Spin off spin off: how many times do you wear your breeches before washing them?

[Bristol_Bay]

I figure breeches only have so many wash cycles in them. I don’t want to wear visibly dirty breeches, yet washing them after every ride seems excessive.

So how often do you wash yours? Do you ride multiple horses a day? Do you do your own grooming?

I ride one horse a day and have grooming services three times a week, but I do all my own chores such as feeding and tack cleaning. I don’t clean and muck myself, but if I ride later in the day, I will always pick out his stall.

So I manage to get around three “wears” out of each pair before I throw them in the hamper.

[puzzle]

I ride 3ish a day every single day. I also groom all of them that I ride and do light chores in them (clean my bridles, fill my boys haynet, top off a couple waters - nothing on the order of what a BM would do though). In the cooler months I get one or two wearings per wash - in summer, I can never rewear due to sweat from myself and dirt from our mud loving equines.

[Kindred_Spirit]

I try to wear them at least twice. The tan ones I sometimes only wear once because they show the dirt a lot more haha.

I ride 4-6 a day, groom them all, and typically do 5-10 stalls, water, feed, etc. so they get pretty dirty. They’re not super expensive or show breeches so I don’t mind beating them up a bit.

[Kalele]

I only ride weekends so I wash them after every use because I don’t want them sitting around stinky – I also do my own grooming. I have enough pairs that I’m not concerned about wearing through them too quickly.

[lmlacross]

It is a rare, rare day that I get home from the barn without breeches that are visibly dirty. Given this, I wash them pretty much after every use.

[GoodTimes]

Usually about 3ish wears. I ride one, groom myself, grain, and clean my tack. He lives out 24/7 so I’m also the one handling his dirty blankets every day.
I always put clean ones on for lessons, but if I know that it will be quiet while I’m there then I’ll wear dirty ones when I ride on my own.

[foursocks]

I’m stingy and hate washing my breeches until they legit smell. I wear clean ones for my lessons, but generally I try to get a full week out of them for daily riding. I am only riding one a day right now because my other guy is leased out, so it works out fine. When I am two a day and it’s summer I cave and wash them more frequently.

I do all of my own grooming but I keep my pants pretty clean. It’s the shirts that get gross- they are a one-ride only kind of deal.

[OverandOnward]

These answers are interesting. On the one hand I would like to be clean(ish) when I arrive at the barn, on the other hand, why wear breeches out faster by washing after every wearing, when no one at the barn cares if people are clean.

a) I have explained to myself that washing breeches more frequently, thus wearing them out faster and needing to buy more, is a GOOD thing, because then I am living a horsey life. Spend less on other things, more on breeches. But genetically-transmitted parsimony has me trying for two, maybe three, wearings before washing.

b) If I hang them on a hanger after a wearing, and put the hanger out in the open air, the smell is a bit better by the time of a second wearing.

c) Do not hang the hanger with worn-not-washed breeches next to other clothes, definitely not in the closet, due to transference of smell, aka ‘faint [snort] whiff of barn’.

d) If the previous wearing is noticeable from a distance while on the hanger in open air, they must be washed, even after just one wearing.

e) Buy the darker color breeches, it helps with multiple wearings before washing.

[QUOTE=foursocks;8819607]
… I wear clean ones for my lessons, …[/QUOTE]

I have wondered if trainers understand that they are getting the benefit of the clean clothing on their students … :winkgrin: :lol:

[OldLadyYoungOTTB]

If I sweat in them, I wash them. I’m not wearing dried butt sweat. If not, I will wear them 2-3 times.

[cuse]

I ride 3 times a week and do my own grooming, as well as mucking all the stalls and runs once a week (horses live outside). I am a grad student on limited means with a laundry room that charges per wash, so I generally try to get by wearing one pair of breeches per week. Generally the 3rd day I wear them is the heavy chore day, so they get thrown in the hamper right after getting really dirty. I also employ the same tactic for my sports bras, for similar budgetary reasons

[Covergirl15]

I wash my almost every day unless I ride in the evening and then the next morning I’ll grab the same pair. I just ride 1-2 a day, and do my own grooming, but I wash them more b/c of my allergies than dirt.

[meupatdoes]

One time only.
I could not bring myself to wear barn clothes twice.

Then again I am generally laundry obsessed. I loooove fresh laundry. I do my sheets every second day. I wash the dog bedding. I wash the bath mat. The dish towels. Etc etc.

It is my favorite household (and barn!) chore, as the machine does it for you.

Now if only I would vacuum my car more than once a month…

[fordtraktor]

I can’t imagine wearing dirty breeches again. Like meup I am a laundry fanatic. I don’t wear anything more than once but coats and Carharrts and I wash both frequently. I have two little boys…my washing machine rarely stops. It is going now.

I don’t care about lifespan, life is too short to put dirty clothes back on.

Of course when I ride I always get dirt on me. Some people seem to be able to avoid the stuff. But I sweat, lift muck buckets, hose horses, groom horses, throw hay…there is zero chance my breeches smell like fabric softener when I come back in the house.

[hillary_again]

Once…here in Arizona, the capital of sweat ;).
I have Kerrits riding tights. I have not worn any other breeches for years. I have the black ones, and can now go places before or after riding and people think I am wearing yoga pants or something similar.
I wash with Woolite, gentle cycle, line dry (that takes 3.5 minutes when it is 110F), and have had some of these for more than 5 years. The elastic waist is usually shot before anything else fails.

[Bristol_Bay]

I live in drought-ravaged California. You guys with the laundry fetish are making me jealous!

I bought a hairdresser smock to throw on over my riding clothes when I groom, or when I need to do barn duty in street clothes.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/201636957713

It’s an experiment. So far I’ve gotten some sideways looks from people, but it gets the job done.

Overandonward–great post!

[anon40672407]

Wow. I am really surprised. I only ride one when I ride, and I must not be working as hard as you guys. I often get 3-5 rides before washing. My real leather full seats DO NOT like a lot of washing, so I will go even longer between washes with them, but I wear them only in winter, so much less sweat. I have had those breeches for 20 years and they are still in great shape (tho well out of style ).

[Peggy]

Once. I ride at least one and usually groom at least one. I do hang them to dry as opposed to using the drier which may save some on the wear and tear.

[foursocks]

[QUOTE=OverandOnward;8819624]
I have wondered if trainers understand that they are getting the benefit of the clean clothing on their students … :winkgrin: :lol:[/QUOTE]

Oh, mine would. He notices everything. He’s sort of a wizard that way.

Also, I am sort of surprised at how many wear only once. I mean, that’s fine- everybody should do what they find themselves comfortable with- but now I feel kind of like a dirtbag! :lol:

On the other hand, mine just don’t get that dirty, and when they do I wash them, so maybe I’m not as offensive as all that…

[kashmere]

Um. I plead the fifth. :dead:

[Highflyer]

This time of year I usually only wear once since I am sweating so much and sometimes my horse even sweats through my boots. In winter I can sometimes wear them 5+ times but I wear jeans over them or change to do barn work.