Buckaroo John's Blog — Chaps & Chinks

Chaps, short for chaparajos, were originally worn by cowboys as protective garments.  Chaps are now used for decorative and practical reasons.  Chaps originated in the countries of Spain and Mexico. Riders wore them while working cattle. Chaps were originally made of two large pieces of cowhide.  They formed a protective shield over the rider’s legs and the horse's chest. While serving those purposes quite well, they were bulky and hard to work with; that is when today’s chaps were developed. There are several types of chaps.  Originally, the most common type of chaps were batwings. These consisted of an outer...