I purchased a long Myron Mclane Original apron from North East farrier supply. Bill dropped it off at my barn this morning allong with the rest of my order (what service!).

I opened up the box excited that I get to ditch my shorty Dura Pro Apron in favor of something with longer legs. Im a halfway tall guy 6'1 and not agresivley built, I weigh about 185lbs and have about a 33 inch waist. I went with the Medium - long. They looked and felt nice. So I tried them on.

Pretty much immediatly I was a bit disapointed about the fit on chaps on the inside of my legs. The leathers dont seem to wrap far enough around the inside of my leg. They go to about the seem in the pantleg maybe a little further (about the middle of my pants). My Dura Pro Apron wrapped much further in.

But they were Very light and comfortable and LONG. I was pretty excited about the length. I'm 6'1 and they came down to a few inches above my pant leg and were still VERY light.

The knife pockets were bit tight, but fit the knife well. This is good because I have problems with loseing knives out of my chap pockets on a regular basis. =] THey just fall out.. These stay in nice and snug. Its comforting... But The knife pockets were too high and too far wrapped to the outside. When I have the horses foot up I cannot acess the knife that is on the chap toward the horse. This is very anoying..

Another issue is that the velcro straps constantly made that velcro crinkle noise. This doesnt bother me but it seemed to get a few of the horses I was working pretty worried. In fact I moved a little under one and he leaped forward snorting and wide eyed.. This horse is typically good. This issue might go away when the chaps break in further..?

The chaps seemed of a very sturdy build quality. The fit was good, and didnt require much adjusting (asside form the inside of my leg). The waist belt has some elstic which helps you get a nice snug, but not overly tight fit. I I dint feel like they were falling off or too tight. I ditn have to re-adjust the belt after putting on the apron. This was nice. My other pairs of chaps I had to constantly adjust the damn things throughout the day.

But on my second horse of the day one of the saftey snap buttons pulled OUT of the chap belt it was rivited into. I dont think I can fix it without buying new parts. I'm a bit worried the other one will rip out too, but it held well. But this is not something to expect out of a brand new pair of chaps on the second horse.. Allthough they did hold up the rest of the day well. But this is probably a typical production issue. I dont feel like I bought an inferior product because of this. I'm sure it can be easily fixed, those types of things happen.

Another thing I did like was that the velcro straps from the inside of the leg were pretty darn wide. The problem i had with my Grand Circut apron was that every time I pulled the foot between my legs I would have to stuff the apron back down between my legs. This is a HUGE annoyance. The McLane apron however stayed put. This was very nice.

Even though my grand circut apron is quite a bit lighter on the scale the MM apron did not feel any heavier at all, in fact it felt lighter. I did find that i didnt notice a big differance when I took the Myron McLane apron off. I ussually notice when I take the Dura Pro off. I think this has a lot to do with how the McLane apron fits at the waist. It just stays put.

I did like the apron minus that inseem issue. That bothers me a lot and I find it hard to beleive that it would be diesigned like that. The knife pockets are a huge issue with me as well.

One half of me wishes that I just had someone make me a nice apron, but the other half really likes like way MM fits. I mean its comfortable as whearing your jeans and wears very light.

I like the apron, but I might have someone copy the design for myself with a few personal changes, or maybe even modify this one. I really like it, but a few things get under my skin. Perhaps some time will change that.

What do you think of this apron?

-Josh
________
Extreme vaporizer

I have tried a few aprons but find that most are set up where they pull on my lower back when in shoeing position.
Still looking for an utra lite one with good protection from nails and sharp knife.

I always cut off the leg ties,(have had a nail hooked in apron and pull my leg with it due to secure leg straps).
Been doing this for so long I like a loose leg.

Velcro waist straps work fine, only problem I have found with them is when the velcro fills with hay, dirt, and other debri then it won't hold securely.
I guess I still like the long tie strings that go around the waist and can be tied in the front.
Although I do have an apron with a belt and it is held on with a press/slide thru type buckle. push on lever and belt slides through with ease. Kinda works nice. And quick to get off in emergency.

I think I favor a short length over the long ones. I want protectrion on my thigh area's.
The rest of it is mute to me. (kinda like chinks compared to shotguns)

I trim everynow and then without my chaps and boy do I hear it when I get home. Cindy is quick to notice the file holes in my jeans.

vthorseshoe wrote: "If youth only knew, If age only could"

I've used a C&M Apron for quite a few years and really like it. Tried the Myron, and have tried several others, but keep coming back to this brand. I too am tall, but no longer svelt and this apron has been the most comfortable to wear.

I have a MM apron as well and have used it for about 2 years. It has did its job just fine. I actually had one made by Buddy Hite Aprons in Virginia and I like it alot. It is all leather and there really isn't a tremendous amount of weight difference that I have found. Pockets are larger then on the MM apron but they will free up a bit depending on the size of knife you use.

I have two MM aprons, an original and a sparky and I love 'em. The fit is perfect for me, but of course I'm about Myron's size.

In reponse to vthorseshoe's comment about his wife getting after him for trimming without an apron, I was trimming my own without an apron when I got married (1961) and I didn't want to spend the money for one. My new wife pointed out that at that time an apron cost about what three pair of Levis did and I was ruining Levis at an alarming rate. Smart lady.

I Like my MM Apron, Ive had it for two years now. Its the lighter one. It took a while to break it in. I changed the velcro strap on the back to a plastic snap type buckle. The only thing I dont like about the apron is the location of the knife pockets and if I have to hold a front foot realy low to nail my pants are exposed when nailing the medial side of the hoof. The knife pockets seem to be high (in the bend of my knee) and I have to hunt for my hoof knifes.

Got a call from Mrs. McLane today. What nice folks. She is sending me an apron to use while they fix the snaps on mine. Great people! Its nice when a company stands behind their products!

-Josh
________
MONTANA DISPENSARY

Hello,

Just wanted to give my opinion on the MM aprons....they are excellent....I find the pockets in the right position for me....I have the belt with quick release ( it works ) I also have the snap leg ties and although they unhook at times, they unhook for a reason ( horse jumps ).

I at times wish I had an extra pocket for my hoof pick when I just walk into the pasture with my trimming gear...would come in handie...the greatest tool on my apron is the magnet.....never go with out a magnet ( less ) apron again.

I do have a few burns on the apron.....but I am getting better at the forge now.....they also have different colours...light, reasonable priced and can slide those sharp nails out of my way....yeah.

Magnet .......Just my own experince....I always had a knee that gave me trouble....left knee....same side as the magnet on Myron Mclane's Farrier Apron......since I started using the apron....my knee does not trouble me anymore........the truth.

have a great day,

David

David Hayne wrote: