Can I hunt in black tack?

[ScarletGypsy]

Apologies if this has been asked/answered before; search didn’t turn up a recent similar thread but it’s possible I missed something.

I’m hoping to take my little Morab mare out hilltopping with the local hunt this fall to see how she does. Her tack is appropriate for the task and in good repair, but the saddle and bridle I use with her are both black. They’re otherwise conservative and unremarkable (no blingy browband, etc.) and she’s a very dark bay so it doesn’t stand out on her. But every attire guideline I’ve come across specifies brown tack.

Is this a deal-breaker attire-wise? Is it considered bad form/tacky? I haven’t been out with a hunt since I was a little girl on a pony, so I am way out of the loop and just want to make sure we won’t be horribly out of place and/or appear disrespectful.

[Beverley]

Yes, you can, you will be just fine. Brown is more ‘usual’ but by no means a strict requirement. I’ve hunted in a black saddle a number of times- because that was the particular horse’s saddle- and was not struck by lightning.

BTW I have also shown dressage in my brown hunting saddle and bridle. Folks at the show did snicker, at least until I beat them…

[cavaliermax]

Depends on the hunt. My hunt doesn’t spend a lot of time worrying about these things. We try to watch the hounds and have some fun. Outliers tend to correct themselves.

[Kryswyn]

Certainly most foxhunters use brown tack. By the same token, most hunts love to have newcomers in their hunt field and will allow all sorts of non-traditional tack and dress while these folks decide if they want to continue hunting.

Once they decide they want to join the hunt, most folks will change over to standard hunting tack and replace their show coats with hunt coats, and chaps and paddock boots for proper breeches and tall boots.

The exception is landowners. In my experience, land owners may wear whatever they want, use whatever tack they prefer, including western saddles and the master and staff will be thrilled to see them in the field.

I once had a customer come in and ask for a navy frock coat. When I inquired how long she’d been hunting (because I thought given the type of coat she wanted she’d been awarded her colors) it turned out she was going out for the first time. I quickly suggested a plain black hunt coat as the correct coat for a 1st season foxhunter, but she said she didn’t like black and that the MFH had told her she could wear a blue frock. I thought for a second and asked, “Land owner?” Uh huh.

[ScarletGypsy]

Thanks for these replies. I will be riding with some very gracious ladies who belong to the local hunt, who are doing me a big kindness by sharing their knowledge/welcoming a newbie, so I primarily wanted to make sure our turnout would be appropriately respectful towards them. And they’d probably be way too polite to tell me black tack was frowned upon unless it was a major misstep.

We are otherwise pretty well set in terms of traditional/conventional attire; my hunt coat & dress boots finally fit again, one giant 9lb 5oz baby later. :lol:

[wateryglen]

I vote yep!!

No problemo IMHO! I love black tack on bays and blacks especially! Specially cuz you’ll be a guest. All hunts pretty cool with it.

[ISR]

Interesting thread, because i’ve never heard this before. I hunted with East Devon in the UK, and the majority of tack was black, including the hunt master. I myself ride in an Albion K2 which is black, and intend on hunting this season in Maryland.

[Painted_Wings]

Black tack is ok

I haven’t ever heard anyone comment on the color of the tack. It’s best to keep it plain and simple. Stay away from bling browbands, etc. It’s mainly from a practical standpoint as hunt tack gets sweaty and muddy and the raised stuff is harder to clean and keep inspected for wear etc. So keep your tack plain and clean and no one will care what color it is.