When learning to ride a horse or pony, the closer you can get to correct riding clothing the more comfortable and safe you will be whilst riding.
An absolute essential that should never be overlooked is the riding hat. Riding hats come in various sizes and styles, the two most commonly seen are the skull cap or jockey helmet and the traditional riding hat with a peak (often referred to as a velvet riding hat).
Whichever riding hat you choose to use, they should always be kite marked, and ideally conform to the British standard for riding hats of BSEN 1384 and the PAS 015. Choosing a riding hat of at least these standards will ensure that the rider is fully protected whatever the choose to do on the horse, be in riding in the confines of a manege or galloping and jumping across country or whilst hunting.
A lot of modern riding hats include some form of ventilation which is often also seen as essential by people that ride on a regular basis, as they help to prevent your head from becoming overly hot and sweaty whilst horse riding.
The skull cap was once the most popular and safest type of riding hat, and was used by jockeys in particular, as well as everyday horse riders. Silks or hat covers are used with the jockey skull cap to give it a peak and its often colourful appearance, and because of this they are a useful everyday riding hat as the rider is able to use different hat covers for different occasions.
The other popular style of horse riding hat is the traditional looking velvet covered riding hat, that has a built in peak. These hats are most often seem in horse riding competitions, especially show jumping or dressage or when showing horses.
Specialist leg wear for riding has been developed to help overcome the common problems normally associated with riding in ordinary trousers or jeans. Loose fitting leg wear without reinforcement will often lead to chafing, rubbing and even pinching of the calves particularly by the stirrup leathers. The problem is far more common with English saddles with their thin stirrup leathers, than with the wide straps of a western saddle, with which is it usual to wear jeans.
The vast majority of riding in the UK is English style, and jodhpurs and breeches are the accepted leg wear for women riders, and male riders, and child riders usually wear jodhpurs as opposed to breeches.
The difference between jodhpurs and breeches is the bottom of the leg; breeches finish at or above the ankle bone (but always below the knee) and fasten with a button or hoop and loop closure. Jodhpurs should finish below the ankle bone with a turn up of approximately 1”.
Breeches are more suited to wearing long boots or half chaps and gaiters as they dramatically reduce the bulk around the ankle.
Jodhpurs are ideally for use with short boots such as jodhpur boots, and they can be secured with jodhpur clips to keep them in place. Jodhpurs and jodhpur boots are the correct dress for young riders as it encourages correct leg position and grip and allow a riding instructor to see what the child is doing with their heel.
Both jodhpurs and modern breeches are most usually made from a 4 way stretch material, with reinforcements at the knees called knee patches. Both jodhpurs and breeches are made to fit closely to help avoid the material twisting or rubbing, and should be comfortable around the waist when in a sitting position. The usual fastening for riding leg wear is a hook and bar fastening with a zip for ease of fit, but pull on style jodhpurs and riding breeches are also very popular.
The peewee bit is a revolutionary horse bit produced in Australia, but invented by a horseman in America called Peewee Stevenson. The Saddlery Shop imports this nifty little bit and we wholesale and retail the peewee bit, as well as offering a hire service for the peewee bit.
The mouthpiece of the Pee wee bit is a fine mullen mouth, which allows the horse plenty of space for his tongue, and being made from sweet iron also encourages the horse to salivate and keep a soft mouth. The Peewee bit is generally constructed from stainless steel for strength and durability, and has two small arms that enable the rider to communicate far more effectively with the horse without using the horses mouth directly. The side bars put pressure on the side of the horses jaw when activated by the riders signals, and encourage the horse to turn and listen without discomfort being imposed on his mouth.
The peewee horse bit can be used in two different positions, the standard and correctional position. When in the regular position, the pee wee bit sits passively in the horses mouth and follows the curve of the horses tongue. When pressure is applied to the rein, the bit merely pushes down on the tongue and bars evenly and without excessive pressure in any one place. The lack of joint prevents the bit from jabbing the roof of the horses mouth or causing a nutcracker effect on the horses bars. In the correctional or remedial position, the peewee bits’ mouthpice sits in a curved shape up the horses tongue, which helps to prevent the horse from attempting to put their tobgue over the bit. When the bit is activated through the riders rein, the bit rolls down slightly more into the tongue which gives a slightly stronger signal than in the regular position.
The pee wee horse bit is very popular bit for use on Thoroughbreds and Arabs, particularly in the endurance and racing world. TB’s and Arabs tend to have very petite mouths with a large tongue, thus not allowing a lot of space for a bit to sit comfortably, hence the slenderness of the Peewee bit is ideal for such a mouth conformation. The pee wee is currently available in two sizes; standard and large but will also be available in a medium size in 2009 for horses smaller than 6” but bigger than 5 ½” (or with fleshy lips).
The Hackamore is one of the options for horses that need a method of control that does not involve a bit in the horses mouth. Also known as a bitless bridle, at The Saddlery Shop we stock the two most popular and readily available forms of hackamore, the English and the German hackamore.
Both the English hackamore and the German hackamore are used on your existing bridle with the noseband removed, and the hackamore attached to the cheeks as you would a traditional metal horse bit. The control is achieved by the use of nose and poll pressure, and as such care must be taken when fitting the hackamore bit to ensure the noseband is fitted above the soft cartilage of the horses nose to prevent nerve and cartilage damage from occurring. The hackamore should ideally be fitted approx 2 fingers width above the last soft part of the horses nose- it is equally important not to fit it too high or the rider may find a lack of control!
The English hackamore is regarded as one of the least severe forms of the bitless bridle, and has a relatively short shank. The back strap is either leather or a combination of leather and a chain, the latter being slightly more severe in its action. The nose of the English hackamore is usually padded with fleece on a wide leather strap to minimise pressure.
The German hackamore has a much longer shank and a chain style noseband and curb. It is often advised to use a thick noseband cover to prevent pressure and rubs, and as with any hackamore, the German should in particular be used with care by an experienced rider.
There is no doubt some horses prefer the communication achieved though nose pressure to the relatively invasive action of a traditional meal horse bit, but they tend to work best on relatively well schooled horses that respond well the leg aids as it is common to experience some loss of steering compared to a metal bit.
Gag bits are seen a lot less in modern times, but were widely used on strong horses before the advent of the more modern bits. Continental style bits are often referred to as gags incorrectly, as a true gag has a much more extreme action.
Gag bits come in a similar pattern to traditional snaffle bits, but with one key difference - the cheeks have a hole top and bottom to allow a specially designed gag cheek piece to pass through the cheek as opposed to being buckled directly onto the bit ring.
The gag cheeks are usually made from all leather, of leather with a nylon core, the later often being preferable from the effect point of view as the release is quicker and more obvious to the horse than an all leather gag cheek which is less malleable (although aesthetically more pleasing than nylon it could be argued).
The action of a gag bit is to raise the bit up in the horses mouth, thus exerting potentially a great deal of poll pressure, and pressure on the corner of the horses lips. The mouthpieces also influence the effect the gag has on the horse, a jointed will also give strong bar and palate pressure. Gags should only be used by experienced riders with sympathetic hands, as their ability to raise the bit in the horses mouth is extreme and could potentially cause injury if used incorrectly.
Kimblewick bits are often used on ponies or horses with smaller heads as an alternative to a pelham.
The Kimblewick bit still uses the curb action but to a lesser degree as there is not so much poll pressure and leverage. The exception to this is the slotted cheek kimblewick bit, which has 2 slots in the cheek giving 3 possible options for the reins, either around the bit ring as is usual, or in the upper most slot which lessen the effect of the poll pressure and curb use, or the lower slot which gives the effect of a short shank, and greater poll pressure and curb use.
The slotted Kimblewick is the bit most usually seen on ponies and horses ridden by competent adult or child riders as it can be severe in the wrong hands. The standard Kimblewick cheek is a plain ring, and used with one pair of reins.
The mouthpieces most commonly associated with Kimblewicks are the mullen mouth or Cambridge/ported mouth, the kindest mouthpieces in general, and the jointed Kimblewick. As with the jointed pelham, the jointed Kimble wick lessens the action of the curb and although useful for some horses that dislike excess curb pressure the action of the bit is compromised.
The Kimblewick is a useful bit for small strong ponies, and especially is used with an elastic curb chain to minimise the risk or too much pressure, can be safely used (under supervision) by novice children on strong ponies.
Horse Bits with a curb chain often have a shank for added poll pressure as well. Bits that have a shank and a curb are often some type of pelham horse bit, which is classed as a fairly strong bit. The pelham family of bits work mainly on the curb groove and utilize poll pressure to gain control of the horse, particularly in exciting situations such as in company.
Rugby pelhams are often used as an alternative to a double bridle in the show ring for horses that do not have a mouth big enough to comfortably use the combination of a Weymouth and bradoon at once. The rugby pelham has the addition of a loose ring attached, which gives the appearance of a double and work slightly less directly on the mouth than the traditional pelham.
Common mouthpieces in either the rugby pelham or plain pelham are mullen or rubber covered mullen which are considered the mildest, Cambridge mouth or port mouth which are ideal for horses that need a little extra space for the tongue, and jointed or French link.
A jointed pelham or French link pelham work well on some horses, but less so on others as their action is somewhat of a compromise with the action of the curb being lessened by the broken mouthpiece of the bit. The shank provides quite a strong poll pressure in all cases, and all pehams should ideally be used with double reins to allow the rider to control the signal to the horse more precisely. If the rider cannot manage double reins, pelham roundings should be used to gain a half way effect, but the disadvantage is that the curb will always come into effect whether needed or not.
When learning to ride a horse or pony, the closer you can get to correct riding clothing the more comfortable and safe you will be whilst riding. 
The skull cap was once the most popular and safest type of riding hat, and was used by jockeys in particular, as well as everyday horse riders. Silks or hat covers are used with the jockey skull cap to give it a peak and its often colourful appearance, and because of this they are a useful everyday riding hat as the rider is able to use different hat covers for different occasions. 
