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Male centaurs are sheathed, like horses, so it wouldn't bounce. sweatdrop

And I think the clothing aspect is mostly for the torso. Could be wrong though.

Yes. Clothes for the torso.

I just became a centaur, and still like wearing clothes above the waist like sports coats, armor, and other shirts. Hats and accessories always are a great enhancement to wear. It is nice to go shirtless occasionally but still would prefer a shirt over being bare chested. Since I believe modesty has the power to protect one's heart from the evil in the world.

I think centaurs would be all natural, nudity would be commonplace, except maybe in really bad storms, or harsh winters. I'm going for the topless look on my centuar actually.

yup smile
I prefer it that way too, I only put on some top now and then for fashion xd

and btw we aren't really "naked" since we got fur covering most of our bodies biggrin

My opinion on it is that the lower horse half of the body is fine without any cloths. Centaurs are half man/woman, and half horse. The horse part’s are perfectly fine without anything. It is after, basically “clothed” by itself. What do you think the hair is for? I don’t see any horses these days trotting in their pastures wearing a suit, do you? As for the human half: I think male centaurs would be acceptable bare chested, even though I think they would either tend to wear either jewelry in social situations, or armor on the move, or during times of war, but I think the female centaurs would need some binding of some sort.

An excellent point was made earlier of how the female centaur’s breasts could just grow for childbirth and nursing, but what I think some people are forgetting, is that breasts don’t really shrink. If they get big, they stay big. And you may go on and on about centaurs “growing” more muscles for support, but even women who have more muscles for support, need more. It’s a natural human form, and like it or not, centaurs are part human.

Lets also remember that most, if not all of the female centaurs would probably at some point become mothers. Like it or not, things like breasts take a while to grow. Forgive me for sounding blunt, but they would need to already be there by the time the centauress reached sexual maturity so that she could bear young. And it would need to be a decent size. Forgive my language, but even walking normally is hell on the back and front if you don’t have support.

It was also mentioned earlier that if some had the choice, that they would prefer to gallop through a forest without any covering, because it would just get torn by branches. That would, admittedly, be true for cotton. However: have you thought about the fact that if you didn’t have any chest covering, that twigs and stuff would scratch and hurt you? And don’t forget about poison ivy. It also reaches a centaur’s torso height. I’ve seen my brother with it on just his arms and face, and I have no intention, and no wish, to ever know what it feels like to have it on the more sensitive chest. I’m sorry if that offends you, but lets be honest: That would be a new and cruel form of torture.

As for material being torn because of branches, yes, that would be true for cotton. However, it would not be true for tight fitting, (For the support needed for galloping through the forest) leather. Leather is much more durable then simple cotton, and it would also work to keep the body temperature to a good level. Let’s not forget that the horse half would be able to keep a decent amount of warmth in, that the human body/half does not hold heat in well at all, or that even wild horses huddle together during the winter because they are cold.

And we can’t forget the traditional weapons female centaurs choose. I know some people would prefer swords, but most females that I know of would rather a bow, while men would choose a sword. I myself would prefer a bow unless I was doing close distance fighting, and then I would use, if I were a centaur, my hooves and knives. As for bows, well, we do pull the bowstring back a pretty good distance. We do wear leather inner arm guards because the string snaps against it sometimes and hurts like the dickens. Well, what about the chest? Depending on the pull of the bow, it can hit there too. I’ve seen it. I felt pity for that person. That would hurt. A lot. Even with a shirt it hurts. I think the only preventive thing for pain there would be a leather or armor chest gear, and those would be the easiest for a centaur to use as they would have the material for their weapons, war, or from hunting animals for food.

Other then a chest binding for the females, any other clothing I would really consider just a personal preference for each centaur. I know most of my message was based on females, but lets be honest, that’s the main issue here. Even guys in today’s world it’s maybe not common, but not unacceptable for them to be bare chested. It is, however, for women to be that way, and I believe that to be the main topic here, even if it is in a centaur format. It’s just my opinion.

I agree, very well thought out Elmen! Though I suppose, for female chest coverings, the centaur's culture would also have a say in it. Look at human cultures- some tribes, even in today's world, the females walk around topless and thats considered perfectly normal. Maybe in some centaur clans females cover or use bindings for support, but in others the centaurs could go topless. Human females in topless tribes; they do their chores, and they run, etc without any support on their boobs. (Though, one may want to consider the ascetic appeal of this; boobs without support tend to sag, and as the boobs are on the centaur's human half, I'm sure their boobs would sag, too. Just watch any nature documentary on tribes in the Amazon or Africa, and check out how low those boobies go. I'm surprised some of the older women don't trip over them. xd )

For weapons, I think personal choice would play a part, but so would the clan's culture. Some clans maybe heavily gender segregated- mares do this, stallions do that; in others it could be more equalized, or it could be a matriarchal clan. I think beliefs would- along with personal preference- play a role in the clothes and jewelery centaurs adorn themselves with. My own character, who I've used in several rather long RPs, uses a sword more than a bow (sorry, getting off track, but she is a rather odd character and tends to be more not-of-the-norm)