as “ethical down”. If you have options to avoid it, please do not buy down fill. Obviously if it’s your only option, then you have to do what you have to do.
I haven’t bought down since I realized the torment the animals have to go through in order to harvest it. I’m not some bleeding heart hippie, but I do think animals need to be treated humanely, no matter what their end goal is.
I shall step off my soapbox now. My last down item that I use is a Patagonia jacket, bought for me as a gift before I said ‘no more down.’ It’s on its last legs, and I will be glad to be rid of it.
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