If you’re anything like us, your tack room has probably been a bit neglected over winter. A build up of mud and not putting things away neatly can result in tack room chaos – no judgement here! But as we head into Spring, now would be the perfect time to give your tack room a good spruce up in time for the nicer weather arriving. We’ve put together a list to help you know which bits to prioritise!
Your Tack
Although we’re sure you try to clean your tack relatively often, it surely can’t harm to make sure everything is spick and span for summer. We’d recommend taking your bridle apart and really cleaning in between all the crevices so it’s dirt free. It also might be an idea to take things like your stirrups and bit off and give them a really thorough clean. We have a little hack for you here – simply pop them in your dishwasher at home if you have one! We’d just say to make sure you run an empty cycle with cleaning salts afterwards, so your dishes don’t get infiltrated with anything untoward.
As well as your regular tack, now would be a good time to clean anything else that you maybe don’t use every day. Whether that’s martingales, breastplates or perhaps you have a show bridle, now is your chance to get on top of things before the new season starts.
Storage Solutions
It’s very easy to come back from riding and just sling your tack down and throw your accessories into a corner to deal with later. However, you know what they say – tidy tack room, tidy mind! If you’re struggling to see the floor and fed up of seeing bandages lying everywhere then perhaps investing in some storage solutions is a good idea. You can buy many of these for a cheap price from retailers such as B&M or Home Bargains. A good set of plastic drawers would make a brilliant home for your grooming supplies or lotions and potions, while plastic boxes can be used for brushing boots, bandages, and fly hoods. You can even go one step further and label your boxes, so you know exactly where everything is.
Laundry
Spring is the perfect time to start thinking about storing your winter rugs for the summer, but before you do so, it’s important to get them cleaned and repaired if needed. Booking your rugs in for their annual clean is super important in ensuring they stay waterproof and remain mould free. By getting this sorted now, rather than in October when the weather turns means you’re prepared already and it’s one less thing to pay for going into winter!
Your saddlepads would probably benefit from a good wash too. We sell handy equestrian laundry bags so you can just pop your saddlepads in your washing machine at home, without worrying about hair clogging your machine up. However, we’d always suggest trying to remove as much of the hair as possible before you put them in to wash.
Security
Even if you keep your horse on a big livery yard where the owners live on site, its still important to keep your tack room as secure as you can. Unfortunately theft is all too common from yards so it’s important to take steps to try prevent it. Invest in a good, strong padlock to keep on the door as it will at least act as a deterrent should thieves come snooping around. If you share the room with other liveries, you can get padlocks with a code locking system in place in case people are likely to lose keys.
Once you’ve done all these things, we guarantee you’ll be feeling more zen the next time you walk into your tack room. The real challenge now is keeping it this way…
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