With temps in Indiana dipping below zero overnight and not above the teens during the day, this has been my fashionable winter apparel. You have my Ariat Bromont winter paddock boots, Kerrits windpro breeches, Snow pant overalls, Mountain Horse Original jacket, Balaclava head covering.
It's also why you haven't seen any blog posts. I've ridden.... 7 times since the clinic? First the holidays got in the way. Now it's like 10 degrees. The clinic was my last lesson as well. Sigh. Winter.
Winter, it's not like the catalogs. Unless you live in Florida? Sidenote, people in Florida you suck.
While my outfit kept my warm doing barn chores in those temps, it didn't allow for any riding. I see all of my Facebook friends hoping on their horses bareback for a stroll around the arena, or tacking up for a short walk around the fields. This lead to the idea that maybe if I had some overpants suitable for riding, I might hate horses a little less if I could actually ride them.
Smartpak is currently having their winter sale, and their Smartpak Winter Overpants were only $60, with a $10 credit I figured they were worth the plunge.
The pants have an all elastic waist, with zippers that run all the way up the legs so you can take these pants off without having to take your boots off. However, there isn't a tab to hold the pants on you once you unzip them so I imagine you would have to reassemble them at home.
There is also a synthetic suede full seat, something my snow overalls didn't come with, and something I hope will encourage me to ride more.
These pants are extremely bulky for warmth so I'm not counting on any fine tuned riding, and since the weather is dipping below zero again next week hopefully I'll get a chance to test them out for that peaceful bareback ride in the snow.
