horseback riding in a kilt?

**Deirachel** · 25th June 12, 05:43 PM

If I remember correctly, he's a Percheron named Tristan, owned by a friend of Tobus's. I remember commenting about that photo as one of my first posts here on Xmarks. I have a love for Perches, so it's one of those facts that stick in my head.

Honestly, I have a personal theory (no research so far) that pants were invented just because of horse riding. Look at the horse cultures of history and we see a prevalence of pants (Native American Plains buckskins, European leggings, Mongol pants...), but if you look at the areas where riding horses was more limited we see kilts and robes (Scotland, Rome, Greece, Saharan Africa, Polynesia....).

So, I agree with the majority. Pants when riding. If you want the jean look, but the comfort of breeches, you might want to look into some riding jeans like are sold here. If it's a dude ranch-type thing with the "cattle drive" thing, pack a PV or Acrylic kilt into the saddle-bags for camp.

**pabackwoodsman** · 25th June 12, 05:54 PM

I would call myself a horseman, as I own one and ride as much as I can. My two cents would be if you are a first time rider, go with a good set of jeans not skin tight, but not overly loose. As you can see from my avatar, I have ridden kilted more than a few times, and have enjoyed it. I however use the kilts I wear when I do historical camps as I don't mind getting them dirty. I also find that English tack works better for me. Have a great time on your trip. Tobus, I too enjoy the smell of a well worked horse.

**Tobus** · 26th June 12, 04:49 AM

If I remember correctly, he's a Percheron named Tristan, owned by a friend of Tobus's. I remember commenting about that photo as one of my first posts here on Xmarks. I have a love for Perches, so it's one of those facts that stick in my head.

Yup, that's right. He's a Percheron. I used to do a lot of work with Percherons, mainly pulling stagecoaches, carriages, wagons, and ploughs. I fell in love with the breed. They are truly 'gentle giants'.

Sadly, I don't own any Percherons myself. My horses are normal-sized breeds, mostly Paints. So if I'm riding, it's usually going to be on a Paint horse, wearing boots and jeans.

**creagdhubh** · 26th June 12, 08:45 AM

Great photos, Tobus! My little sister, Emma, is quite an accomplished equestrian and competes all the time (has done so since she was very young!). She would love your photos!

Cheers,

**Kilted Magyar** · 26th June 12, 10:04 AM

"I'll throw in my 2 cents as well: as an avid horseman for 30+ years and a kilty for a few less, just say no to kilted riding. In fact I do not wear jeans when riding. I have found that sweats with as few seams as possible are the best riding pants. The double folded seems on most jeans can cause welts and raw spots on tender portions of your anatomy. Sweats are cheap, easy to clean or discard, cause little chaffing or welts."
This is an excellent suggestion. If I may add, wear a good substantial pair of boots are perhaps hiking boots. Definitely no sneakers.
Judging from the response to this question do we need an equestrian forum?

**Tobus** · 26th June 12, 10:44 AM

Since we all pretty much agree that the kilt doesn't go well with horseback riding, and this is a kilt board, I'm guessing the answer is going to be 'no' on an equestrian forum.

The idea of riding in sweatpants strikes me as comical! I'm one of the few people who rides around here without wearing chaps or using tapaderos on my saddle. Even on maintained trails, we're always scraping through yucca, juniper, mesquite, and other stuff that would shred a pair of sweatpants after the first mile. Some of my wife's friends have ridden the trails in their English style riding pants (usually spandex), and found them nearly ruined at the end. Now I think they have learned to wear denim jeans and/or leather chaps when hitting the trail, and they leave the delicate pants for riding in the round pen or the arena.

I will say, though, that riding in soft seamless pants would help a lot with contact and subtle leg cues. But as for the seams in jeans causing problems, I've never really had any issues with it. Wrangler makes their jeans with a different seam inside the legs for this very reason.

**creagdhubh** · 26th June 12, 11:31 AM

Originally Posted by Tobus

Since we all pretty much agree that the kilt doesn't go well with horseback riding, and this is a kilt board, I'm guessing the answer is going to be 'no' on an equestrian forum.

The idea of riding in sweatpants strikes me as comical! I'm one of the few people who rides around here without wearing chaps or using tapaderos on my saddle. Even on maintained trails, we're always scraping through yucca, juniper, mesquite, and other stuff that would shred a pair of sweatpants after the first mile. Some of my wife's friends have ridden the trails in their English style riding pants (usually spandex), and found them nearly ruined at the end. Now I think they have learned to wear denim jeans and/or leather chaps when hitting the trail, and they leave the delicate pants for riding in the round pen or the arena.

I will say, though, that riding in soft seamless pants would help a lot with contact and subtle leg cues. But as for the seams in jeans causing problems, I've never really had any issues with it. Wrangler makes their jeans with a different seam inside the legs for this very reason.

***

**Mike_Oettle** · 27th June 12, 07:35 AM

Tobus, those are good-looking horses.
I was wondering whether any of you had come across the books by Gavin Menzies titled 1423: The Year China Discovered the World and 1434: The Year a Magnificent Chinese Fleet Sailed to Italy and Ignited the Renaissance.
He presents some pretty solid evidence indicating that it was the work of Chinese explorers, and the presence of their maps in Western Europe, that led to the discoveries by Columbus and Da Gama.
In 1434 he claims that the painted pony was introduced to the US west coast by the Chinese. It appears that a very similar breed is to be found in China.
Regards,
Mike

**Tobus** · 27th June 12, 10:19 AM

In 1434 he claims that the painted pony was introduced to the US west coast by the Chinese.

Well, I'm no expert on the subject, nor have I seen his claims (or his documentation), but it's well known that the Spanish Conquistadors brought spotted (pinto) horses to the Americas, and they didn't become common anywhere on this continent until long after that. So at best, the Chinese may have contributed to the spread of them, but could not have been solely responsible. Is he saying that the Chinese brought these horses to the Americas in the 1400s?!

My horses are Paint Horses, though, which is very specific to breeding. They must come from Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred stock. Any horse which exhibits markings like that, but doesn't have such a pedigree, can only be called a pinto, not a Paint.