With the lockdown limiting our riding opportunities, it’s a great time to start attacking those nitty-gritty jobs that we never seem to find the time for in winter. 

This series will give you tips to help tackle your cleaning to-do-list, and we start with the tack room.

  1. Clear it out
    First things first, take everything out. Get it all together and actually make sure that you have a reason to keep it. If your horse has grown out of it, throw it away or donate it. If it’s broken then either fix it, or throw it. Chances are that you’ll have a fair amount of tack and accessories that you’d forgotten you even had.

  2. Storage 
    We’ve all done it, throwing used numnahs and bandages into a pile in the corner to deal with later. If you’re struggling to see the floor in your tack room, how about investing in some storage? Many discount and DIY retailers stock a vast array of storage solutions, from plastic boxes, to trunks and metal cupboards. They’re a great way to organise your kit, and save the frenzied search of the tack room when you can’t find this brush or that boot.

    Hanging your bridle on a hook and using a saddle rack will help protect them from damage.

  3. Laundry
    It’s handy to keep a laundry bag in your tack room, that way all the dirty bits can go in there, and it’s easy to carry the load to the washing machine. It also saves the inside of your car getting covered in horse sweat/mud (or at least some of it!)

  4. Security
    While having a tidy about, it’s also worth thinking about your yard security. Unfortunately it’s an all too common occurrence that tack rooms get broken into. While you might not be able to prevent theft entirely there are certainly worthwhile steps to deter it, such as keeping the tack room locked. Use a padlock with a code if you have lots of people on your yard, or are likely to lose keys.

  5. Lighting
    Another worthwhile deterrent to theft is lighting, particularly motion-sensor lighting. You can get inexpensive solar powered motion sensor lights on amazon, as well as some that require batteries. That way it won’t hit your electricity bill too hard, and you can still fit them even if your yard doesn’t have access to electricity.

NEXT TIME: Tack – buff up those bridles and shine up your saddles.

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