Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Horse Tack

Tacking up a horse refers to the equipment worn by a horse to allow us to ride them with more ease. There is a wide range of tack and all has to be fitted to the individual horse. Tacking up requires a certain amount of expertise by the rider in order to make any discomfort for you or or animal minimal.

Tack consists of a halter, saddle, saddle pad, stirrup, bridle, girth (for English) / Cinches (for Western), lead ropes, martingale, harnesses, and breastplates. There are basically three kinds of bridles: single, double and hackamore. There are four kinds of girths: webbing, leather, string and nylon. Jumping , dressage , polo , park , racing , English side saddle, Western side saddle, and military saddles are just a few of the many out there.

All equipment has to be cleaned regularly after use. Wipe everything down with a wet sponge and then with a horse tack cleaner that is available on the market. For the most part, horse saddles and tack are made of leather, but with today's technology, many are made with synthetic materials. This synthetic equipment is lighter, less expensive and many times can be thrown in the washing machine for cleaning. Try to store your leather items in dry cool places such as storage containers or even in your home where the humidity is less.

As a young rider progresses you may want to move on to the more expensive saddles and tack. There are lots of used equipment out there for beginning riders that will save you lots of money. A general purpose saddle is best to start with. Doing everything possible to preserve your tack will save you money in the long run. Tack is very expensive to replace, although now that the Internet is selling tack and saddles, you are able to get discounted prices. Just search to get the best price available. Show equipment is usually the highest priced as it has lots of silver with lace and concho's to add more flare to the horse and riders performance.

If you have any questions on Horse supplies or J9 Farm Supplies, please call 936-520-2903. Our home office is located in Waller, Texas, with warehouses located throughout the United States such as Dallas TX, Houston TX, New York NY, Denver CO, Chicago ILL, Seattle WA, Kansas City MO, Miami FL, Raleigh-Durham NC, Washington DC, Los Angeles CA, Fayetteville AR, Philadelphia PA, Phoenix Arizona, San Antonio TX (Texas).

posted by Posh Pampered Pets @ 8:12 AM