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

[Foxglove6]

Kashmere, I hear you!

I ride one about 4-6 times per week (depending on other life activities) and groom myself. I don’t have to do other barn chores but I often do because I like them and I want my horse to have a good stall life. I only really have 3 breeches in my regular rotation (I have more but some are seasonally dependent, tights vs. heavier cotton breeches). I wear one pair at least at week, sometimes longer, before switching to the next pair. I throw one or two pairs in my laundry every time I do it so I always have something wearing in the rotation. I look at breeches like jeans; wear them until it’s not bearable anymore. I hang them when I get home so they dry from sweat and they are dry in the morning. Even clean breeches don’t stay clean for 5 minutes after arriving at the barn. So I don’t worry about cleaning them too often.

[AmmyByNature]

Up north I sometimes got more than one wear out of them - if I rode in the cold, or just hacked.

Down here in the south it’s a different story. It’s so hot and I sweat so much that I can’t wear them more than once. They are disgusting. I sweat through my boots. I sweat through the knee rolls on my saddle. I wear a c4 belt because my nice leather belts started getting funky and stretched out from getting soaked through with sweat every time I rode in them…

Fall and spring I might get a couple hacks, but I normally have to wash every time. I hang to dry rather than use the dryer, as well.

[ChunkyMonkey]

I usually only get one or two rides out of my breeches before washing them. I ride multiple horses every day and groom them as well, so they get dirty. I tend to get heat rash if I don’t wash my breeches after every ride.

[Man_in_Black]

Depends on where you live I guess.

I’m in Northern Pennsylvania, and even when I worked at the barn all year round, rode 3-4/day, brought in/turned out, groomed, blanketed, etc at a facility with about 40 horses I only washed mine when they desperately needed it. I’d just rotate through three pairs during the week and hang them on the porch during said rotation.

In my eyes, the horses don’t care what you’re wearing.

[PNWjumper]

At shows I wash my breeches after one wear - but then at shows I’m more often in beige and white breeches which look terrible after one wear!

At home I ride almost exclusively in navy, black, and dark grey breeches. My washing preferences vary a bit with the brand (some hold up to multiple days of wear better than others), but I’ll often go 5 or 6 days in a row before I wash them. And yes, I groom and do all barn chores in them and ride 3-5 horses a day.

I do hang them over a towel bar in my bathroom, and they all seem to air out just fine regardless of sweating.

I usually wash a bit more in the winter because of mud and all of the ways it lays in wait for me

And it may be relevant that I have a sand arena that doesn’t tend to be terribly dusty and my horses live in sheets/fly sheets and don’t tend to need intensive grooming sessions. When I boarded at a barn with dusty dirt footing I seemed to need to wash my clothes much more often.

[ParadoxFarm]

Breeches, I can wear twice usually. Maybe three times in winter. Schooling tights, uh-uh. I have to wash those after every ride.

[OverandOnward]

[QUOTE=Bristol Bay;8819716]
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![/QUOTE]

Thank you, and I have a hairdresser’s apron for grooming! I need to upgrade to a full smock. Been using the apron for years. Because before the apron/smock I was so dirty after transferring the dirt from the horse to self while grooming, riding a lovely clean(ish) horse, the horse told me something had to change. :winkgrin:

[PaintedHunter]

Even in winter, there no way I can wear breeches more than once. I am an above-average sweater, resulting in epic crotch rot and overall funk. I look like a drowned rat post-ride.

[lovemyboy]

[QUOTE=meupatdoes;8819683]
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…[/QUOTE]

Can’t even imagine wearing more than once. Granted my closets, car, garage, bedroom floor are all complete sh*tshows… I somehow enjoy doing laundry…though not sweaty britches
MyTS have held up…I probably have about 10 pair but still look great a few years in and obsessive laundering!

[Faye]

My horse is a slob, i can only wear it once. I can barely make it to the grocery store afterwards without getting stares.

[Pancakes]

Once, usually, MAYBE twice before it’s time to wash. I am hesitant to wash too much because I don’t want them to wear out, but on the other hand I am worried about the dirt making them wear faster.

Anyone have any ideas why some wear out (get baggy) in the knees? I love Pikeurs but this always happens to me. Now my beloved TS trophy hunters are also wearing. Sigh.

[HJdaydream]

I try to make them last 2-3 rides unless visibly soiled. That being said, our barn has tack up service so it’s pretty hard to get them that dirty in just one ride!

[Bristol_Bay]

[QUOTE=Pancakes;8822336]
I love Pikeurs but this always happens to me. Now my beloved TS trophy hunters are also wearing. Sigh.[/QUOTE]

If you’re following my other thread, you can replace those Pikeurs for $150 a pair including shipping and VAT from Amira Equi.

[Scribbler]

I expect that climate and the footing/ environment at a barn is going to play a big part in how dirty you get.

I’m riding, grooming, cleaning, washing, one horse, in the PNW, daily.

I am definitely on the maximum length of wear! But it is very rare that I sweat enough to make breeches damp. And our paddock footing is hogfuel, the yard and parking lot crusher dust or gravel. So no mud, and the horse is clean too.

Around a place with clay soil, muddy water troughs, etc., I get dirty much faster.

And I also try for darker breeches for daily use. Some of the microfibre seems to really shed dirt, other weaves not so much.

Now, polo shirts, underwear, socks: those are all one wear and into the laundry!

[Pancakes]

[QUOTE=Bristol Bay;8822455]
If you’re following my other thread, you can replace those Pikeurs for $150 a pair including shipping and VAT from Amira Equi.:D[/QUOTE]

I did see that!

But I found a lightly used pair at the local consignment store for $45 So I’ll keep browsing there for a while!

[FlightCheck]

I live in FL. Every ride is a sweat a rama. I cannot imagine trying to wear breeches more than once!

[Equitational]

I wear mine twice, unless they got incredibly dirty. I have about 5-6 pairs of schooling breeches. I usually ride 2 horses a day 4-6 days a week (has been less this summer).

[aedhe]

It depends on the breeches for me. I have a really great pair of sweat-wicking breeches (to the point where I can literally spray my legs all over with the hose and be dry fifteen minutes later) that I’ll rewear three or four times, even in the heat of summer in the South, because they don’t get gross. Everything just… evaporates.

I have other breeches, especially ones with thicker fabrics, that I wear once and that’s all. Especially my “nice” breeches, but I tend to wear those less often anyway. Honestly, it’s so hot here that I can’t bear to wear anything that doesn’t wick sweat for a good half of the year.

(ETA: the magical wicking breeches are black. That probably helps with the rewearability factor.)