Declarations of a Reformed Tack Hoarder

But first an update! Farley is all moved into her new home. She has fabulous accommodations and seems really content. I love the order and structure of the new barn. I’ve had one lesson so far as a boarder and I loved it. There are things I miss about the old place, but the sacrifice has been worth it - the barn has once again become the center of tranquility and peace in my life. All’s well.

Declarations of a Reformed Tack Hoarder
For years, friends and family have accused me of being a tack hoarder. I brushed them off with excuses of how it’s nice to have the tool at hand to get the job done, and everyone should have (insert a horsey thing here) in their barn, and why I couldn’t pass up such a good deal on (fill in the blank)…and most of the excuses are true. There ARE some pieces of tack that are nice to have around, even if it’s not a normal use item. And it IS nice to have “just the thing” when faced with a situation. However, it’s also led to me owning a large quantity of tack, most of which was never used.

It doesn’t help that I also have a reputation for “making something work” or finding the cheap red-neck way of doing it. Of course…this works for a while…until my complicated, convoluted system breaks down and I end up replacing it with the expensive thing actually DESIGNED to do the job. All while keeping the assorted tack used to “make it work”, thus leading to more, and yet even more tack!

Up to now, the excessiveness of my hoarding hasn’t been readily apparent. I’ve been able to tuck a little here and there, hide a few Rubbermaid containers in a tack room, and sneak piles of tack into the feed room etc. No more do I have that freedom! With limited space, time, and $$ - the mounds of tack must go! To curb such impulses as have led to these dire straits, I present the mottos of a reformed tack hoarder….

I SHALL buy what I really want…once. It is a coincidence that the ONLY original piece of tack that I still own from my early days in endurance is the very high quality Hought breast collar that I paid for new? Everything else has gone by the wayside as it broke, proved to be unsuitable, or irritated me.

I SHALL NOT buy items “just in case”. When I have my own barn, this might be possible. Right now, there’s no space for just in case…..

I SHALL NOT buy items just because it’s a good deal. We won't even discuss this one in detail....

I SHALL NOT continue to store things that don’t fit me or the horse and I haven’t used, EVER. Sportack Vosal and bridle anyone?

I SHALL put thought into tack purchases and I SHALL thing about the long term implications of my purchase. Are my colors going to change? What is the expected life span of this piece of tack? Can this be used in more than one discipline? What is the lifelong upkeep/maintenance required of the item to keep it in usable condition? I'm super happy with my Hought bridle because there's no color. The breast color is red - and it functions great and I love it.....but my color scheme has changed a bit in the 5 years that I've purchased it. The pieces that I put a lot of thought into and bought exactly what I wanted and needed, are the pieces of tack I get the most joy from using.

I SHALL refuse to buy something less than suitable because I’m impatient and don’t want to wait. And thus I ended up with all sorts of curb straps and chains - none of which really worked - until I had the patience to buy one from Hought at a ride.

I SHALL not buy things that require tons of maintenance to keep usable, unless I have a PLAN of how I’m going to upkeep the item. I bought a thinline pad with sheepskin rolls, but NOT sheepskin underside because of this consideration. The result? I'm much happier with the pad.

I SHALL critically evaluate my tack at least annually.

I SHALL NOT buy as much tack at the tack sale as I came to sell.

I SHALL buy horses of all the same size so I have no excuses to double my tack inventory.

I SHALL stop thinking of my tack as something large enough to refer to as “inventory”.

I SHALL be able to fit my tack into its assigned space at all times. Assigned space SHALL NOT include garages, pickup beds, tool boxes, and more than one horse stall in the trailer.

Which reminds me…has anyone else seen the ad in the USEF for the new ariat boot? Boy is it pretty….I can see myself in pair now! Just kidding….kinda.