I feel like I can’t dress myself to ride in winter! I have a good Mountain Horse jacket that I love, but 5 minutes in the tack and I’m sweating/have to take it off. Every shirt I wear underneath is wrong for some reason. Sweatshirt? Too sloppy. Sunshirt? Too light. Turtleneck? Looks dumb.
What winter riding tops do y’all love?
UnderArmour cold gear. If the mock neck is too dumb for you, you can get a crew neck. Can’t you take your jacket off once you warm up?
Sorry…not to say all turtlenecks are dumb…they just look dumb on me. Probably because the ones I own are cotton and circa 1985.
Yes, I can and do take my jacket off, but I just want to look decent when I do (especially in lessons).
Thanks for the recommendation…I haven’t seen UnderArmour’s cold gear. I’ll check that out.
I know what you mean! I try to look nice when I ride, even if it is just me and empty acres to see me! I suggest layering --I use Cuddle Duds as a base layer (look around for base layers that wick away moisture). Then I use a fleece --like a polar fleece jacket —if that is too bulky in the arms, consider a vest. I put a scarf around my neck, cross over my chest, under the polar fleece jacket and zip (the jacket has no hood). Next I do the big ol’ winter coat --Eddie Bauer in my case. As I get overly warm, I start by taking off the heavy jacket, then the scarf, unzip the fleece and if it is around 60 --the fleece comes off too. It has worked well for me. However, I do keep a sweatshirt (zip up) in the tack room --just-in-case --there have been times when I’ve added yet another layer -and on days it is too cold to ride (rare for me who has topped out at -22 just so I could say I did it) I have insulated bib overalls --but these are too bulky to ride in.
Agree with Under Amour coldgear! Also I have some of Noble Equestrian’s new fleece lined SPF shirts which are really nice. I like to pair either of those with a vest for riding because I hate having extra bulk on my arms
I like a long sleeved slim cut tshirt or mock t with a vest or full zip fleece over. Then the heavy coat.
rarely ever is bad enough to require a winter outfit here
but nothing ever stopped younger daughter
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I adore my merino icebreaker long sleeve shirt (midweight). I wear that under whatever top layers make sense. In the scenario you outlined I would have a few options to try:
I tend to use a lot of workout type of clothes underneath for layering. A tight long sleeve shirt first (something that wicks away sweat - underarmour brand type), then a t-shirt on top and then a sweater, or if it isnt too cold, a vest. I also sometimes start with a jacket but take it off pretty quickly.
I ride all year in Ontario (indoors and outside), so it does get quite cold and I can sweat a bit so I hear ya!
Oh, I never wear a turtleneck without another layer over top! Even my new ones look dumb on me. I usually do a 3/4 zip top or something similar over the base layer.
I’m with you - I tried being stylish a few years ago when JCrew was pushing their tissue turtleneck. I looked so dumb. I typically rock the 32 degree long underwear from costco, then a 1/4 zip from target (lighter) or a better sweater quarter zip from patagonia (thicker). and then usually some kind of giant coat and hat that I peel off once I start riding.
Another vote for the underarmour coldgear tops. I also have some long-sleeve moisture wicking tops from Costco that work well. Then I wear a sweater over that with a down vest, scarf, and light puffy jacket. I usually start off my ride with the jacket on and end up taking the jacket off at some point during the ride. Layering is key, and if you start getting sweaty peel off a layer or you’ll end up cold once you’re finished riding.
Layers. Mock turtle under sweatshirt under vest under jacket. Then, just start peeling off layers. I would usually lose the jacket when I get ready to get on and if I get as far as taking off the sweatshirt, I would typically put the vest back on over the mock turtle.
However, now that I’m old and my horse is old and I don’t compete, if it’s that cold outside I usually just don’t ride. 
First layer:
smartwool
second layer:
turteneck (can be cotton)
third layer:
CASHMERE (cheap online, weighs nothing. Super warm)
fourth layer:
vest
fifth layer:
down trainer’s coat. Currently loving the Hadley from smartpak.
I only wear breeches made with wind-cutting polar fleece.
over the breeches I wear kid’s snowboard pants from Target. Cost about $15
I’ve been doing this a LONG time
You must live somewhere freaking COLD!!!
Seconding everyone who’s said layers.
Bottom half of my body is always fleece-lined breeches, and if it’s really cold I’ll add a pair of fleece-lined tights (like you would wear with a dress, not riding tights) underneath. Socks-wise, I always wear Smartwool ones during the winter (the tent sale at my local Dover tends to have them very on sale periodically so I just stock up then).
On top I usually do a long-sleeve shirt (just plain cotton long-sleeve t-shirts), a sweatshirt or thin softshell jacket, a lightweight down vest (mine’s from Ariat), and then either my lightweight down riding coat or my big Hadley down trainer coat depending on how cold it is. If it’s really bad I might also throw another layer on (a fleece or something) in between the vest and the coat, and maybe a scarf, but I usually don’t ride when it gets that cold since our barn and indoor aren’t heated and it isn’t good for either of our lungs to be breathing that air (and we usually don’t see the single digit/negative temperatures around here for longer than a week or so at a time, so it’s not a huge loss).
I’m usually down to my vest by the time I get on, if not just the sweatshirt, and then I slowly throw layers back on as I cool off while I’m untacking. I should also mention that I am literally always cold, both indoors and out, and this has always been plenty for me to stay warm enough while also not overheating once I get moving.
Under Armour base layer - I get ALL of mine from local secondhand stores, have never paid more than $10 for one.
Smartwool or Cotton long sleeve on top of that (unfortunately cannot wear “normal” wool as I break out into hives immediately)
Fleece zip up
Some kind of wind-breaking zip up (have a really nice FITS jacket I inherited from a fellow boarder)
Down Vest
That’s all for riding. On the ground add a long down coat. If I get warm while riding I shed the fleece and keep the vest. if I didn’t have Reynaud’s syndrome which renders my hands useless blocks of ice quite easily I’d be comfortable down to -15C or so. As it is, I wear silk glove liners, good gloves, and GENIUS fleece wrist/hand-warmers sewn by a fellow boarder and while not “comfortable” I’m good enough! Below -15C I don’t do much beyond toddle about at the walk, anyway, for the horse’s sake.
I frequently wear a zip neck mock turtleneck in a high tech fabric (source: EMS, REI, etc.) with a vest. I have various weights/colors of each and adjust with the temperatures and the breeches.
Base layer - SmartWool mid weight crew neck top (I intensely dislike Under Armour)
2nd layer - Ariat Tek type of fleece 1/4 zip
3rd layer - Down vest
4th layer - coat I have a Mountain Horse coat, which is great, but the vest doesn’t fit well underneath, so I usually swap out the coat and put on the vest just before I ride. I used to have a coat that would accommodate the vest underneath, but it wasn’t as nice as the Mountain Horse
For bottoms, I wear fleece-lined tights. Mine are an older style of the Irideon tights. I tried the newer version last year, but the fit was horrible. If it’s really cold, I will wear a pair of sweatpants over the tights until just before I mount.
I love the Kerrits layers. https://kerrits.com/pages/shop-layered-looks. Another COTHer turned me on to this top and I ordered one for a schooling show. I also put on an Under Armor base layer underneath. I like this because it is tuckable. https://kerrits.com/collections/long-sleeve-techinical-riding-shirts/products/chill-chaser-zip-neck?variant=23510830252090
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