Glove Buying Guide

Updated July 2026 · Written by the Farris Equestrian team

The right riding gloves disappear on your hands: they grip the reins when your palms sweat, move when your fingers move, and never make you think about them mid-ride. The wrong pair slips, bunches, blisters — and quietly ruins your contact. This guide covers everything that actually matters when choosing horse riding gloves: fit, grip, materials, seasons and disciplines, with a simple checklist at the end.

What do riding gloves actually do?

Riding gloves do three jobs. First, grip: they hold the rein more securely than bare skin, especially once you or your horse starts sweating. Second, protection: they prevent blisters, rope burn from lead ropes and lunge lines, sun damage, and general barn wear. Third, feel: a well-designed glove transmits the small rein signals between your hands and the bit — which is why bulky work gloves make riders feel disconnected from their horse.

How should riding gloves fit?

Snug everywhere, tight nowhere. Your fingertips should just reach the end of the glove without pressure, and the palm material should sit completely flat against your hand. Any spare fabric wrinkles under the rein, and wrinkles are what cause rubbing and blisters.

To find your size: measure around the widest part of your hand (across the knuckles, excluding the thumb) with a soft tape. Match the measurement in centimetres to the size chart. If you land between two sizes, size up — an adjustable wrist closure takes up the slack, while a too-small glove restricts blood flow and fatigues your hands on long rides.

Hand circumference	Farris size
16–17 cm	XS
17.5–18.5 cm	S
19–20 cm	M
20.5–21.5 cm	L
22–23.5 cm	XL

Verify these ranges against your printed size chart before publishing — update if your chart differs. Still unsure? Farris includes a free size exchange with every order, so an imperfect first guess costs nothing. See the full glove size guide for a measuring diagram.

Grip: the feature that matters most

Reins are held at four contact points — the thumb, index, middle and ring fingers. A glove grips well when reinforced, high-friction material covers exactly those points, and grips poorly when it relies on smooth leather (slick when wet) or a few printed silicone dots (which wear off within a season).

This is the problem the Farris Flexigrip was designed around: the patent-pending palm reinforces all four rein contact points, so grip holds in heat, sweat and light rain, while the rest of the glove stays thin enough to preserve feel. If your current gloves slip, the cause is almost always palm material — our guide to why riding gloves slip breaks it down.

Materials: leather vs synthetic vs mesh

Leather is the traditional choice and still standard in some show rings. It looks the part, but needs a 2–3 week break-in, loses grip when wet, runs hot in summer, and demands regular conditioning.

Full synthetic gloves are inexpensive and durable, but often bulky — and bulk kills feel. Many budget pairs are really multi-purpose sport gloves with a horse on the packaging.

Mesh-backed hybrids pair a reinforced synthetic palm with a stretch-mesh back. They grip in all weather, vent sweat, need no break-in, and stay light enough for sensitive rein contact. For everyday schooling, trail riding and barn work, this construction wins on every practical measure — which is why we built the Flexigrip this way. For the full comparison, read leather vs synthetic riding gloves.

Gloves by season

Summer: breathability is everything. Look for mesh backs and moisture-wicking fabric — sweaty hands are slippery hands, and a ventilated glove is genuinely cooler than riding bare-handed in the sun, with UV protection thrown in.

Winter: insulation without bulk. A winter glove must keep fingers warm while still letting you shorten your reins. If you ride through a Canadian winter, a dedicated insulated pair is worth owning alongside your all-season gloves — see our roundup of the best winter riding gloves.

Three-season riding (spring–fall): a mesh-backed glove like the Flexigrip covers everything above roughly 5 °C.

Gloves by discipline

Dressage riders prioritise feel — thin, close-fitting gloves that transmit half-halts and subtle rein aids. Hunter/jumper riders need secure grip over fences, especially on a horse that leans or pulls. Trail and endurance riders want breathability, sun protection, and touchscreen fingertips for maps and calls. Barn work — lunging, leading, hay — demands abrasion resistance against rope burn. A reinforced-palm mesh glove handles all four jobs, which is why one well-made pair outworks a drawer of specialised ones.

Features worth paying for

Touchscreen fingertips — you should never have to pull a glove off with your teeth to answer a call from the saddle. Adjustable wrist closure — keeps the glove planted so the palm never shifts against the rein. Tagless interior — tags chafe on long rides; it's a small detail that separates gloves designed by riders from gloves designed by factories. Reinforced stitching at high-wear seams — the first failure point on cheap gloves.

Features that are marketing

Be skeptical of: "military-grade" fabric claims with no material named, silicone patterns covering the whole palm (grip belongs at the rein contact points; full coverage just adds stiffness), and gloves marketed simultaneously for riding, cycling, gardening and fishing — a glove built for handlebars is not built for reins.

How long should riding gloves last?

With regular riding, expect a quality pair to last multiple seasons; budget pairs typically fail within months at the rein contact points or seam lines. Care extends life significantly: hand wash in cold water with mild soap, press dry (don't wring), and air dry away from heat — heat degrades grip compounds and elastic. Full steps in our guide to cleaning riding gloves.

The 5-point buying checklist

1. Reinforced palm at the four rein contact points — not dots, not smooth leather.
2. Snug fit with zero spare fingertip fabric — measure your hand; size up between sizes.
3. Breathable back if you ride in warm weather — mesh or ventilated fabric.
4. Touchscreen-compatible fingertips — your phone stays usable.
5. Free size exchange and easy returns — buying gloves online should be risk-free.

Our recommendation

If you want one pair that schools, hacks, shows casually and survives barn chores, the Farris Flexigrip checks all five boxes: patent-pending reinforced palm, 4-way stretch mesh back, touchscreen fingertips, tagless interior, and a 30-day risk-free return with free size exchange. It ships free across Canada and the US.

Shop all riding gloves →