How often do you wash your half chaps?

L

littletrotter

Well-Known Member
Joined
23 October 2015
Messages
73
Visit site
Just as the title says...?

I have Shires washable fake suede half chaps which i wear only once a week (weekly riding lesson is my only horse time). The label says wash at 30 without detergent, have done so once.

But i'm just wondering how often others wash theirs? I don't want to wash them every week (can't be bothered + think they'll wear out faster) BUT every week after my lesson i put the horse away and untack/rug up and almost every week he pees on my feet (i do stand back but it's a small box and i tend to position myself so i'm between him and the door so i don't have to lug the saddle around him/under his neck to get it out, and the pee runs downhill under his bedding and underfoot). The pee isn't getting right ONTO my chaps but it's seeping up from the straps under the sole. Not to mention i walk through a muddy yard with the odd horse pile often awaiting collection too... Anyway because of this they stink. Currently i just let them dry and then shove them in a bag until next week. How gross is that on a scale of 1-horrific?

The main problem IMO is in the old times when i used to ride i had most of the tack and masses of horsey clothing etc. lying about so the general horse smell was more prevalent, whereas now i ride once a week the hobby is so contained it's basically just one fairly stinky carrier bag...
 
Never wash mine either, although one pair is suede and the other leather and I keep them in the tack room. If you're bothered by the smell can't you hang them in a shed or garage?
 
I washed mine for the first time a couple of weeks ago! they were so old they looked grey, after they were washed they looked amazing! I swear I used to wear these chaps when I rode my mare, who's been retired for 3 years! but before this I always used to just buy new ones!

mine are also shires! was really chuffed with how they came out

I did them at 30 along with a couple of jackets so used some fairy on them and they were fine :D
 
They're washable? I have the exact same type of half chaps, on my umpteenth pair now and I had no idea! I just wear them till they fall apart and then get a new pair (then feel a bit self conscious that they look 'too new'!) x
 
I wash mine about once a fortnight this time of year and about once a month when its not so muddy everywhere. Mine are neoprene though if it makes a difference.
 
I had a pair of synthetic suede half chaps for about 6 years and have just replaced them. They had worn through on the calf. I machine washed them regularly, perhaps every 2 weeks or so and the only repair I did was to redo some stitching. My new also synthetic half chaps have already been washed about 4 times. It's muddy here!
 
Never - they are part suede.
If they were regularly getting peed on though I think I'd get synthetic ones and wash them every week.
My horse lives out so I don't have to muck out in them, I just hose off the worst of the mud when I rinse my boots before going home.
 
I occasionally stick my suede chaps in the washing machine and they're fine. When I say occasionally, I mean maybe every two or three years.
 
Never! Mine are half suede half leather (I think, at one point it could have been all suede!!) and I've worn them nearly every day for the past 5 years at least :p
 
Diggingup66xmastrees said:
Why don't you take them off before going in the stable to untack?
Click to expand...

I literally ride out of the school at the end of the lesson, jump off, lead horse to his box, untack, rug up and then go to my car, take off my gear and drive home. Ours is the last lesson of the evening so there is usually only the instructor and one or at a push two yard staff around, and 4-8 horses coming out of the school, so usually everyone is busy and those of us who can untack do so. Yard office and tack room are not en route, and the staff leave once everyone is settled so the longer i take the longer they are hanging about to lock the gate after my car (other riders get collected or go on train). I do usually peel my gloves off and ditch them and my stick outside his box while i'm with him, i could probably take the chaps off and throw them over the door as soon as we get in.
 
I hate manky chaps, so was delighted to discover that you can machine wash Pro Chaps, despite them being part leather. I chuck mine in whenever I wash yard coats, or horse stuff
 
another for the never settee :) if I was worried about the wee on them I would take them off before going in the stable. I am sure the staff would be happy to wait for the 30 seconds it takes to remoe them
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top