Below you will find the best kit and gear for your horse riding adventure and holiday! This is a general list of the clothes and accessories that I use while riding and also while taking videos and photos. All items are clickable so you can immediately get those fantastic outfits, filming equipment and more handy gear!
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There are so many jods to choose from but I personally LOVE riding in jeans in places where western saddles are used, but also on the occasional English saddle as long as it’s not raining. In the rain jeans get super heavy, and it’s a lot nicer to ride in leggings.
These Wrangler riding jeans will make you fit right in with the ranch you’re riding at, your boots fit underneath and you’ll be comfortable in your Western saddle.
Leggings won’t keep you nearly as warm in the cold but will dry quicker in the rain. Also absolutely perfect for hot countries. I like to wear leggings when swimming with horses in more conservative countries or where the risk of sunburn is super high. I’m always on a horse so my legs never see the sunlight! These riding tights by Willit are comfortable and have a pocket for your phone too.
Also read: How many jods do I need?
Long sleeves for hot countries! It might sound strange but lots of tops with long sleeves will keep you relatively cooler and prevent you from burning to a crisp on the first day of your ride. These blouses from Jessie Kidden are absolutely perfect for keeping you cool and not sunburnt. And they look super nice! They even roll up into a short sleeve too. For the rest, any top that you’re comfortable in will do for most adventures. However, if you are spotting wildlife make sure to dress neutral and without any bright colours or patterns!
You can opt for a full rain set like this one by Tidewe, it's nice when it’s cold out. However, it doesn’t always have to be cold when it rains, and those full rain pants and jackets get hot and sweaty. If you are in a warmer country with a chance of rain, I recommend you bring a long rain jacket. This one is absolutely perfect for horse riding in bad weather without getting hot and sweaty underneath.
Cowboy boots might look good on a western saddle, and they are super comfortable to ride in, however be careful if your ride requires walking. These types of boots don't get a lot of grip so if the terrain gets rough and you need to lead your horse, you’re going to be slipping and sliding around. If your adventure doesn’t require leading your horse on rough terrain I highly recommend some beautiful (and slippery) vintage boots. If you need something with more grip Ariat makes these incredible western riding boots with pretty good soles for walking!
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If you are riding English or on trail saddles on your adventure I definitely recommend you wear hiking boots. I personally never ride with chaps (I haven't felt the insides of my calves for years) but you can even put chaps over them. Please break in your hiking shoes before wearing them on a trip! If you are used to your shoes you will be very comfortable both in and out of the saddle on your horse riding holiday. These Columbia hiking boots are perfect for use on horseback around the world.
My personal favourites: Chisos No. 4 boots!
Want to create awesome content and ever-lasting memories from your trip? Make sure to take some filming equipment and handy tools to use. If you're not very steady while filming, I highly recommend this gimbal by DJI. I personally don’t use it very often as I’m quite steady while filming from horseback, but I do like to take a phone case with a cord on it. I have this yellow one. I love it and it has saved my phone numerous times while riding fresh horses. You never know when you might need two hands on the wheel (or maybe even one on the horn…). For storing your gimbal I highly recommend getting a fanny pack so you can quickly grab it and put it away. Make sure it’s quite big so your gimbal fits! I use this one by Eastpak.
If you want to take your filming to the next level you might want to invest in a good GoPro and maybe even a drone by DJI. If you don’t have experience with drones this DJI mini one is a very good option (it’s also half the price)!
Also read: How to take great videos while horse riding
Bring lots! Trust me, you will want fresh underwear and fresh socks every time you get on your horse again. That means, if you are doing an early morning ride and a sunset ride, you’ll want fresh sets of underwear and socks for the second half of the day. My suitcase is usually mostly filled with these items and only two, sometimes three, pairs of jods.
First of all, make sure you have good travel insurance! Have a look here to find your perfect package.
It is completely up to you to wear a body protector. If you want to ride your horse with one while on holiday, make sure to get a light one like this body protector from Ovation.
Whether you wear a helmet or not depends on the place you will be doing your horse riding holiday, or maybe you always wear one! Either way, some places provide helmets and some don't, but it’s always nice to bring your own that you know is comfortable. When I’m not sure whether helmets are compulsory or provided, I always take a cheap one with me just in case. Something like this is perfect for such occasions. Some places, it’s completely up to you to wear a helmet or not and often guides ride without one, this is just a personal choice and everyone of course is free to wear whatever they want. In hot countries, make sure to drink lots of water and protect yourself from the sun - it’s incredibly easy to get heatstroke if you wear a helmet!
Depending on where you’re riding, you might want to bring a high visibility band for your helmet, or a hi vis t-shirt or vest. Of course, please don’t wear these on a safari where you’ll be seeing animals. However, if you’re going somewhere where you will be riding through towns and over streets it is a good idea to bring something hi vis such as this t-shirt. (None of the horse riding experiences by Hooves Around The World require this.)
You will want to get comfortable after a full day of riding horses and exploring nature! Make sure to bring an outfit for after riding. It feels amazing to change into some nice clean clothes after a shower at the end of the day, and you really don’t want to get into your jods again! Don’t overdo it on the non-riding clothes though, for trips of about a week long you’ll likely wear the same pants and maybe two different tops throughout the trip. You’re on a horse most of the time anyway!
Personally and for business transactions I always use Wise. It’s super safe to use and it allows you to keep different currencies in jars online so that you are not affected by the exchange rate so much! You can make a Wise account here. You also don’t have to give anyone your bank details by using Wise!
