Which riding gloves are the right choice?

When working with horses, both during ground work, riding and daily handling, the protection of the hands is particularly important. Without riding gloves, the palms of the hands can be burned if, for example, the horse breaks free and the rope or lunge is pulled through the hand. In daily stable work, gloves are important to avoid getting splinters of hay and straw in your fingers. In winter, the fingers must be protected from the cold and when riding, they should prevent blisters.

Riding gloves therefore serve several purposes in everyday stable life. But what is important in a good riding glove? And what options are there when it comes to choosing materials? You can find out all this and more in this guide.

Riding gloves for summer – breathability even in high temperatures

Despite high temperatures, you should not have to go without riding gloves. Especially in summer, when horse and rider start to sweat, the material of the reins can cause blisters. If the hand in the riding gloves also sweats, this can be very unpleasant for the rider. Therefore, a good summer riding glove should not only be wrinkle-free to avoid friction. Above all, they should be made of a light, breathable material that wicks moisture away from the hands. Summer riding gloves can be made of a mix of materials, such as breathable mesh and fine nylon. Mesh is a mesh-like, robust fabric that promotes good air circulation and moisture release and is popular for sports and outdoor textiles. Synthetic leather is recommended for the palm, as it provides a good grip and is also easy to clean. Breathable stretch materials with silicone print on the palm are also suitable for summer riding.

Find out about the advantages and disadvantages of the materials in the guide.

Riding gloves for winter – warm hands for more sensitivity

Winter riding gloves must above all keep the fingers warm right down to the fingertips and thus keep them agile. A good grip is not only an advantage when working in the stable. A good winter glove must above all make the reins and the contact between the rider’s hand and the horse’s mouth both stable and fine. The padding and lining of the winter riding glove must therefore not restrict the fingers in their movement and fine motor skills. In order to meet all these requirements, manufacturers such as Roeckl, Felix Bühler, STEEDS and uvex use innovative technologies and materials that are specially tailored to the demands of riding in the cold season.

Winter riding gloves with soft fleece lining guarantee cosy comfort.

Those who prefer a sportier look can opt for winter gloves made of soft shell, which are also warmly lined. Soft shell is water and wind repellent and also breathable. It is also very easy to care for.

In addition to warm materials, there are heated riding gloves for winter that keep every fingertip warm. It should be said right away that these models are more suitable for riding instructors and for stable work, as the rechargeable batteries can be annoying when riding.

Riding gloves with battery-powered heating have a long runtime and can therefore provide faithful service even during a long day in the stable or extended winter rides. Changing the batteries is easy. However, additional costs may arise due to the additional purchase of batteries. The battery box on the glove shaft also looks bulky and thus restricts fine rein control.

Instead of batteries, heated riding gloves can be operated with rechargeable batteries. This eliminates the additional cost of buying batteries. On the other hand, rechargeable batteries have a shorter running time, which is a disadvantage especially when riding in the cold for a long time. If you want to go on long rides in winter, you can still carry a spare battery with you.

Another option of heated riding gloves is a powerbank with USB cable, which does not need a battery at all. The power bank can still massively restrict freedom of movement, as it is very bulky and a cable has to be laid from the gloves to the jacket pocket. Some gloves offer the option of accommodating the powerbank directly on the glove. However, the cable must also be routed here, which poses a danger when handling the horse.

All-Season Riding Gloves – Riding in all weathers

All-season riding gloves are suitable for riders who prefer a model for all seasons. They are breathable to allow good air circulation in summer and prevent heat build-up. Leather is recommended as a material that is suitable for the requirements of all seasons. Leather is breathable, particularly robust and can also keep out the cold in cooler temperatures.

All-season riding gloves are less suitable for cold temperatures around freezing point. If you still don’t want to use winter riding gloves in winter, you can put an under-glove under your all-season model. They are made of wool, fleece, silk or viscose. The advantage of under gloves is that the outer glove can be taken off, for example to operate the telephone, without exposing the bare hand to the cold.

However, wearing both an outer and an under glove can restrict the mobility of the fingers, which is why this variant is not suitable for riding. For mild winters, however, all-season riding gloves are a suitable alternative to winter riding gloves.

Riding gloves for children with colourful design

Children have special requirements for their riding gloves, because children quickly outgrow their sizes. Therefore, riding gloves for children made of flexible material are recommended, so that they grow with the child to a certain extent. In addition, riding gloves for children should offer a firm grip. Children do not yet have the motor skills to hold the reins in every situation – they often simply slip out of their hands. Riding gloves for children should therefore have nubs or prints made of silicone in the palms and on the fingers, which give them a secure grip with the greatest possible flexibility and freedom of movement.

Cotton with silicone nubs in the palm is a suitable outer material for children. Cotton is very stretchy and can therefore keep up to some extent during the growth phase. However, cotton is not particularly hard-wearing, which is why additional costs for an early replacement cannot be ruled out. Fleece and soft shell perform well for winter riding gloves and are suitable for older children.

A colourful design with creative motifs is recommended for children, as this makes riding much more fun for the young talents.

Western riding gloves – from the traditional leather glove to the innovative lightweight for western riding

Riding gloves for western riding were originally inspired by the work gloves of ranch hands in the USA and were made exclusively of robust leather: the hard-wearing cowhide offers optimum protection against blisters, abrasions and other injuries when working with the fixed rope. Leather western gloves are therefore not only suitable for riding, but also for heavy work around the stable, such as stacking wood, building paddocks or even roping cattle and sheep.

In summer, western leather gloves are breathable and at the same time provide protection against the cold in winter. The inside is often roughened, which both absorbs moisture from the hands in summer and provides a light lining in winter. For additional protection against the cold, under gloves can be put on. Leather riding gloves for western riding are also available in a lined version.

As a closure, leather western riding gloves are either offered with quick-release fasteners with Velcro or with a cord to pull them together.

Western riding gloves made of genuine leather require intensive care so that they do not become hard and thus unusable. You can find out how to care for leather gloves correctly in our guide on how to care for riding gloves.

Western riding has developed greatly in recent years. Due to the increasing interest in Western riding competitions, the demands on equipment have grown steadily in addition to the extremely high performance level of the Western riding community. Riding gloves for western riding are also increasingly made of innovative materials that fit like a second skin and give the western rider even more sensitivity during rein work. A low weight, elastic inserts and reinforcements ensure that the more modern western riding gloves also provide good service in the long term, without disregarding the high demands in the diverse western riding disciplines.