Calling all plus size equestrians!

[EquestrainKB]

Hey everyone!

I was wondering if you would be willing to help me out with a project for school.

I’m a senior studying marketing at Georgia State University. I am currently taking an entrepreneurship for marketers course. As part of the course I need to research a customer segment that I am interested in solving a problem for. As a plus size equestrian I thought what better segment than others like me!

I am not looking to sell anything, only making sure that there is a problem in the plus size equestrian segment that I can potentially help solve.

Please comment below what you think is hardest about being an plus size equestrian. If you feel more comfortable you can PM me instead.

Thanks for your help and if this is not in the appropriate area please let me know the best place to post.

[BigMama1]

There are several of us here

[cnigh]

One major issue is finding tall boots that fit anything over 17 inches wide.

Hundreds of posts on FB looking for the Holy Grail of tall boots that fit short wide legs that aren’t custom and don’t break the bank.

ETA a lot of plus size riders have a small foot with slim ankles and short legs with extra wide calves.

[HenryisBlaisin]

I agree on the boots! Even ones with wider calves get wider as the foot size gets bigger…not helpful if you have tiny feet like I do. Custom is out of my price range (and impractical; my weight fluctuates. My fault, I know, but still).

My other issue is show coats. I’m kind of in between regular and plus sizes there (14 in clothing but riding stuff seems to run small). It seems like a lot of coats that fit my wide shoulders and large bust are too big below the chest, and kind of hang like a tent. It seems as though manufacturers of larger sizes think plus size women don’t have a figure. I wouldn’t really be a plus size if not for the chest.

[Scribbler]

Yeah search COTH for many threads on this.

Forget plus sized, even normal adult bodies can put you at the upper end of size ranges. As do boobs. And sturdy calves.

[furlong47]

Finding breeches/tights/pants that fit right. Even at the bigger end of average, as a tall person who isn’t built like a stick, or if you have actual curves/thick thighs or hips it can be difficult. So many pants being low rise doesn’t help either.

[AffirmedHope]

Boots! Just had to drop $1500 on customs because xwide means 15 inches to boot makers…

[mswillie]

Boots again, but my problem is that I have huge feet. So any boot that I might be able to squeeze my fat calf into is too small in the foot, and men’s boots tend to have a smaller calf. I wear a 10.5 men’s paddock boot, ladies boots only go to size 11 medium. I need at least a 12 wide.

And shirt sleeves and gloves. Most shirt sleeves are 3 inches above my wrist and the only gloves that fit my extra long fingers are SSG gloves. (I’m very glad to at least have those available)

[DSLH]

All the things above. And then some. Boots - and even when I manage to find boots that will fit my monster calves that I can actually afford (shocking, I know) - there always seems to be something else wrong with them. i.e. the ankle is killer (no, i don’t have insanely large ankles), or the boot is strangely not tapered - as though having a larger calf means my leg is no longer leg shaped? I mean, really???

Same thing with breeches. as though its bad enough that sizes are all over the place - you finally find a brand that fits well, and they discontinue it. so then you have to start trying everything…and find cute design flaws, like the breeches i just tried that when i finally size up to fit my apparently too-large things comfortably, they’re cut straight up (i.e. don’t taper to my waist) and consequently unbuckle themselves while i ride. ick. Soooo many frustrating things about an industry that expects you to be shaped like a toothpick…AND control a 1200lb animal. interesting isn’t’ it? :lol:

[MyKindaFlower]

@mswillie

Boots again, but my problem is that I have huge feet. So any boot that I might be able to squeeze my fat calf into is too small in the foot, and men’s boots tend to have a smaller calf. I wear a 10.5 men’s paddock boot, ladies boots only go to size 11 medium. I need at least a 12 wide.

I hear you on the boot thing mswillie! It took forever just to find a plain pair of men’s Western boots that fit well enough that I can wear them to ride in (but I change to do anything on the ground) - forget looking at women’s boots - they don’t make them in 12 wides.

I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to find English boots to fit wide calf and a wide, big foot. I’ve pretty much just assumed that would be custom or forget it.

[ecileh]

I will second (third? fourth?) the boots! For me, the problem is that I have LONG legs, big (but narrow) feet, and big calves. Bootmakers seem to think that if your leg is long, it’s skinny and if your calves are big, your leg is short. Same is true for those who make half-chaps. And boot socks!

Also seconding the coats–anything that is big enough for wide shoulders (that were still wide when I was many pounds lighter, I might add) and and ample bosom flaps like a tent or gaps wildly just below the top button.

I also have a problem with many shirts (and coats) with the width of the sleeve at the bicep. Again, even many pounds ago, I had “big arms” (as my husband once said). Even at my skinniest, I often had to size up so I could actually bend my elbow without busting seams.

[KBC]

The joy of finding something that looks cute, or practical, and it comes in 2XL, followed by the crushing disappointment that in the horse world 2X often ends up being 14-16. Why doesn’t the horse world follow the normal sizing parameters.

Of course boots…again the joy “available in XXX wide” followed by that crash when that mean 18"

The cows I was blessed with when others got calves also struggle to fit in some breeches, even when said breeches fit the thunder thighs.

Low rise breeches, I want to have everything firmly under control, and also be tidy and tucked in…so want my breeches to come kind of the the middle spare tire at least.

On the same subject, there are often a better range of tops for those of us blessed with knockersaplenty, but while the item goes around OK, they seem to forget you need extra length as well.

[EquestrainKB]

Thank you, everyone! Your responses will really help with my project.

Please continue to post what’s hardest about being a plus size equestrian — the more point of views the better! If you feel more comfortable or want to expand on what’s posted here, feel free to reach out to me via PM.

[ecileh]

@KBC

The joy of finding something that looks cute, or practical, and it comes in 2XL, followed by the crushing disappointment that in the horse world 2X often ends up being 14-16. Why doesn’t the horse world follow the normal sizing parameters…

OMG THIS!!

[oldernewbie]

One thing that seems like a big problem to me is that though there are a lot of us, it seems like there aren’t enough to make a profitable market. If you look at all the attempts (like Fuller Fillies) to concentrate on plus size riders, they all seem to have gone belly up. When the offerings can be propped up by a regular size market (like SmartPak does, for example) there is more choice, but it seems like an exclusively plus size riding supplier is doomed.

I hate the sizing discrepancies, as already mentioned. In the wider world, plus sizing seems to run a lot more true than it does in the horse world. Altho… a 1X at Kohl’s sometimes runs small (Ralph Lauren) or runs huge. And, I have often tried on plus size shirts that were fine through the body but so tight in the shoulders and sleeves that I couldn’t ride in them if I wanted to. Very distorted! The only coat manufacturer that seems to have gotten the proportions right is RJ Classics. I almost cried when I tried on a coat and it was proportioned correctly all over. Reasonably priced too.

Another boot issue - not enough selection in wide sizes. Talking about the foot bed here, not calf (although it’s easy to see that that’s a problem too). I used to be able to find Ariat Terrains in wide, now I have to buy men’s sizes most of the time. Very rarely I can find them someplace like Equine Affaire but they are usually not in any of the major catalogs.d

You’ve got a lot to work with! Obviously a hot button for some of us!

ETA: Forgot about helmets! I have a plus sized head too. I have had a little more luck finding helmets that fit, but it’s an adventure.

One thing that’s consistent - whether we’re talking shirts, breeches, boots, helmets - it’s mandatory that I try stuff on in person. It would be a huge waste of time and money to order stuff from a catalog unless I had already tried it on somewhere. I really appreciate it when vendors come to Equine Affaire, for example, with a lot of plus sized stuff so I can try it on in person. Also really really appreciate my local tack shop (shout out to Tacky Horse, thank you!) for stocking a full range of sizes.

[Texarkana]

Show coats definitely do not account for broad shouldered, busty women. My weight has fluctuated wildly throughout my life, but even when I was “skinny” I had trouble with show coats. At one point I was a size 2/4 dress size and still had to buy size 18/20 show coats to fit my chest and shoulders (which is often the largest sizes coat companies make). Now that I’m definitely NOT a size 2/4, the coat search is even more difficult. It seems like with modern tech fabrics, something could be created with stretch that could account for varying body types.

This isn’t particularly a plus size complaint, but there’s also a decided lack of petite options available for riders. Breeches, boots, half chaps, etc. It’s hard enough to find the larger sizes in riding clothes, and when you do, manufactures seem to assume you must be some 6’3" Amazon woman. I buy breeches sometimes that have so much excess leg length that they can slip down to cover my feet!

Lack of good sports bras is a universal problem for women of larger sizes participating in any sport. The internet has provided more options than there were in the past, but it’s still a struggle. Plus, I’m hard to fit, so I prefer products I can try on prior to purchasing.

[TMares]

Sizing. I’m currently about a 12/14, and finding shirts that aren’t like sausages in XL is super annoying. I don’t want to show off the flab, but I don’t have a ton of choice in that matter.

I was a 16 in this photo, in an XL Kerrits sun shirt. The arms are ok, but the body…well
…

https://www.facebook.com/TVDCTA/photos/a.1411293278900208/1411293688900167/?type=3&theater

[NoSuchPerson]

I have a multitude of complaints about riding boots and clothing. However, the biggest are lack of availability at all and lack of proportionality in what is available. So many manufacturers seem to just make bigger versions of their regular sizes, which are mostly designed to fit people with a thin, willowy shape (which is a whole other issue for riders of all sizes who have curves).

Jackets don’t accommodate larger bust sizes and broader shoulders.

Shirts are too tight in the arms.

Breeches fit in the waist or the hips, but not both.

And everything is always way too long in the sleeves and the legs.

I’m both short and fat, plus I have wide feet, so forget finding a pair of ready made boots that are big enough in the calf, short enough in the leg, and wide enough in the foot.

[mswillie]

@ecileh

I will second (third? fourth?) the boots! For me, the problem is that I have LONG legs, big (but narrow) feet, and big calves. Bootmakers seem to think that if your leg is long, it’s skinny and if your calves are big, your leg is short. Same is true for those who make half-chaps. And boot socks!

Also seconding the coats–anything that is big enough for wide shoulders (that were still wide when I was many pounds lighter, I might add) and and ample bosom flaps like a tent or gaps wildly just below the top button.

I also have a problem with many shirts (and coats) with the width of the sleeve at the bicep. Again, even many pounds ago, I had “big arms” (as my husband once said). Even at my skinniest, I often had to size up so I could actually bend my elbow without busting seams.

I found a good alternative that I like in lieu of boot socks. I ride in compression socks. Thin, tight, they stay up, and my legs feel great after I ride.

https://procompression.com/collections/compression-socks

[mswillie]

@oldernewbie

One thing that seems like a big problem to me is that though there are a lot of us, it seems like there aren’t enough to make a profitable market. If you look at all the attempts (like Fuller Fillies) to concentrate on plus size riders, they all seem to have gone belly up. When the offerings can be propped up by a regular size market (like SmartPak does, for example) there is more choice, but it seems like an exclusively plus size riding supplier is doomed.

You mentioned Fuller Fillies. I like the idea but I’ve tried their line and I found their line to be too short for me. Sleeves, legs, rise, all of it feels like it was made for a much shorter person. I hear that others experience the opposite problem. I’m plenty fat, but I’m not short and I have long arms so I feel like I’m constantly tugging at my shirts, pulling my sleeves down, and my pants up.

For average sized people there are plenty of different brands to choose from so they can select a brand that suits their body type. When you’re limited to a single brand (or two) you’re SOL.

And sure as I’m sitting here, I’ve never been willowy. Lol.