the onlly good riding gear is leather but I am against leather. what do I do? BTW i love riding and hav a horse. i dont really want to give it up. I you have ne thing to say please answer. :wayne:

It is not the same, that's for sure. You will most likely have to make a decision on cruelty free or not.

Here is a link for you: http://www.vegetarianbaby.com/articles/equestrianproducts.shtml

http://www.wintec.net.au/
http://www.statelinetack.com/slt/main.jsp

There are beautiful braided rope leads as well as headstalls, reins, etc.
they don't last as long but they are not leather and they do have a great hand feel.

http://www.chicksaddlery.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=1004

Forgot to add this one.

thank you soooo much ... this is really important to me

You can also purchased used gear. That way, you are getting the quality you need, but not supporting the purchase of leather.

I agree, quite a bit of the non-leather tack isn't all that great. There are some decent non-leather options available, though, if you know where to look.

I would definitely suggest checking out used tack as well... (crap, I'm doing that "being agreeable" thing again...:D :D )
Especially if you show or game, you may not be able to get out of using some leather items - you'll need to make a choice. I use wintec saddles for practice, I do have a leather saddle I use in the show ring... most of my halters, leads and reins are braided rope.

Used is a good way to go, often you can get decent stuff for a much cheaper price. and at least you're not supporting new purchases.

I get a lot of my stuff at tack auctions and sometimes on Ebay. The websites suggested above are a great resource for finding out about equipment and what will work best for you and your situation.
Good luck, it's nice to have another rider on VB. So, tell me about your horse!

Thank you sooo much :-)
I think thaat those are some excellent options. for anyone who is intrested my horse is a 22 year old thoroughbred mare. she is 15hh and a dark bay
she is really sweet and I love her sooo much.:D

i'm not trying to be the veg-nazi here, but isn't there a disconnect between being cruelty-free and horse-riding? i am asking, as i am interested to know, because the two seem incongruent to me. do horses enjoy being ridden? (seriously asking)

My horse actually does. if she isnt ridden she gets fussy. also i never do anything mean to her. i never ever hit her or kick her. sshe is treated like the little princess that she is. (thats her name) she has a great life

The title of this thread made me laugh. I didn't realize that riding gear was ever made out of crap. A new use for manure! That would probably assuage the ethical dilemna, if you could get past the stench.

I used to wonder if horses didn't like being ridden either, but, like, for example, horses love to jump fences. They'll do it without a rider all the time. And if they didn't like being ridden they probably wouldn't let the rider stay on, I'd think. They are quite willing and stuff. I don't know, I'd been thinking about it and now I'm too tired to put down my thoughts, but I just wanted to say that I used to think maybe they didn't like it either, inkwenkwezi... but now I think they do :) Oh and most horses I've ridden will come over and sniff me to see if I'm ok if I fall off, and then they are very careful that I don't fall off again after that, doing things much more slowly and stuff. Another reason I believe they must like riders. Heh. And everything Arwen said.

i'm not trying to be the veg-nazi here, but isn't there a disconnect between being cruelty-free and horse-riding? i am asking, as i am interested to know, because the two seem incongruent to me. do horses enjoy being ridden? (seriously asking)

My baby does! (He gets fussy too Arwen) Expecially since I usually go bareback and hit the trails. (Another way to avoid leather in saddles too!) :boobies: