Where do you store your riding/barn clothes?

I try. But I regularly run out to the barn dressed up to check on ponies before leaving for wherever lol

Horseless, currently live at home so donā€™t have huge amounts of storage space, and havenā€™t ridden regularly in a while so my answer may look a bit different - I do volunteer at a therapeutic riding barn but most of what I wear for that is sweatshirts, jeans, various boots and a Rural King branded Carhartt-esque coat I bought for like, $34 :rofl:.

I still haveā€¦I think 3 pair of breeches, one tan, two navy, all of which just hang in my closet alongside the jeans and khaki-type pants (leggings and gym clothes go in a drawer). I no longer have a show shirt, my tall boots sit in the back of the closet with some plastic bags stuffed in as a makeshift boot tree though I will periodically bust 'em out and wear with skinny jeans b/c they look good w/a black turtleneck. My other boots are in enough of a rotation that theyā€™re not usually stuffed with bags. I still have a Charles Owen helmet I won in a blog contest circa 2014 that sits in its box (custom Ayr8, was going to be my show helmet, life happened, I rarely got to show, if itā€™s truly too old to be used for day-to-day riding when I finally get back to that, Iā€™ll probably cut the straps off and turn it into a decorative item of some sort, haha). Donā€™t really have a show coat either - I have one that never got worn in a show that I bought dirt-cheap off my ex-instructor as it didnā€™t fit her, and itā€™s sat in the coat closet on the off chance I show again and it fits me alright when I do.

My tack is in a wooden trunk thatā€™s probably more meant for storing people blankets or childrenā€™s toys and the like (wood - I think the near-identical one in the living room was actually my childhood toybox but it may have been this one). My two saddle pads, good leather halter with lead rope and disassembled bridle, plus the winter blanket I got for my OTTB not long before he passed are all in there, stirrup irons for some reason Iā€™ve always kept hanging on a wall on a hook. Saddle is on a portable rack in my closet. Havenā€™t gotten rid of anything because someday Iā€™m pretty sure Iā€™ll need it again.

Come to think of it Iā€™m not 100% sure where my half chaps got to, I thiiink theyā€™re in the coat closet.

My whole theory is to make sure the stuff I wear & wash most often is easy to find and easy to put away ā€” I work from home and go to the barn every day, so my bedroom closet has everyday riding clothes, WFH/workout clothes, a couple pairs of jeans, and a couple t shirts/hoodies for running errands. Guest room closet has show clothes (and bins of tack, horse clothes, etc), the remainder of my jeans/tees/etc, and all my ā€˜niceā€™ clothes. The backseat of my car also usually has a bunch of jackets and vests for the barn. Muck boots and paddock boots live by the front door, tall boots live in the car.

I have a warm weather drawer and a cold weather drawer in a big chest of drawers in the guest room. They have clothing that doesnā€™t need to be hung and that I donā€™t wear for other things - riding tights and shirts, and wool socks. My flannel shirts are hung in the main closet, and underwear and bras are in drawers with my other underwear and bras. There is a shelf above the rail in the main closet that gets some overflow riding clothes from the other places. Boots, riding vests, and riding jackets are in the mud room.

General thoughts.

Honestly I dont see where storing riding or barn clothes is really an issue except for the boots and winter jackets that stay dirty. Those ideally need a mudroom garage or basement with a heat source to dry them out. Yay for boot driers!

Everything else (other than show jackets) is just regular stretchy tops and bottoms, they can have their own drawer or share one. I ride every day and I have a multiples of summer and winter gear, long underwear, etc. But if I didnā€™t ride Iā€™d still have a my hiking swimming aerobics belly dance etc gear for all the things I tried when I was horse less. I even have a tennis racket and kayak gloves somewhere.

I had a dedicated down jacket as my barn jacket, and I put it in a closet after its last use several years ago (no more horses, and not much call for winter wear here in SC). I pulled it out of the closet yesterday and was rather appalled at the state of itā€“it was covered in mildew.

After two trips through the washing machine and one through the dryer, I now have feathers showing up in the oddest places in my house. DH keeps vaccuuming them up, but then more show up. I keep getting the evil eye.

Rebecca

Clothes with one wear, reasonably clean enough to wear again to the barn (my personal criteria) ā€¦ Fold used dryer sheets in with them so they donā€™t develop any musty smell.

Iā€™m fortunate to have an extra closet in our entry way room that my partner lets me use for all my riding clothes/boots/blankets when not in season, etc. I love clothes and have quite a few pairs of breeches, shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, etc. so the closet is pretty full. The main reason I store them separately from my other clothes is because I will wear things more than once (unless itā€™s summertime) and I donā€™t want my other clothes to smell like horses. I have one of those hanging cubbies for clean riding tights, thick riding socks, sports bras, and hats. All tops and riding tights I have worn at least once get hung on hangers.

I mostly store my stuff with the rest of my clothes. Shirts go with active shirts. Breeches go with active pants. Coats go in the closet with the rest of the coats. Blundstones (my footwear for barn and dog walking and sometimes even grocery shopping) go with the rest of the shoes. I do stomp the mud off of them before coming into the house. Riding boots, half chaps, saddle pads, etc live at the barn in my locker.

I am wondering now if Iā€™m a bad wife for bringing my blundstones and barn coat into the house. Should I be leaving them in the garage? My garage does not have direct entry into my house so Iā€™d need a change of shoes and coat out there just to wear the 10-20 steps into the house. I donā€™t have a mud room, our front entry is right in our living room.

I have ā€œwork jacketsā€ and ā€œbarn jackets,ā€ plus ā€œshoes I promise to never muck stalls inā€ and ā€œall other shoes including flip-flopsā€ :laughing:

But in all seriousnessā€¦ no one else has a guest room bed just for dumping clean clothes? No? Just me? :rofl:

Dryer sheets. I donā€™t know how it works, but if there is any whiff of barn, they will absorb it.

Actually if one has a fairly clean and well-aired barn, Iā€™m not sure that barn clothes are awful at all, especially after washing. Itā€™s more like gym clothes than barn clothes. IMO

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My summer tops are kept with summer athletic wear - as in running shorts. my winter tops and thermals are kept in their own drawer that is a bit overstuffed. I have one drawer for the breeches that are not in season (one size for summer, one size up to fit one pair of thermals for mostly fall/spring, one size up from there for 2 pair of thermals for cold winter months). Those that are in the season are in the same drawer as my jeans.

I am almost finished organizing my storage/spare room and have an area in the organization set to hang jackets - so anything thatā€™s not being used can get hung there. Jackets and rain gear stay in the trunk of the car. I have a small house and no garage so no real are to keep it there and this way it also keeps my car a bit more clean. Barn shoes also stay in the trunk of the car unless they are being cleaned. I wear sneakers and no jacket out to the car, head to the barn, change shoes/put on jacket or other weather wear, get helmet and any necessary treats and do the horse thing. When I am done there, reverse order. If I am going to another barn, do it all again at the next place.

I will often wear breeches two days in a row and other clothes depends - if it isnā€™t quite dirty enough for wash, it goes on the floor infront of the hamper. Needing a washā€¦wellā€¦that should go in the hamper but you and I both know where they really go.

If I had a guest room bed, that is for sure what it would be used for. Butā€¦ I have no guest room bed so clothes get dumped other places.

I recently remodeled my closet, so I have two drawers devoted to riding clothes (itā€™s blissful, really). One drawer holds my riding tights and breeches and the other holds my riding shirts. I have spots for boots in the closet so my riding boots (high boots and paddock boots) are in the same spot.

All of my riding stuff gets washed after being worn and put back in the closet - no exceptions. I am unable to get within 10 feet of a horse without getting dirty.

I buy cheap Tuffrider breeches, which stay in my dresser. I keep my boots and half chaps in my closet. My winter stuff stays in the garage since theyā€™re covered in snow and/or mud.

You know what I really struggle with is where to keep my horseā€™s stuff. She needs her own room or her own house.

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How many bins and trunks is too many? Just for the horse.

I asked my horse, ā€œDo you need all this?ā€ He said he didnā€™t know, but he might. So I have to keep it.

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@OverandOnward This is a very real concern! I think my horse has fifteen halters for various seasons and depending on what weā€™re doing.

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@signmypapyrus Exactly! They know when the humans think they look good in that color/design of halter. Canā€™t let them down on that.

Sunshirts - folded in a drawer
breeches - folded over hangers
Barn boots - in the garage. never come in the house
Jackets, scarves, gloves, etc. - live in the guest closet year round

Sunshirts and undergarments are very single use before wash but I donā€™t wash my breeches every wear because they are the most expensive pants I own and I try to be thoughtful about the frequency of washing them. They get folded and sit by my hamper.

I have a primary barn jacket that lives on the back of a chair in the kitchen December - March. I wash it monthly or whenever I smell eau de pony when I walk by it. The rest of the outerwear goes up between uses.

The pony gets 3 bins in the attics. Two are for blankets during the off seasons and the third (much smaller) is for spare tack items, brushes, etc. that are not needed but worth keeping around.

Isnā€™t ā€œhomeā€ where most people live?

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