Why We Must Support Our Local Tack Shops

As a teenager, my favorite destination, outside of the barn, was Barrington Saddlery, my local tack shop. Before I even had a horse, I bought brushes, boots and Breyers there. Rows upon rows of saddles, and a wall of gleaming bits greeted me each visit. I purchased horse magazines and read them cover to cover. To me, Barrington Saddlery was so much better than a candy store!

Sadly, two years ago, this happy place of mine, my local tack shop, closed forever.

Despite its location being in a very horsey area.

Despite having good customer service and stellar products.

Despite devoted shoppers, like me, who had been shopping there for decades.

In its final weeks, Barrington Saddlery had a killer sale in which I bought a tweed hunt coat, air vest and autumnal patterned stock tie for about half price. My happiness procuring such bargains did not allay my sadness of losing part of my riding history.

At lunch the other day, just a few miles from the location where my favorite tack shop was, a friend encouraged me to write a blog post about why we equestrians should support our local tack shops. Here it goes. Please leave your insights about local tack shops in the comments section!

Reasons We Must Support Local Tack Shops

I Need It Now!

Your local tack shop will be there for you when you need last-minute horse shoe studs or Perfect Prep for that show you’re competing in tomorrow. Or when you discover your horse has scratches and you realize you don’t have the proper medication (this just happened to me).

Try Before You Buy

At your local tack shop you can try it all on. From helmets to tall boots and breeches to saddles. You can find all kinds of brands and price points in one place. Just like finding the perfect pair of jeans, breeches can be tricky. It’s so much easier to try on all the sizes and styles at a tack shop.

Creative Problem Solving

I have a friend with two different calf sizes and she was looking for tall boots. Through the clever thinking of a local tack shop employee at Calabasas Saddlery, my friend was able to avoid the expense of custom boots and find a solution. They recommended a product to help stretch the calf of the one boot and what is essentially a protective sleeve for the smaller calf. We never in a million years would have thought that up. She bought a gorgeous pair of Secchiari boots that she was happy with.

Efficiency

By shopping at your local tack shop, you eliminate waiting for online shopping, and potentially waiting AGAIN if your order doesn’t work out and you need to exchange it. That’s a pain.

They Get Me

Much like my time at Equitana last fall when I thought, “Here are a bunch of people equally horse-obsessed as me. Guess I’m not so weird after all,” a local tack shop is a validating destination. People there are just like you.

A local tack shop is a place to be seen and known as a rider. In addition, you can bump into your friends there and make new ones. I have made some friends through my time shopping at Mary’s Tack and Feed and a few of them are going riding with me on my next trip to Ireland–how fun is that?

Aromatherapy & More

The saddle sections at tack shops always smell good! Where else can you find so much leather in one place? The fragrances wafting through the air of a tack shop can melt away the stress of the outside world. You can’t get that from ordering items online. 🙂

But beyond aromatherapy, maybe you’re like me and you want to see the exact shade of green the shirt is in person. Or perhaps you want to feel the texture of the grooming brush or leather halter before you commit. Being in a tack shop is a multi-sensory experience that cannot be replicated online.

Tack Shop Dogs

One of the best parts of shopping at a local tack shop is getting to know the store dogs. When I was on a fox hunting getaway to Middleburg, Virginia, I got to meet a very cool retired fox hound who was essentially a store dog.

Quail Hollow Tack in Flower Mound, Texas has a dog named Olive who is just darling. She has a great rescue story and she makes it a point to connect with shoppers. A big personality in a little dog body.

Keep Your $ in the Community

Buy shopping at local tack shops, you are keeping money in your local community. By supporting your local horse community, you are supporting local shows, local trainers, local boarding barns, etc. This is good for everyone.

Recommendations from People in the Know

Last fall I had the pleasure of shopping at St. Croix Saddlery, a tack shop near Minneapolis while researching for my equestrian memoir, Marguerite, Misty and Me: a Horse Girl’s Hunt for the Hidden History of Marguerite Henry and her Chincoteague Pony. One of the employees highly recommend a belt. It was one of those woven, stretchy ones. It never would have occurred to me to try such a belt. I ended up buying a two!

Would you believe that brown belt saved me when the zipper on my suitcase broke when I was returning from riding in Ireland?! I literally used duct tape on the bag and then took my riding belt that stretched far enough to wrap itself around my hulking suitcase to keep it all together.

I thought, “There goes that belt. I guess I’ll have to buy a new one when I get back.” I’m happy to report the belt suffered no ill effects from being stretched to the max as it hugged my bag. It morphed back into shape and I wore it in a lesson this week. That belt is my hero, and I never would have picked it up if not for the recommendation at the tack shop.

Community Support

Local tack shops support local communities, not just with jobs or even monetarily. For example, during the various wildfires in Southern California, tack shops stepped up and took donations from customers to help out fellow horse lovers who had been impacted by the fires. DaMoor’s Tack and Feed in Glendale, California led the way with that effort–being there for customers.

Also, local tack shops tend to support equestrian small businesses, and in some cases equestrian authors like me! I sell my books wholesale to tack shops and now my books find readers in local tack shops from California to Florida and Texas to Minnesota! Several equestrian author friends of mine have their books in local tack shops too. We are all grateful for the support. I love browsing horse books at local tack shops, and they usually carry a good assortment of Trafalgar Square horse and rider books.

I participated in book signings at Mary’s Tack and Feed in Del Mar, California and hope to do more signings and special events at more tack shops. Tack shops are the best place to hang out and talk horse!

Here is a wild reason to support local tack shops: local tack shops can reunite lost horses with their owners! Mary’s did just that, putting a notice on their white board which was then photographed and posted on their Instagram account to spread the word. The missing trio of equines was located.

Think of the community bulletin board you see in most tack shops–those still exist! Those real life message boards are a place where you can buy a pony, sell a trailer and find a new trainer or therapeutic riding center where you can volunteer.

A Happy Place for Equestrians

Tack shops are a happy place, and life without tack shops would be dreary. Imagine only having websites and no physical tack shops! What a nightmare indeed. I’m so glad brick and mortar tack shops are still a thing. Long live the local tack shop!

Thanks for reading and tally ho!

Question: What is your favorite local tack shop? What do you love about it? Feel free to forward this post along on social media to amplify the local tack shop love!

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