Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Chaps" in English language version.
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There is another type of trousers worn by horse riders: these are the chaparreras, a kind of leather gaiter with the fur still attached, buttoned at the side and reaching up to the waist in the front, where they are fastened with a belt. The most common ones are made of calfskin with copper buttons; the most elegant ones, worn by city dandies, are made of jaguar skin with silver or gold buttons. […] These are an improvement on the "armas de agua" (water shields), which are large pieces of leather, usually calfskin, attached to the saddle horn at one corner, and which, fastened to the rider's belt at the back, perfectly protect the legs and feet from the rain.
Chaparreras are the Spanish zahones, somewhat modified, since the charros had to enlarge them to protect their shins when tailing cattle, a feat unknown in Spain, adding rozaderas [lather reinforcements], one on each leg, to protect the leg from the chafing of the reata when roping.
It has been said that chaparreras are directly descended from Spanish zahones, but in my view, such an observation is unfounded; in Mexico, neither before nor now, have these Andalusian garments been in common use. Their use is not mentioned in any report, iconography, description, or document; therefore, if that garment never had a national presence, its form could not have degenerated to become our chaparreras, which were created for the same purpose as zahones, but without any connection or kinship.
DELANTERA: [From delantero (front).] f. -8. pl. Zahones. Garment worn by hunters, workers, and country folk to preserve their clothing.
ZAHON. n. m. A piece of leather or cloth joined at the top and divided in two at the bottom, which is tied behind the waist and each thigh, and is used by hunters and country folk to protect their clothing from undergrowth. Femorale [femur].
ZAHON. n. m. A type of leather apron tied around the waist and each thigh.
Also for sale is a state-of-the-art vaquero saddle, embroidered in silk and metal, with a silver-covered tree and fully equipped, even with its armas de agua.
Armas de Agua or Armas de Pelo. f. pl. This was the name given to two large, almost square pieces of goatskin leather, covered with hair, which, when fastened to the horn of the saddle and tied to the rider's waist, covered the leg and foot and protected them from water. When necessary, they were laid out on the ground for sleeping. Some of them were richly decorated. Today, they have been replaced by chaparreras, which cannot provide the same service because they do not cover the foot nor are they suitable for sleeping.
