I hate carhartts, lol I am short and fluffy and have big boobs. The stiff material just makes me feel like a peanut m&m with T Rex arms lol. I don’t care that I look like an m&m, it’s the T Rex effect for me that ticks me off lol
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Since we’re on the subject of winter coats . . . just this week I ran across an article on the CNN website that barn coats are the fashion trend this year. So we can all just wear our ratty barn coats to town and be right in style!
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can we talk about ZIPPERS? I am so freaking sick of the zippers going bad!!! I have a mountain horse coat that I love - thankfully the snaps work because the zipper died a few years ago. Now the zipper on my Shires coat is on its last legs and I’ve already broken the snaps on it 
So which of these coats have sturdy zippers that will stand up to my abuse?
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You can quite easily have those zippers replaced with heavy duty ones at your local dry cleaners, fyi.
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The last time I had a zipper replaced I think it was $40. I feel like my coats aren’t even worth that 
It’s like when a beater car is totaled because replacing bumper costs more than the car is worth 
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Fair!
Yeah - the last quote I got on a zipper replacement for a jacket was $50 and that was a few years ago.
I’ll echo the LL Bean Baxter Parka. I have that and it is so warm I will sweat over about 25 degrees. It’s not particularly breathable so I rarely ride in it, but it is fabulous for horse chores in cold weather.
It’s also a very tough jacket. I’ve had mine 5+ years and the only thing starting to get iffy is the zipper.
ETA - mine unfortunately does not have a two-way zipper. They may have changed that over the years so check if it’s a feature you care about.
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Zippers are the bane of my existence. Can we bring back snaps and buttons? So sick of broken zippers!
Rant over, stepping off the soapbox. Thanks for letting me vent.
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I tend to get barn coats filthy, even though I dont clean stalls! So I didnt want to spend a lot on a coat that is going to get trashed, but I wanted to be warm. My solution this year was a heated ororo vest under a cheapo Walmart parka. Works so well I got a second coat for when this one gives out.
My winter barn coat is the LL Bean Rugged Ridge parka:
I do barn stuff in and also ride in it. The hood is big enough that I can fit it over my helmet and it has a 2-way zipper which makes it easier to ride with. It’s pretty durable, not sure how old mine is but at least 5 years old. That said, I did have an issue with the zipper but to be honest, I have problems with every zipper (guess I’m hard on my stuff or have bad zipper karma). I bought a zipper repair kit from FixnZip and was able to fix it.
The kits from FixnZip are pretty easy and was able to rescue some of my other jackets 
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Check out the repair kits from FixnZip, I was able to salvage some jackets with them.
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I have the same issue. I found that putting a thermal sock over the boots and then put a rubber over shoe on really helps. I did this with my winter riding boots and this year, I put did the same thing with my LL Bean winter boots. I just use the cheap thick acrylic socks and for my LL Bean boots I used this:
Looks goofy but my feet are soooo much warmer now!
I think OP was referring more to barn coats, BUT- if anyone is looking for a great winter riding coat, the Horze one I linked from Chicks is really nice. Great fabric, fits well and seems like it will be warm and hold up nicely.
