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.
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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:
- Merino baselayer (250g or higher)
- Wool sweater / midlayer
- Down vest (Patagonia)
- Down jacket (go-to is Patagonia down sweater)
- Wind / weather resistant outer layer (this is where I go with a riding brand like Mountain horse, Ariat, etc) – I go for a mid-weight insulation but prioritize length, cut, and weatherproofing outer as this is my only “long” layer…I tend to only wear this before/after ride or if I’m doing a walking only ride and won’t be active enough to generate warmth
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 ?
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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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I’m not going to ask, but thank you for this information. I have two jackets here from L.L.Bean I’m trying to choose between. I’ll send the down back. Thanks again.
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PETA is not a good source, I am aware, but the videos and the responses from the companies don’t lie. Anything animal-related sourced from overseas, I’d question the ethics of what actually happened to get it.
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What’s a good alternative to down that keeps you warm? I’ve tried synthetic and haven’t found anything that even comes close.
I am all For not using down- just need suggestions to use instead.
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There really isn’t a like-for-like alternative, unfortunately. I find if I add one more base layer it makes up the difference. Or the jackets with the reflective lining seem to do a great job. I’d guess a heated vest would probably do the trick, though I’ve not tried it.
The light weight of down is really unparalleled. That’s not enough for me to wear it, though - not when the geese/ducks are being live-plucked to get it.
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The L.L. Bean coat I am thinking about says it is primaloft aerogel insulation. They also call it cross core. I think the catalog called it a NASA technology. I have a terrible problem w my neck; heavy coats cause a great deal of pain. This coat weighs next to nothing. I hope it works.
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Right, but PETA visited some of the source farms, and live plucking was happening right out in the open. Add to that the complexity of that supply chain (how would you ever verify anything, once it’s at your door in a box), and I stand by my statement - there is no such thing as ethical down. I guess any place that has their own farms with their own monitoring perhaps. But to just “trust” that 2nd-3rd world manufacturing countries are telling the truth about not getting 3x (or more) the down production from one bird? Not me, I’ve been there and seen the cultural outlook on animals made for harvest. They don’t care about their well being, not one little bit.
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arctic horse appears to be in hibernation since 2020. Pity as the skirts look terrific.
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They are the absolute best- I have a wool one and a thinsulate, waterproof fleece lined Arctic Horse Skirt. They are beautifully made, functional and so warm. It’s so unfortunate they seem to have gone out of business. We met several of the ladies who were founders at Equine Several years ago- delightful, real people!
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You’ve gotten some really good answers here and I’ll 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) the recommendations of wool, wool, wool, and layers!
- Wool is one of the only fibers that will still keep you warm when wet, which is great for temp regulation when you’re really working while riding, or taking a walk break, etc… I cannot recommend a wool tank or tee under a wool long sleeve enough as a dual base layer. (Smartwool, Mons Royale, Icebreaker, Kari Traa, Montbell)
- More natural fibers! Top your base layer with a wool or cashmere sweater. (Have an old jcrew merino or cashmere sweater w/some holes or that has shrunk? Here’s a new life for it!)
- Insulating jacket with breathability. If you do warm up while riding and don’t need a really intense outer layer, try an Arcteryx Atom LT jacket or Patagonia Nano Air jacket. These are warm, insulating, will protect from wind and light precip, but also have breathability.
- You can’t do better than down for warmth to weight as a final layer. The above jackets are synthetic but for me, the outer layer when it’s cold, is down.
Note about down, if this is just for barn use and you’re opposed to down, go synthetic puffy. (Patagonia has several synthetic insulated options) I stick with down, in part because I outfit myself for backcountry skiing and backpacking first, and weight matters most when you’re carrying everything on your back. All my outdoor clothes do double duty at the barn, but are purchased with different activities as the priority.
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I have silk long underwear from Eddie Bauer that I love.
Alpaca socks were actually too hot.
I do agree that the underneath is almost more important than the top layer.
I love those neck thingies, also.
I do have the Mountain Horse coach’s coat, but for dog walks. It hasn’t seen a barn but it is long, lightweight and very warm.
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I have the HKM heated coat and it’s great!
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I’m always cold and one thing that has made a huge improvement for my comfort is my Ororo heated vest. Yesterday it dropped down to a feel of -25 and with my heated vest, random brand barn coat, and long underwear from LLBean I was comfortable getting all my barn chores done. Everyone for Christmas this year is getting the heated vest because I’m just that in love with it!
I did pick the vest over the coat as I can put a barn coat or sweater over it so it doesn’t pick up the barn smell and can be worn in other aspects of life.
I have the Ororo heated glove liners which are amazing but they’re not waterproof and when I layer a waterproof pair of gloves on top I find my grip extremely bulky.
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