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1
Tack and Supplies
T
he rst step toward saving money on horse tack andsupplies is to become a smart shopper. This chapterwill oer tips on how to nd bargains and deals,how to care or your equine belongings to get your money’sworth out o them, and how to recycle, resell, and makethings yoursel.
Smart Shopping 
One o the most valuable cost-saving tools is patience. I you can, wait to buy items at the end o the season, or whenthey are on sale (but be careul not to buy something youmay not need “just because” it’s on sale). A good bargainshopper will snag winter blankets in the summer and lastyear’s models o tack and supplies at the turn o a new year.So oten all it takes is a little patience to wait or that big-ticket item you want to go on sale.Look or deals not only in-store, but online. Web sitessuch as that o Rick’s Heritage Saddlery (SaddleSource.com), State Line Tack, Dover Saddlery, and Horseloverz.com are reputable sources, and oer deals o the day andcloseout or clearance specials. EquiShopper.com is anothervaluable online tool, as it does the comparison shopping oryou on a variety o equestrian products. Check out Tack-WholeSale.com or horse supplies and bulk purchases atwholesale prices. A rule o thumb to online shopping, how-ever, is to keep an eye out or shipping costs.“Shop around or price as well as convenience,” saysElizabeth Clarke, a Massachusetts equine lawyer and heado the Equine Business Institute. “I you’re shopping bycatalog or the Internet, make sure you take into accountthe costs added by shipping and handling charges. I youcan nd ree shipping, it may actually be worth paying aslightly higher price per product.” When shopping online,also look or discount codes and coupons. Many are print-able online rom companies such as Farnam.For lightly used or discounted items, browse online re-sources such as Freecycle.org, Craigslist, Froogle, Price-Grabber.com, and Ebay. Don’t pass up a good neighbor-hood garage sale or items useul around the barn, such asvacuums, tools, step ladders, and so orth. Visit your localdollar store or some great steals on supplies, and buy tack and equipment rom the consignment section o your tack shop i possible. But
never 
buy a used helmet.Many horse owners are discovering the nancial benetso hosting a “tack swap” or a “paddock sale” among barns,riends, and stablemates. It’s a great opportunity to clean theunused equipment out your closet and tack trunk and comehome with some things you really need. Find out i a saleis being held nearby, or try to organize one. Timothy Palla,or instance, a horse owner rom McDermott, Ohio, hasdiscovered that the county extension oce hosts an annualtack swap at the local airgrounds or everything rom newproducts to used equine equipment, clothing, and books.Fundraisers and auctions are also good events at which tond quality low-priced or lightly used tack and supplies. “I you know o a local equine group or rescue, see i they runtack sales or auctions as undraisers,” says Trish Wooldridge,who works with the Bay State Equine Rescue in Massachu-setts. “Not only can you buy your equipment at a abulous
Buy gently used tack and supplies when possible.
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TACK AND SUPPLIES
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price, but your purchase might even be tax deductible.”There are some items, however, that are worth payingthe extra money or quality and liespan, as well as or thehealth o your horse. First and oremost, invest in a saddlethat ts. It will save you money in the long run on vet andchiropractor expenses or your horse’s potential back pain.Also consider spending more or quality blankets and turn-out rugs that will last or years.Products you can easily spend less money on are groom-ing supplies. Don’t be ooled by high-priced groomingproducts or a particular brand name. Glycerin soap, or in-stance, is glycerin soap regardless o whether the packagingsays “saddle soap” on it or not. Items with the word “horse”on them, such as buckets and brushes, are oten more ex-pensive than the same generic version. And a large Stanleytool chest will store all your supplies just as well or a rac-tion o the cost as a custom equine tack box.
take care of your tack 
A little cleaning and care o your tack and equipment cango a long way. It will prolong your belongings’ liespan,saving you money on repairs and replacements. Saddlesand tack, or instance, wear out more rom neglect than use.Store your tack in a controlled environment not subject totemperature and moisture fuctuations, and take a ew min-utes to give it routine overall inspections. Check leather ev-erywhere it olds to make sure it’s not dry or cracking andto ensure that buckles aren’t corroding. Don’t orget to givethe saddle tree a once over as well.Two minutes is all it takes to give an overall tack check,Buddy Baird, o Stübben North America, an English saddlemanuacturer, told
The Horse
. “Go up and down the reins tomake sure everything is right and not stretched, go over thestud hooks to check i they are intact and not being pulledout, check or cracks, dry ssures, and dry rot.” I any redfags go up, have the tack repaired now rather than laterwhen it may cost more, or when you may have to replacethe entire item. I you discover stitching that needs to beresewn, a leather needle and heavy duty thread or canvasor leather (o the same color and weight o existing stitch-ing) can be used to tackle simple repairs, such as on stirrupleathers or bridle parts.Don’t orget to check bits or rust, particularly thosehanging on the wall not being used. Ed Boldt Jr., DVM, o Perormance Horse Complementary Medicine Services inFort Collins, Colorado, suggests using a steel wool pad withlight soap and water or mineral oil to clean any rust.Oten overlooked is the liespan o equine items thatdon’t crack or break, such as saddle pads, but they too arenot going to last orever. You don’t need a whole closet ullo pads, but you should recognize when it’s time to toss oneand buy another. Boldt suggests two ways to tell when it’stime to get a new saddle pad: i it is caked with dirt and hair,and i it is becoming very sti. A worn-out pad can causeback problems or your horses, and is not worth hangingonto unless you can recycle it around the barn.Know not only what to look or when checking the stateo your tack, but how to properly clean it. Use a damp clothto wipe down your tack in order to remove sweat and dirtater each ride. Then use a gentle liquid saddle soap to cleanit. Use a sti brush to remove dirt and hair rom girths andsaddle pads, and a toothbrush to scrub caked dirt o tack.I you encounter mold, a concoction o one part Listerineand two parts water sprayed and wiped o the leather willdo the trick.There is such a thing, however, as too much cleaning.Particularly when using an aggressive type o glycerin soap,over-cleaning can dry out the leather, eat away at stitching,or cause mold. Too much oil can make the leather spongyand also eat away at stitching. Storing your tack in a dark,dry, temperature-controlled room will preserve your leatherand prevent it rom needing to be oiled oten.I you board your horse and store your belongings at alarge barn, take the time to label everything you own toprevent them rom “wandering o” or being misplaced.
Cleaning and caring for tack prolongs its lifespan.
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There’s no quick x or repair or a missing item!
Blanket care and repair 
Horses have a tendency to wear out, dirty, and tear uptheir sheets, blankets, and rugs. These items can be priceyto replace, but routine cleaning and repairs may save yourom having to cough up the extra money to do so.Clean your horse’s blankets and coolers each winter andat the end o the season beore packing and storing them upor the rest o the year. This will prevent dirt and hair romgetting ground into the material, and will prolong the blan-kets’ liespan. I possible, save money by not sending themto the dry cleaners, but cleaning them yoursel while ol-lowing the manuacturers’ instructions. Cleaning blankets isoten as simple as using a water hose, a sti brush, inexpen-sive livestock shampoo, and, o course, some elbow grease.But depending on the material, many coolers and sheets canbe machine washed. Polarfeece can easily be tossed in thewasher and dryer, while cotton and wool goods should bewashed in cold water and hung out to dry. I you put them inthe dryer, they will quickly become pony-sized!When possible, try to repair rather than replace torn blan-kets, as many can be hand-sewn. The moment a blanketgets a small tear, repair it beore it gets bigger. I you’re nothandy with a needle and thread, try easy and durable iron-on jean patches. They may not look as pretty, but they’resaving you money. Suitability Equestrian Patterns oersa wide variety o patterns or making (or repairing) yourown sheets, blankets, pads, and even equestrian clothing, atwww.Suitability.com.Another thing to keep in mind are the surcingles onsheets and blankets that can become unbuckled ater a goodroll or romp in the pasture. I your horse steps on a danglingstrap, not only will he tear the blanket but potentially injurehimsel. One cheap way to prevent surcingles rom comingundone is to purchase rubber donut arm animal castrationbands. Stretch a band over the top o the “T” o the buckleand rest it around the neck so that the surcingle will not beable to jiggle loose.
recycle and reSell
Over the years you have probably accumulated trunksand closets ull o various sizes and types o bridles, boots,blankets, and anything else horse-related. You may not evenbe aware o how much you’ve acquired until you do a ull-blown inventory check. As suggested earlier in the chapter,reselling, donating or a tax receipt, or trading in some o your tack and equipment that spends more time at the bot-tom o a pile than on the back o a horse can put some extracash in your pocket.Also challenge yoursel to reuse things that you mayalready have. For instance, mix and match nose and browbands or punch extra holes in old bridles to t multiplehorses. Get in the habit o recycling old or used goodsaround the barn. Reuse old kitchen and bathroom towels,washcloths, and worn-out t-shirts, saddle pads, and wrapsas rags. They are more durable and ecoriendly than dispos-able paper towels and will cost you nothing. Save a zipperedcomorter bag or blanket storage at the end o the winter.Any empty (and clean) condiment and spray bottles willhold hoo creams, lotions, and soaps. Paper eed bags, rath-er than being thrown away, can be used as garbage bags, aspoultice wraps, to soak up spills, or they can be shreddedand added to compost. Wooldridge also suggests recyclingeed bags as training implements.“Particularly among those who study natural horseman-ship, grain bags are used or desensitizing a horse, runningthe crinkly bag rom nose to tail and down the legs, as wellas making the horse walk on and over the grain bag,” shesays. “There are lots o ancy training tools, but grain bagsare a part o every horseperson’s lie — so they’re ree.”Other equine items you can easily recycle and put to newuse are cracked buckets, those with missing handles, andsupplement containers. They serve as great storage, trashbins, or grooming buckets.
Repair small blanket tears with iron-on jean patches.
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Eclipse Press

Check out the new free chapter of Thrifty Horsekeeping: Tack and Supplies.

reply10 / 30 / 2009
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