PONY'TUDE (Somewhat) Approved - Heritage Summit Winter Gloves

You may remember that after I won Jen's contest this fall, I picked up a pair of Heritage Summit Winter gloves, as my old standby winter barn gloves (SSG Winter Training)were starting to fall apart after several years of heavy use.

After a winter of riding and working in these gloves, my feelings are mixed.

I was originally attracted to them because of the long cuff, flexible design, purported water resistant properties, and good experiences with Heritage gloves in the past. I wanted a glove that would keep my hands warm while still being able to use my fingers.

For riding, these gloves performed well. They're warm enough without being stiff and bulky, and I'm able to adjust bridles and girths while wearing them. The synthetic leather on the palm is just grippy enough, and the long knitted cuff keeps my wrists warm. Two thumbs up as riding gloves.

For working - doing stalls, turnout, breaking up ice, doing water buckets, sweeping, throwing hay, etc., they pretty much fail.

After just THREE MONTHS of wear these gloves are shredded. There are holes everywhere, the "touch screen friendly" patches do not work at all, and they fail to keep my hands truly warm in bitter temperatures - which I've been dealing with pretty much all winter. Sure, once I get moving my body warms up and my hands feel fine, but those first 20 minutes of work just suck. Even when they were brand new, the gloves are also NOT water-resistant. I know this because sometimes I get my hands wet while cleaning and filling buckets in the dead of winter. Not fun.

That said - these are not bad gloves! But I would definitely recommend them for riding ONLY - if you don't have to do any barn work, the Heritage Summit Winter Gloves will work great for you. They are a moderately warm, comfortable option for cold weather riding. The price point is not bad, and they are a worthy investment if you ride frequently in the winter.

If you are looking for a true work glove that will keep your hands warm and hold up to the daily grind of the barn, seek them elsewhere. These gloves are not durable in the least.

I'll be buying another pair of SSG's for next year, that's for sure!