In my trailer tack room there is a lot of tack! Some of which I still use and some which will never be used again but serves as a great reminder of how far I have come in educating myself on how to better communicate with my horses and keep them comfortable.

I have decided to divide the tack into 2 categories: the tack that serves me and my horse now, and the tack that has taught me so much.

Category 2,

An older billy cook cutting saddle that I rode every horse in for years. Now looking back I remember the dry patches behind the shoulders on the horses that I rode. The length of the saddle that often extended beyond the 18th rib, past the point of acceptable weight bearing. A rigid tree that not only barely fit the horse while standing but definitely couldn’t acclimate to the ever changing shape of the horse in motion. I am reminded of the troubles I would have in getting my horses to be soft, supple and engage in the idea of flying lead changes and other moments that require freedom of the shoulders and such. Now I know why.

Set of spurs that were always attached to my boots. Not that I ever used them in an abusive way or think ill of them. I did find it easier to communicate in a more subtle way with them. But I realize now that with more expressive body movement on my part, education and improvement on my riding skills and correct tack that work for me instead of against me I can achieve this with ease without using spurs.

Twisted wire snaffle with a curb chain. The ignorance attached with my use of this bit makes me wonder why I didn’t get bucked off more. I had no idea that it was as severe as it is. I thought it was just a step up from a smooth snaffle. But with the added pressure of the curb it is, in my opinion, one of the worst tools one can use for communication. To ask a horse to engage in contact, flex and round into a bit like this (and most other types of bits for that matter) is ignorant. Engagement with the horses mouth only causes pain, it is not a valuable tool for communication (except maybe punishment).

Category 1,

Freeform DKR treeless saddle. After purchasing the pickiest and most sensitive horse on the planet I was forced to begin the journey of learning about saddle fit, types of saddles and saddle options, horses backs and the abnormalities that ill-fitting saddles cause on them. Since this guy was young and had no previous introduction to saddles or been “trained” to just deal with it and go anyways. I chose to “listen”to my horse and shut out the comments of others such as: he’s just being a brat, he’s lazy and he needs more training. When a saddle he didn’t like was used he would slow his gait down to a stop, refuse to go and start crow-hopping. I demoed hundred of different saddles, endurance types, westerns and dressage saddles all getting the same results. I got several different opinions from saddle shops and “fitters” and educated myself on the issue. All this time I knew about treeless, but shoved it to the side with negative opinions and hippie stereotypes . I payed hundreds to have my horse evaluated and fit by professional saddle fitters with decent results but not good enough in my opinion (as well as my horses). Running out of options, resources and really patience I decided to rule out a treeless option. I got the saddle and everything that goes with it to make it a success (the pad and girth are just as important as the saddle itself) on a demo program to try for 6 days free of charge. The first ride was an amazing experience. I could feel my horse underneath me, his back, all four footfalls, ribcage placement etc. I then realized that I had no idea how to ride my horse! All this time I had been riding my saddle, not the horse. Very Different things! Also my horse loved it, I rode for about 3 hours and he not only didn’t show any negative response but he was happy to round into it, leads came with ease and he got fatigued far later in the ride than usual. When examining the sweat patterns they were perfect with a dry spine channel. I checked for soreness in his back and found nothing. I rode in the saddle everyday for 6 days straight and got the same results. Couldn’t be happier with the saddle.

Bio thane halter/bridle. I started using this bridle with a smooth snaffle and after trail riding with just the halter I have since ditched the bit and just use the halter portion. He responds just as well so why use it.

Easyboot gloves. They are so great to have when traveling over terrain or a distance my horse isn’t conditioned to. I carry them and only put them on when I feel the need, this way the my horse gets conditioned to new terrain comfortably at his own pace.

In the future I would like to add a bit-less bridle to my collection, I have yet to try it but the idea sounds great!