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[RC] Our choice of Equipment (was: Weight) - k s swigartBruce Weary said: So why is everyone wearing tights instead of chaps? I don't wear tights, I wear full deer-skin seat breeches made of heavy weight cotton, and I wear them because they give me the best seat on the horse while providing the most comfort; although I have contemplated getting myself some custom made full chaps because I think they might wear better (i.e. I can get more miles per dollar out of them) than the full seat breeches. But I have been putting it off because I keep telling myself I am going to take a few inches off of my hips and thighs, and I don't want to have shelled out the dollars for custom chaps only to have them not fit. The breeches are 12% lycra so they stretch and contract to fit better than full chaps would. I have never even considered how much any of these options weigh, and it never occurred to me that anybody else did either. I always thought that people chose their riding trousers entirely for comfort. Tennis shoes instead of boots? I wear tall boots with a steel shank in the foot. I used to wear paddock boots until Mountain Horse came out with a tall boot that is easy to put on and take off, fits me nicely, and requires very little break in and is reasonably priced. The advantages of having a tall boot with respect to improved riding ability are huge. The only way I would go back to paddock boots would be if Mountain Horse were to stop making these really comfortable tall boots for such a reasonable price; although, since switching over to them for my every day riding, I would probably be willing to shell out for custom tall boots to get the comfort and fit at a less reasonable price. Again, the weight of my foot wear was never anything that I took into consideration. My choice of foot wear is entirely a function of comfort and suitability for the task at hand. It never even occurred to me that anybody would chose their foot wear for its weight. Twelve pound saddles instead of roping saddles? Well...when I had the choice between two different saddles that both fit my horse well and fit me fine too, a 7 pound Wintec and a 45 lb old (1920's) western Heiser saddle. I chose the light, english one a) because it was lighter so I thought it would be better for my horse and b) because it didn't have a horn, which was definitely better for me. However, after one ride in the light saddle that gave my horse a sore back (so I had to pull at the lunch stop) because it didn't have a big enough tree to distribute my weight properly, I ditched the 7 lb Wintec and rode a thousand miles in the 45 lb Heiser (before one of the horses flipped over on it and broke the tree). My horse performed much better with the big, heavier saddle than she did with the small, light one, despite the fact that the small, light english model one was way more comfortable for me than the big, heavy western one. Many people choose their saddles based on how much the saddle weighs, but they would be foolish to sacrifice fit, comfort, or functionality for a few pounds. Since virtually nobody rides endurance bareback, most people, whether they are conscious of it or not, fully understand that fit, comfort and functionality are more important than weight when it comes to saddle choice, because if you rode bareback, you could get the weight of the saddle down to zero. Nylon saddle bags instead of leather saddle bags? I use nylon saddle bags instead of leather ones because they don't make the "no bounce" kind out of leather. If sombody starts making them, I will probably be the first one to buy them (assuming they are well made out of quality leather and aren't TOO expensive). The ones they currently make out of leather are not suitable for travelling at speed, not because of their weight, but because of their design and the inability to properly secure them. I know, because I have tried. I'm kinda partial to leather :). In 1999 I rode in the heavyweight division because I that 45 lb saddle hadn't been broken yet and I was carrying around ~25lbs of camera equipment with me on all the rides. By the end of the year I had done enough rides that I had lost enough weight that I was having to carry rocks in my back pack in order to make the division. So I never did that again. I now ride as a featherweight despite the fact that I usually weigh in at around 185lbs (depending on what I decide to take along with me). If I ride as a featherweight, I don't have to worry about whether I am using the right saddle or have brought enough along with me in order to be in compliance with the rules, and since I am of the opinion that weight carried is virtually irrelevant, it doesn't matter what division I am competing in. Despite the fact that I have ridden in endurance rides weighing in with tack and accoutrments of weights varying from 155 to 215 lbs, I have never noticed much of a difference in my horses' performances under those weights. If I did the same exact ride with the same exact horse under the same exact conditions I might have, but I never did. I have done different rides on different horses over different types of terrain with different footing under different weather conditions and didn't notice a thing. But maybe that's because I never reduced my weight by the extra 10 oz the horse wouldn't have to carry if I were to ditch my tall boots for running shoes. kat Orange County, Calif. kat Orange County, Calif. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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