Over the years we have seen an amazing array of equestrian fabrics. The reason there are so many is, it is a huge genre. There are horse fabrics, horse toile fabrics, horse and hound fabrics, horse jockey fabrics, horse racing fabrics, and on and on! There are fabrics for Western Decor, etc.
The first horse fabric I bought was on a buying trip. It was a P.Kaufmann fabric, which had been discontinued. I bought the few yards left and took it home. This showed a fall day, with the hunt riding across the fields, with a lazy river in the background. I don’t have an image of the whole piece anymore. But, a woman sent a picture of a pillow she made, that shows a bit of it.
Though I did not know it at the time,
this was the beginning of our awareness of equestrian fabrics!
To see all of the horse fabrics we currently have
see the
Though the genre is complex,
over the years there have been very few fabrics with just horses!
This monochromatic horse fabric by Fired Earth shows horses running among trees.
The stripes and trees give structure to the pattern.
The stripes give a misty effect.
The effect was of horses running free on a misty morning.
The only other printed fabric that just had horses is also monochromatic.
This shows horses running, nuzzling, and just being horses!
And, it shows the cutest pony we have seen!
The only other fabric we have had that just had horses was not a print.
It was a lace fabric.
Unique in design it had an intriguing effect.
Manes flying horses raced across the fabric.
They could be running across the plains or through water.
The effct was unique.
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Many of the equestrian fabrics have been done as toiles.
Laura Ashley’s Tally Ho toile fabric had vignettes with a Regency feel.
The blue and yellow coloring was extremely popular.
It also came in red on buckskin brown.
Here is another equestrian toile fabric with a Georgian or Regency look. This is Waverly’s Polo Promenade. It has illustrated toile vignettes layered over one another. This came in black, blue, or sage green on a tonal background that gave a vintage look to the fabric. Note that the lady is riding an off-side sidesaddle!
One of the most loved horse fabrics is Ralph Lauren’s Ainsworth Fabric. It has become a classic in the world of equestrian fabrics. It shows a man in classic riding attire riding through woods, with dogs along side. While there are horse and hound fabric patterns, this is really about a man enjoying a ride with his horse and dogs. The mood is calm, peaceful.
This came in a rich red, deep blue, two different browns, and black.
Colors kept being deleted and others added, to the frustration of decorators.
The browns are very masculine,
and the woods have the look of fall.
While different from Ralph Laurence horse fabric,
P.Kaufmann’s horse and hound fabric had a similar classic look.
In the main vignette a hunt is assembling before a manor house. A second smaller scene shows a hound racing past a man jumping a fence;
another seems to be urging the jumper onward.
The space between the scenes acts as a frame,
allowing each vignette to stand out.
All of these equestrian fabrics have a mood.
The above fabrics, partially due to the design placement,
and the amount of space between the design elements,
have a very different feel from some of the scenic toile patterns.
This horse hunt toile just filled with motion!
And the amount of detail is incredible.
Everything to do with the hunt seems to have been included.
There are deer, quail, and water fowl,
with dogs, horses, and huntsmen,
filling the fabric.
This brown equestrian toile fabric,
also by Kaufmann, has many similar elements.
Some of the design elements of the Kaufmann toile
can be seen in this Schumacher toile fabric.
More of an historical toile fabric,
it has a somber feel.
The Schumacher toile has many of the same design elements.
The man and woman riding side by side, the house, stream and bridge with the carriage,
and the running deer are all here, but many of them have been reversed.
The man walking with the dogs has been changed-
the headgear in the Schumacher fabric is a chapeau bras.
And the Schumacher fabric also has a deer resting under a
directional sign post.
While the scenes are separate in the Schumacher fabric,
the diagonal grid fills the space, adding an antique look to the fabric.
This fabric was bought on a buying trip,
and I don’t remember who made it.
But the subject matter is a bit grisly.
The central motif shows a deer
being taken down by the hounds,
as riders come up.
Covington came out with this horse hunt toile.
What made it unique was the distressed look- which gave it a vintage look.
It was the first of what would become a popular style in the home decorating world.
This was a very complex pattern.
It shows a wooded area, with a river running through it.
Manor houses can be seen in the distance, between the trees.
Deer are flying through the woods,
the hunt riding hard behind.
The master of the hounds is walking with the hounds.d
And, over head a flock of geese is flying.
This fabric had one special touch-
nearly hidden in the under brush is a fox!
As all the commotion of deer, riders, horses, hounds, and ducks
takes place, he is unnoticed!
See all of the horse fabrics available in the
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So, it is now October 23, 2018
And, in the last two years since I started this blog post show casing equestrian fabrics, there has not been one new equestrian fabric. Why? I am not certain. But, other horse fabrics have been discontinued during this time. And, I thought we should add some images to this post. Enjoy!
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From France came this horse fabric.
It came in a brown and in a rust.
A traditional equestrian fabric, it had a definite feel of both the
Georgian and the Victorian eras.
There are woman riding side saddle, in long habits, men with mutton chops,
and the backdrop feels very much like a British village from the 1800’s.
Another horse toile with a Victorian feel,
was Kravet’s Gladiateur horse racing fabric.
This shows the French race horse, Gladiateur, bowing to his owner after a race.
This toile is one of the most elaborate horse fabrics ever.
The main vignette has a frame with saddles on the sides, horse shoes on the top,
and is surmounted by a trio of angels!
Surrounding this are scenes of the race, and of the stands.
A very different racing fabric is shown on this fabric by P.Kaufmann
This has two vignettes hanging from ribbons.
The large one shows the Kentucky Derby, with the horses running flat out.
There are people near the track, and in the grand stands.
Pennants add to the motion of the design.
The smaller vignette shows a jockey cantering his horse.
The flowers and colors make this the prettiest equestrian fabric ever!
P.Kaufmann’s horse jockey fabric was an interesting horse fabric. The first thing that set this apart from the majority of the horse fabrics is the scale- it was small. It had squares, set on the diagonal, that were about seven inches wide. But, what I liked was how the small vignettes with horses and jockeys were framed. Leather strapping and bridle hardware, were used to emphasize the horse theme.
Ralph Lauren did a fabric with a pattern of a tangle of horse tack.
Another Kaufmann fabric had a unique feature.
It had many equestrian elements- curry combs, saddles with crops, racing horses, etc.
But, it is the only equestrian fabric we have seen,
that featured a trotting horse and sulky!
Completing the look was the background-
it was reminiscent of an old horse blanket!
