Love them or hate them, horse riding gloves are an integral piece of riding equipment. Their main purpose is to protect hands from the weather and to prevent skin irritation. They’re often textured too, which helps you to keep a firm and secure grip on the reins and good contact with your horse.
When choosing a pair of riding gloves, it’s important to select ones that are durable, comfortable and suited to your riding discipline. Before buying a pair, there are several important things to consider, all of which are outlined in this guide. We’ll provide all of the information you need, to ensure that you choose the best horse riding gloves for your needs.
We’ll even recommend our top choice of gloves in our buyer's review at the end.
Benefits of Wearing Horse Riding Gloves
Even those who are reluctant to wear riding gloves will usually be reaching out for them in the depths of winter. Wearing a good pair of horse riding gloves is the only way to stop the numb hands that come with cold weather riding.
Rain and snow can cause reins to become slippery, which can be dangerous, especially if you have a flighty, horse who likes to pull a lot! A good pair of riding gloves will not only keep your hands warm and protected from the weather, but they’ll also give you a firm grip and better contact with your horse's mouth.
It’s not just in the winter that we can benefit from using gloves. In warmer weather, hands can get sweaty and irritated.
To avoid chaffing in the summer, it's best to wear light, breathable summer riding gloves. Equestrian gloves can come in handy for groundwork too. Providing extra protection and grip when lunging and leading your horse. For maximum benefits, it's advisable to use only the best horse riding gloves.
Sizing and Fit Guide for Horse Riding Gloves
Buying the right size of gloves is as important as buying the right size of shoes. Poorly fitting gloves can cause pain and discomfort. Well fitted gloves should feel comfortable with no tight areas and shouldn't be too long in the fingers.
To get the best fit, It’s worth taking the time with a measuring tape to find out your hand size. Most manufactures size their gloves with the universal hand measurement chart which is given in inches.
To take measurement:
Place your hand flat out in front of you and use the tape to measure the girth of your hand.
Make the measurement around the widest point of your palm.
Hold your thumb out at a right angle and don’t include it in the measurement.
Place the end of the tape in the center of your palm and wind it around your hand until you come back to the starting point. This reading is your hand is your size.
How to Choose The Right Riding Gloves
To get the most from your riding gloves then you need to choose ones suitable for your needs. It’s important to ask yourself questions first.
Will you be using them in summer or winter, daily or for specific events?
Below we’ll explore the main things to consider to ensure that you buy the best horse riding gloves.
The Seasons
It’s important to choose gloves that are suited to your climate.
Wearing gloves that are too heavy for summer riding, causes sweating and chafing.
Wearing gloves that are too light in the winter, won't help with the cold.
If your happy riding in all conditions then choose an all-weather glove or invest in a few pairs to suit the different seasons.
The best winter riding gloves should be heavy, insulated, waterproof, and well fitted on the wrist. For summer riding, choose lighter gloves made with breathable, sweat absorbing fabrics.
Durability
When we go horseriding, our hands and gloves are put under a lot of pressure from the constant hold on the reins. A good pair of equestrian gloves will be made of tough, durable material that’s reinforced in all the necessary areas.
When choosing a glove, look for extra seams and paddings between the two rein fingers as well as on the palm. This extra lining not only protects your hands, but it also strengthens the glove making it more durable.
These reinforced areas should be textured with silicone pimples, rubber, suede or leather. This textured surface increases the grip and hold on the reins, an important feature in riding gloves.
Material
Leather has always been a material of choice when it comes to horses and the equine world. The soft texture of leather horse riding gloves, provides comfort for your hands and a natural grip on the reins. Leather gloves can be cleaned and maintained in the same way as your leather tack.
A lot of glove manufactures have their own synthetic materials specifically designed for horse riding. If you like gloves to have a “skin feel” then choose a tight gripping material such as nylon or lycra. If you prefer more space around your hands then choose synthetic leather.
Most synthetic gloves are machine washable and will come with individual cleaning instructions.
Breathability
The breathability of the material is a good thing to consider. Avoid fabrics that don’t allow your hands to breath, they can make the inside of the gloves damp and humid.
Cotton gloves are comfortable, breathable and soft on the skin, however, they aren’t very durable as.
Style and Purpose
Are you looking for horseback riding gloves for general everyday use, or an elegant, pristine pair of show gloves?
Do you want summer riding gloves or ones for winter?
It’s important that you choose the right gloves for the job, ones that are fit for purpose. An expensive pair of brilliant white, cotton dressage gloves aren't going to suit muddy winter riding for example.
There are so many different gloves on the market that you can find ones with colors or patterns to match your style and your horse. You’ll find gloves to suit every type of riding discipline too from elegant English riding gloves through to stylish Western riding gloves.
Buyers Reviews - 6 of the Best Gloves for Riding
With so many equestrian gloves on the market right now, finding the perfect ones can be pretty time consuming. We’d thought we’d narrow the options down to help you in your search for riding gloves.
Below, we’ve listed and reviewed six of the best gloves for horse riding, for both winter and summer season.
Best Summer Riding Gloves
1. Roeckl Riding Gloves Madrid
When it comes to style, you can't beat these elegant summer riding gloves from Roeckl. With over 175 years of experience in the industry, high quality is guaranteed. These gloves are lightweight and made with a unique Drytec G5 material that provides the best comfort and grip.
This professional standard glove is perfect for competitions in both practicality and style. It has special stop slip patches and reinforced trimmings, as well as touch screen friendly fingers.
The backs of these equestrian riding gloves are made from a special micro mesh, ensuring perfect fit and comfort. These high quality summer riding gloves will be sure to last you a long time.
2. Noble Outfitters Mesh Glove
Noble Outfitters have created a summer riding glove using their own “cool mesh” material. This fabric fits the hand perfectly while allowing your skin to breathe when you're riding.
Even though these summer riding gloves are light, they are highly durable and can be used and cleaned regularly. The fingertips are touch screen friendly and the palm and rein fingers are heavily reinforced.
They come in a huge range of funky colors and patterns making them a good choice for kids riding gloves. These are a stylish, durable, and comfortable pair of summer riding gloves that are definitely worth investing in.
The Heritage Pro Flow Summer Gloves are made from a black, "Coolmax" mesh material, that guarantees to keep your hands fresh and breathing in even the hottest temperatures. This material is super stretchable which provides a light and comfortable fit for summer riding and the fingertips are touch screen friendly.
Their elegant design makes them perfect for the show ring, and they have a great grip for professional performance. Heritage is a brand you can trust, and they make their gloves with their own, patented, rein cut design. Giving you the best strength and reinforcement exactly where you need it.
Best Horse Riding Gloves for Winter
4. Heritage Gloves Extreme Winter Gloves
These high quality gloves are guaranteed to keep your hands warm no matter how cold your riding conditions are. They’re made up of no less than four layers, making it impossible for the wind and rain to get in when you’re riding. They’re lined with breathable, waterproof material to keep your hands dry and comfortable in all situations.
The palm grip is double reinforced giving you an extra secure grip and contact with your horse in wet conditions. The fingertips are touch screen friendly too.
Due to its popularity, the design of this glove is constantly being updated. It's definitely worth investing in for winter riding.
5. SSG "The Original" All Weather Gloves
This is one of the most popular gloves on the market, from a trusted and well reputed company. As well as being tough and durable, they’re stylish too, coming in a range of vibrant colors and patterns. They’re great for everyday use and, as the title suggests, all weathers too.
These gloves are hard wearing and can be washed over and over again in a machine. They dry quickly and are made from a special sweat absorbing material for extra comfort.
These gloves are made from a unique “aquasued” material, reinforced at the palm giving you a good fit on the hands, and grip on the reins. A fantastic general purpose riding glove to invest in.
6. ALLNESS INC Leather Equestrian Horse Riding Gloves
These synthetic leather riding gloves are both stylish and practical in their design. They're elegant enough to be worn in shows yet tough enough for competitions and everyday use. Allness make their product with high quality, synthetic leather which is light and breathable with a tough grip.
This riding glove may feel lightweight but it actually does a great job keeping your hands warm in the cold. It’s fitted with a large velcro strip to ensure you get the best fit and its reinforced in all of the right places.
These are a strong and durable pair of multi-purpose equestrian riding gloves.
Best Choice
In our opinion, everything you need in a riding glove can be found in SSG’s, “The Original” All Weather Gloves. They’re great value for money and perfect to use in all seasons and riding disciplines. SSG is a trusted company that always delivers high quality, durable products that are highly resistant to wear and tear. These riding gloves are comfortable, good looking and practical. If you only buy one pair, then these are the best horse riding gloves to choose.
Conclusion
I’m sure that every equine related person reading this will have suffered a painful rope or rein burn at one point or another. We make our hands work very hard alongside our horses and we should give them the protection that they deserve.
Horse riding gloves are not only a safety feature for your hands, but they can also improve your skills as a rider by increasing contact and communication with your horse. Riding gloves are an important piece of equipment and every rider should have at least one pair.
Once you’ve found the best horse riding gloves, you’ll find it impossible to go back to riding barehanded.
