Coat Help for a Newbie!

[GoForAGallop]

Forgive me, I know this is one of those questions where people familiar with the sport roll their eyes and grumble “No one cares!”

But I’m preparing myself to be a die-hard fox hunter. :lol: (Hopefully this will not be the one sport my well-mannered gelding refuses to do!) But some of the terms are confusing me…

…like…what is a frock? How is it different than a coat/jacket? Is it just what you call a coat/jacket in hunting land?

My old english show coat is navy…acceptable for the first few times out? I know black seems to be preferred, from all my photo stalking. When I DO look at coats…is any old “hunt coat” fine? Any of the RJ Classics line, for example?

Also…I am having trouble finding any “tweed” coats when I use that search term in Google/Ebay. The ones I do find are marketed specifically for hunting, and quite pricey. For cubbing season, is any typical hunt coat in non-black or navy fine? Something like this?:
http://www.carouselhorsetack.com/products/On-Course-Ladies-Clifton-Show-Coat.html

Are pinstripes okay, or should I be looking towards more herringbone-type patterns? Or is that coat so wrong it’s not even funny? :lol:

How are coats tending more towards grey than brown looked upon? What about greenish ones? (Not dark green, but a lighter color with a pattern.) I have a grey and I think he’d look fab with a darker grey or greenish coat.

Again, sorry. I know most hunts don’t really care that much and prefer you hunt in what you have, and just come out to have fun. But I need to buy a new coat or two anyway, just for fit reasons, and I think the traditions are part of the fun! I also don’t want to stick out too much.

Edit: Also, how terribly will I be mocked if I use a pre-tied stock tie? :lol: I happen to have one kicking around and it saves me from looking like a disheveled mess…but I could also attempt to learn to tie one. Maybe.

[Equibrit]

For tweed use “Hacking Jacket” usually worn for less formal occasions.
http://sporting-goods.shop.ebay.com/i.html?_nkw=hacking+jacket&_sacat=382&_odkw=hacking+jacket&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313
A frock coat has a seam at the waist, a longer skirt than a regular jacket, extra pockets. and is generally made of Melton wool cloth. It will keep you toasty warm and dry in the winter.

You could find all these in horsey consignment stores.
http://www.foxhuntersconsignmentstore.com/
http://www.horsemans-exchange.com/opencart/

[Painted_Wings]

A frock coat has a seam at the waist. Most dressage coats are frock type coats. A regular black or navy hunt coat will work fine to start. Just make sure it has plain buttons and not gold or silver.

For informal or cubbing tweeds a herringbone pattern is great. Grey, Brown, green are fine. I love my green coats. If its hot in your area you might want to think about one of the newer high tech coats that move and are ventilated some. I’ve gotten a couple of great Ariat Legacy hunt coats on Ebay.

For formal tweeds and winter tweeds I love shopping Bookster. Just ordered another from them.

http://www.tweed-jacket.com/

They take about three months though. But you can figure out the weight of fabric you want and customize it. I have a heavy weight one for cold days in the Ross tweed. My husband has one in the Eden fabric. The one I just ordered was the Kilberry.

Anyway they have several greens and blues that would look good on a grey. The one named “Innes” I think would look stunning on a grey.

[Hinderella]

If you’re searching on eBay, use the words cubbing and hacking…you can sometimes find a good buy on a used coat that way. I found a very nice Shires coat for my first-time-ever hunt on eBay, and (fortunately) it fit perfectly.

Crazy Horse Tack in MA carries Shires, but I don’t know if they carry tweed or just the formal black hunt coat.

I got some very good instruction on how to tie a stock tie at the intro to hunting clinic I attended. If I can find the written version, I’ll turn it into a .pdf and get it over to you.

Or there’s always youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p6XZAYO5J8&feature=related

You’ve definitely got the hunting bug…you should consider heading to VA for the fall 2011 CotH hunt at Hunter’s Rest

[tangledweb]

@Painted Wings;5751226

Most dressage coats are frock type coats

Really? I’ve not owned many dressage coats, but none of them have been a frock coat. I don’t know enough about clothing to really describe what makes them different to a modern show hunt coat except for generally having 4 buttons rather than 3.

[tangledweb]

But to the original question, I think you are dead right that nobody cares. If you are in a coat that fits and is the right weight for the weather so you are comfortable, nobody will notice it.

I think you should channel the energy you are spending worrying about a jacket into learning to tie a stock. Much cheaper and easier.

If you want to see what a frock coat looks like though, compare places that sell them both eg:

http://www.horsecountrycarrot.com/index.cfm?action=store&sub=category&cat=39
vs
http://www.horsecountrycarrot.com/index.cfm?action=store&sub=category&cat=38

[FitToBeTied]

I think I’ve spent a grand total of $50 for my three tweed coats. I have one brown with yellow/black highlights. One is tan with green highlights. One is green herringbone.