As the bottom part of our body is considered the most vulnerable whenever horse riding, it’s minimal surprise there are so many different alternatives when it comes to your safety. Not surprisingly equestrian legwear has developed across the generations and plenty of the styles and options that people notice today are based on very functional factors and the demands of history. Whilst nowadays we sometimes ride for satisfaction and sometimes in competition, during the earlier days folks would almost always ride out of necessity, a means of pursuing their next meal, or to fight off marauding assailants!

Chaps, based on the Spanish language term chaparejas, have been originally designed to safeguard the actual rider’s legs through the inevitable tough terrain, scrub and what has been known in the United States as chaparral. In recognition of the fact that the horse was also relatively vulnerable to these types of dangers, the first chaps might be considered a large piece of leather that could be coupled to the saddle and would certainly protect the horse as well as the rider’s legs.

With time, chaps are actually designed and produced for a number of different purposes. You are able to pick these based on your decision on it’s own, or based on whatever kind of horseback riding activity you’re involved in. For example, rodeo riders could be quickly identified due to the batwing chaps they favour. These employ a close cut when it comes to the segment from the knee to hip, but a wide open layout underneath, intended for efficiency within the rather frenetic rodeo setting.

Half chaps have evolved as a means of providing additional safeguards for those riders that pick shorter boots. The half chaps could be attached to the short boots and present the actual effect the boots are long. For riders who select short boots, these types of half chaps can provide that further level of proper protection any time out riding on the trail, as an example.

Woolly chaps may also be familiar to many folks who like to watch some of those Western motion pictures, where riders were superbly decked out with chaps covered with goat hair, to defend them from extremes of cold weather.

Although shotgun chaps are very functional plus “show” chaps are specially made for use within horse shows or conventional events, all of them have a very important factor in common. The specific lower-leg protectors are attached to a belt and there is simply no defense or even coverage in the crotch or seat areas.

Here’s a quick question. Did you know the reason why chaps often feature fringes over the edges? Whilst nowadays this really is much more for display compared to other things, back in the day of horse riding (whenever everything needed a function) the fringe might behave as a gathering point for excessive water during rainstorms. It would be far easier to eliminate this moisture and to give it time to evaporate in short order as the fringe blew freely away from the remaining portion of the clothing.

While you might not run into any kind of prickly shrubbery or chaparral if you are out riding, chaps can continue to provide you with that added component of defense for your lower limbs, allowing you to steer clear of exhaustion whenever riding for longer periods of time.