Stock Tie

A stock-tie, or stock, is a tie worn around the neck of a competitor riding in an equestrian event. Most competition rules require it to be white, and mandate its use in dressage, and the dressage phase of eventing. The tie also is seen in show jumping. Today it is worn with a pin (usually plain and gold, although fancier pins also are seen), stuck through the knot or just below the knot, that derives its name from the tie, being called a stock pin.

Traditionally, the stock tie is used in the hunt field as a safety measure: in case of injury, the tie may be used as a temporary bandage for a horse's leg or a sling for a rider's arm. It is also useful in keeping rain or wind out of the rider's collar. They often are worn by riders along with a shadbelly.

The stock tie was worn by gentlemen as everyday apparel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It became more of a formal tie in the later nineteenth century. These old stock ties were often black or white, and they were made of gauze, fine cotton, or silk. It never has gone out of fashion for equestrians.

Sometimes the stock tie was starched or otherwise reinforced to be stiff around the neck: with the chin forced up, the wearer was thought to look more important and formal. Some stock ties buckled or hooked up the back and sometimes had bows or ruffles attached to the front.