Hobby Horse Riding Gloves and Socks
These are the two pieces nobody thinks about until a show day runs long. Gloves stop a stick rubbing a blister across the palm; knee socks stop breeches chafing behind the knee after the fourth class. Neither wins a rosette, and both decide whether a rider is still enjoying themselves at four in the afternoon.
Riding Gloves for Younger Riders
Why grip matters on a stick
A hobby horse is carried by a smooth wooden stick, usually with one hand low and one on the reins. Sweat makes that slippery, and a rider who has to re-grip mid-approach loses the line. A silicone-printed palm fixes it without adding bulk.
Thin is the point
The usual complaint about children's gloves is that they are too thick to feel anything through — a child cannot buckle a bridle or thread a rein wearing them, so they come off and stay off. A thin microfiber glove with a printed palm keeps the dexterity.
Sizing by age
Our gloves run in four sizes covering ages 2–4, 4–7, 7–9 and 9–12, measured on middle-finger length from 5.5 to 7 cm. If a child has wide hands, take the next size up — a tight glove across the knuckles is worse than a slightly long finger.
Knee Socks for Riding
Height and why it matters
A riding sock should finish above the top of a boot or above the calf, so the fabric never sits where a boot rubs. Ours are 35 cm tall, which puts them just under the knee on most young riders.
Fabric
A cotton-rich blend with elastane through the leg gives a close fit that stays up without a tight band digging in. The rider motif is jacquard — knitted into the sock rather than printed on it — so it does not crack or peel in the wash, which printed motifs always do.
Why three pairs
Because riding socks disappear. A pack of three means there is a clean pair on a show morning without a load of washing the night before.
Care
Gloves: hand wash, air dry, never tumble — heat lifts the silicone print off the palm. Socks: hand wash and lay flat. A machine cycle stretches the elastic cuff, and a sock that will not stay up has failed at the only job it has.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do hobby horse riders need gloves?
No rule requires them. Riders wear them for grip on the stick and to keep their hands clean through a session in a field, and younger riders especially benefit on a long show day.
What size riding gloves for a child?
Measure the middle finger and compare with the chart: 5.5 cm is ages 2–4 and 7 cm is ages 9–12. Wide hands, take the larger size.
What socks do you wear for riding?
Knee-high, cotton-rich, with a smooth flat toe seam. The height keeps fabric out of the rub zone at the top of a boot.
Can I machine wash riding socks?
We recommend hand washing and laying flat. Machine cycles stretch the elastic cuff and shorten their useful life considerably.
Are the socks unisex?
They are cut on a women's and girls' last, EU 35–39, roughly US 5–8. Outside that range the fit will not be right.
When the Small Kit Starts to Matter
For a rider doing twenty minutes in the garden, none of this is necessary. It starts mattering at the point a rider does three or four classes in a day, because that is four warm-ups, four rounds and a lot of standing around in between. Blisters and chafing are the two things that end a show day early, and both are entirely preventable for the price of a pack of socks.
It also matters in winter. Hobby horsing moves indoors to gymnasiums and village halls, and a thin glove is the difference between a rider who keeps hold of the stick and one who stops because their hands are cold. Neither piece is glamorous; both are the kind of thing experienced riders buy a second set of.
Colour and Turnout
Neither piece is scored on its own, but both show. Socks sit above a boot line and gloves are at hand height every time a judge looks at a rider's position, so it is worth thinking about them the same way as the rest of the outfit: plain and coordinated in dressage and showmanship, anything you like in freestyle. White socks with a coloured motif work under almost every colour of breeches, which is why they outsell the plain ones.
