Never! 24 pages long, 480 replies and over 17,000 views?! This thread should go down in history as one of the all-time greats! 
Thanks for the comments on my picture!
Everyequine–I don’t think I’d want to ride alone either where road crews are working with noisy equipment and dogs may be barking at them and where the male workers could watch me.
That said, a week or so ago there was some work being done near our barn and I rode with a friend in the arena. The workmen had finished for the day but were standing talking. I think they were waiting for their foreman for a ride, or something, anyway, there were about 3 guys standing just talking quietly together.
'Til my friend came out to join me I felt … not quite nervous, but self-conscious. Then I started telling myself that after all I am working on schooling, I’m not showing off or anything. I was singing to calm nerves (I often do that), so far from feeling like a show-off I felt a bit silly. By the time my friend came out to ride with me I was thinking, “Now I know how the great riders feel warming up at a big event when all their fans are standing around staring at them.”
I know it’s not the same situation, and I don’t know if equifans are allowed to hang around warm-up rings at big events any more than Stones fans are allowed to hang around a concert hall watching a rehearsal or sound check. But the thought diffused the situation for me and made it funny.
Another shout-out for this thread. It’s cost me a lot of $$ but it’s all been worth it!
And is it just me, or are the Tuff Rider breeches - the shapely ones - cut totally different than the On Course shapely ones?
Twnkltoz–
Could we have a womanly sized riders clique?
That’s a fab idea!
I can’t believe we never thought of it before!!! Done!
And is it just me, or are the Tuff Rider breeches - the shapely ones - cut totally different than the On Course shapely ones?
:yes: :mad:
The On Course fabric fades really quickly, but they fit. The Tuff Riders hold the colour much better, and don’t fit. :sigh:
At least me.
This might be a bit off topic for the thread, but, the threads about how much you can weigh and ride a horse make me crazy. I am 5’9" and I weigh 220. According to these threads I should not get on a horse. I remember years ago I briefly, very briefly dated a TB trainer. I weighed about 150 and he thought I was too big to get on a horse then. Does anyone else feel guilty about getting on their horse?
No.
I weigh just about exactly the same as my teacher. He’s male though. These days he’s slimmed down a bit, but he’s working out, so I don’t know quite how much he weighs. Still, everyone thinks he’s just STUNNING on my horse. I, OTOH, am a bit lumpy, a bit frumpy but adore my horse, and have been riding for 30 years. He’s a small horse. He has no trouble carrying EITHER Of us.
Last year in a lunge lesson, I had the teacher (my teacher’s head assistant) tell me to “stop riding like you weigh a ton. YOU DON’T.” It was lovely to hear, but also made me realize I do tend to hover and ride ‘lightly’ because I am well aware I’ve got at least 25 if not 50 more lbs to loose to be ‘ideal’ for me. That will still be heavy for the rest of the world, but I am very fit, though fat. I battle meds and my screwed up hormones/metabolism for every ounce.
I don’t get on the young horses until they are at least long 3yo’s, usually not until 4. I am VERY careful to build them up, riding for only 5-10 minutes at first, and much preparation. But once I realized that the actual WEIGHT is the same as a male rider, that helped quite a bit with my reluctance to start my own babies again. (I used to start babies almost exclusively, 25 lbs lighter than I am now, a decade ago.)
I’m careful, I make absolutely sure the tack fits and distributes the weight as much as humanly possible… but I DO it. :yes:
I felt guilty about riding only a few times, most recently when I was up on a slight little hony. I joked around about how I was going to break him, but inside, I was a little mortified. I was sure that something was going to go wrong.
Then two of my trainers all but smacked me in the head and reminded me that he was previously a competitive western horse, hauling around men who were plenty taller and certainly at least as heavy as I am at 200lbs. I got over it.
I’m curious about these TuffRider breeches, seeing them mentioned here. The OnCourse Shapelys fit fantastically, but I really need something lighter for summer. Egad. Do people find that the TuffRiders are narrower through the hips?
I couldn’t get the VTO Saddlery link to work, but I recently bought a lovely stretch navy pinstripe hunt jacket from them. The size 24 is a true 24 and fits great…it was a good price too!
Of all things, I’m actually excited about a new bra I bought this weekend at the Saddlebred show. It’s called a “compression bra”. Fits like a vest from top to waist made out of material that wicks the moisture away etc. I’ve had the “no bounce” bra from 1824, and while it definitely works, I did not find it comfortable. To me it is hot, heavy and restrictive. I nicknamed it the “iron maiden”.
I haven’t ridden in the compression bra yet. It has a full length velcro closure to it and is completely adjustable. I tried it on, adjusted it to where it was comfortable, then jumped and bounced around at the sales booth everyway I could think of and boy, my “babies” were locked in solid and there wasn’t a jiggle of any sort…yet I could move freely and best of allbreathe! Pricey ($75), but I think it’s going to be worth it!
I used to worry about riding my girl, but she doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, and I’ve had as many people tell me it’s fine as have told me it’s not, so I’ve gotten over it. That’s not to say I wouldn’t like to lose weight, I just haven’t managed to do it!
so a few people have mentioned warm weather breeches-- what is everyone’s favorite (or at least tolerable) HOT weather riding attire? It’s starting to get unpleasantly hot here in VA (I pity ya’ll in the deep south!), and I am once again remembering how miserable summer is. Clearly I need to move to Alaska, but that’s not happening any time soon. A lot of “cool” breeches/tights seem kind of slippery feeling, and/or terribly thin/not flattering.
I think this thread is an appropriate place for my query, since it’s possibly the best thread ever, but also because the heat seems a lot worse now than it did when I was thinner (uh, and younger).
Warm weather gear:
I HATED hot weather when I was younger (and thinner) and now that I’m Older and Heftier I’m not any fonder of it (and it gets HOT here, but thank goodness, not humid).
I’m a major fan of Equissentials, but … I haven’t tried their lighter weight fabric. So, traitor that I am I tried on Tropical Riders Tropix (XL) at world cup, and by gum, they actually fit me - I’m a size 18W in my favorite Gloria Vanderbilt stretch jeans! Shock! So I bought the Tropical Riders, but haven’t ridden in them yet (since I’m trying to get my house ready to sell, major PITA and have been too stressed out and neurotic to ride.)
Also bought a pair of the ribbed Irideon 2x knee patch tights (which I thought I might wear on a trail ride if I ever get time to do that). I know others have recommended them on this thread, so am looking forward to trying them.
A Tip on Kerrits
I hope I have some good news for all of you!
I just bought a pair of size XL Kerrits tights. I was so happy when I tried them on–they fit!! Last time I tried a pair of XL Kerrits they went on but were too tight. These fit quite well. I wear about a 20-22WP in jeans and regular trousers. These Kerrits are a little long, but I can deal with that. They are 90% Tactel (Meryl) and 10% spandex. I don’t see a “Style #” as such on them but there are 2 numbers that may be ID #s:
CA# 36890 and RA# 107970. They fit as well as my XL Body Chemistre tights and cost about the same. They have a lovely wide flat waistband which feels really smooth. I haven’t ridden in them yet, but they move well with me and I wanted to post here about them as a brand and style to try. They are black; I wanted a light blue or other color but black is what was in the shop, so black is what I bought.
I think they are the F-Low Rise Performance Tights; if so, Dover has them in their catalogue.
I also tried on a pair of Kerrits size 2X but they fit more snugly than the XL. They were a different style, the fabric not quite as stretchy. I don’t know what style they were but they have a little pocket on the thigh, and were lined in grey fabric (they were either black or dark blue). I was really surprised that they were tighter than the XLs but not at all displeased about buying XL rather than 2X.
I tried on an XL pair of Kerrits in beige/taupe but they did not fit quite as well as the black ones (a bit more snug) and the light color was NOT flattering to my very womanly sized figure.
Spiffy–I recommend tights like these for hot, humid summer weather. The fabric feels like bathing-suit fabric. Sweat dries really fast, as does water when you hose off your horse. 
I have been younger but have never been thin, and I have always hated hot humid Southern summer weather. I always know I love horses and being at the barn, but I really REALIZE it when I find myself riding, grooming, and hand-grazing in weather that would have me hibernating in an air-conditioned house if I didn’t have a horse to ride and barn to go to. “Deep South” is a good term for a region deep in kudzu, spiderweb-strung trees, and air that feels like warm wet cotton.
Ptownevt–Don’t let anyone tell you shouldn’t be riding!!! None of my thin friends ever say anything to me (other than one telling me Kerrits run small, which I really appreciated!). My friends offer me rides on their horses just as they offer our more slender friends. Every year when I watch the Westminster Dog Show I think how there are Whippets and there are Bulldogs; there are Salukis and there are Basset Hounds. I am built more like a Bulldog than a Saluki or Whippet. It’s OK. My horse loves me and gives me wonderful rides. :yes: :yes:
Tropical Rider Endura Cools. The sizing is very generous. The carbon color is light enough to not attract the heat of the sun, but dark enough to not be unflattering. I swear, these wick well enough that they are cooler than wearing shorts. :yes:
I get the low rise ones, and they come up to 2 or 3 fingers below my navel (so not really “low” rise, more “regular rise”).
My Body Chemistre tights are pretty cool and comfortable so far!
Twnkltoz,
Where did you get your Body Chemistre tights? Did you order them from a catalogue/website? The local tack shop says they can’t get any more from Body Chemistre (out of XL). I need one more pair of tights for the summer and can’t find BC online anywhere except at the BC website, and if they’re out of XL then I must look elsewhere.
Do any of you have On Course Cotton Natural Schoolers tights? Dover has them on sale, but they have more cotton and less Lycra than some other brands so I don’t know if they’re as stretchy as my Kerrits and Body Chemistres and Devonaires. But they sure are a good price!
I got them on clearance at a SLT store. Originally sold for $79, they were marked down to $10!! I got two pair.
Wellspotted, I tried a pair of On Course tights in ‘regular’ size XL on at the Dover store, and heard a few distinctive ‘rips’ of thread just trying to get them ON. 
I wear 36 CN shapeley’s comfortably, or slightly largely, but not small enough (yet) for shapely 34’s if that helps?
the place that is 1824 now had some tights, but they’re expensive for tights. I haven’t tried any of the plus tights from anywhere, I just wear my wallyworld cotton lycra leggings.
