What NOT to Wear on Your Horse Riding Vacation

Armed with firsthand experience Top50 Ranches is here to tell you what NOT to wear on your dude ranch vacation-for your safety AND your comfort.If you barely ride horses at all and love the movie "City Slickers" you might be considering a vacation at a du

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If you barely ride horses at all and love the movie “City Slickers,” you might be considering a vacation at a dude ranch as your next riding destination.

If so, here’s a fun article from Top50 Ranches on what NOT to wear … especially for the ladies.

Enjoy,

Amy

You’re looking forward to a week of riding in the wide open spaces, the feeling of freedom, fresh air on your face and the sounds of wildlife all around you. Instead, you find yourself extremely uncomfortable and unable to truly embrace all that’s around you. And it’s all because of the clothing you’ve packed! Yes, you do look spectacular; however, your comfort is majorly suffering!

Over the years, everyone has told you what TO wear on your dude ranch vacation, but has anyone ever told you what NOT to wear? Armed with firsthand experience, Top50 Ranches is here to tell you what NOT to wear on your dude ranch vacation-for your safety AND your comfort. Counting down from 10 to 1, we hope to amuse and enlighten you!

10 ) Don’t dress up like John Wayne with guns on the belt and long spurs.
9 ) Hawaiian shirt & big screen sunglasses flapping around
8 ) Shorts to go horseback riding
7 ) Telephones, ear phones, radios in tow
6 ) Hat that won’t stay on your head
5 ) Hiking boots to go riding
4 ) A huge cigar in your mouth
3 ) Austrian Lederhosen
2 ) Very low hip jeans. Trust us, this will not be comfortable during riding! They will certainly crawl under your fanny and cause great discomfort; much better for night-time kickin’ back.
And…the number 1 item you should never wear on your dude ranch vacation … drum roll, please …
1 )Thong underwear!

Sorry, ladies, but it’s true. We’re just looking out for your comfort on your riding holiday!

Now that we’ve covered what NOT to wear and had a little fun, let’s cover what TO wear. What to wear or tote along with you during your dude ranch vacation can really vary, depending upon where you’re headed, the type of ranch and the time of year, so make sure to ask each ranch to which you travel.

Here’s a short list of essentials:
1 Canteen or water bottle (something smaller that can go with you on rides, but ask each ranch about its policy on this)
1 pair Leather gloves (especially at a real working ranch http://www.top50ranches.com/working-ranch-vacations.htm)
2 sleeveless tops or camisoles
2 Button-down shirts
1 pair of shorts
2 pairs of jeans (seam on outside preferably and make sure to wash a handful of times to soften)
1 light, waterproof jacket
EVENING – depending upon the ranch and whether casual or formal, the below can vary
3 tops
2 pairs of dress jeans
1 lightweight jacket
SHOES
1 pair of low-heeled boots
1 pair of comfortable walking shoes or sneakers
1 pair of flip-flops or sandals

Accessories
1 cowboy hat (optional – but make sure it stays on your head!)

Additional Items sports bra, sunscreen, bug spray, bathing suit (depending upon the ranch), spandex shorts to wear under your jeans (not needed, but may improve your comfort; we’ve seen people buy those biking shorts with padding in them for their riding holiday)

Make sure to ask each ranch ahead of time whether they provide a blow dryer and shampoo.

Packing for Day Rides, Consider Your Horse: Do make sure that you don’t try to bring a lot of heavy items to carry with you each day on the horse. If you put heavy items in your saddle bag (which many times sits behind you on the saddle) it can create quite a bit of pressure and banging around on the horse’s kidneys. So please, on your day rides, pack minimally.

Additional Recommendations: We do recommend getting into shape before your dude ranch vacation http://www.top50ranches.com/dude-ranch-vacations.htm experience, mainly for your comfort! It’s rare in real life that you sit with your legs around a barrel for now to six hours a day!!

Brought to you by The Hideout, Wyoming–a working ranch with a side of luxury-and Top50 Ranches

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