I’m only in my 30’s, but I’m not really the throwing away type (realized the shirt I was wearing a few days ago was from grade 9, so…). Neither are my parents, so I’m pretty sure we still have all my tack from when I was a kid in the 90s, and very little of it was new then.
The one Western saddle is kind of fun. It was made sometime in the 50s and belonged to my Dad’s brother new (Sears catalogue or general store…I can’t remember). When we needed a second saddle, my Dad mentioned he’d seen that one in a neighbour/friends shed, so he made an offer. Of course the friend took it – his kids were long gone and their horse even longer so – he certainly wasn’t using it. It’s actually in great shape and fits my palomino amazingly (a thick QH but with a wither)… and sadly I hate it because it stretches me all wrong. But Dad loves it, so it has a home for life (along with the horse of course).
My favorite is a simple loose ring bit. It is plain (aka. well rusted) iron but has brass rings. I used to sand them up to a shine before all our 4-H shows. I have no idea how old it is (old) or who made it (possibly handmade?) but it is surprisingly well balanced. It lives with Dad because it is the horse’s favourite too, but I will make sure it gets added to my collection when the time comes.
I’ve only been riding English 12ish years, but I frequented eBay in the early years, so I think a few things are around my age. Namely a Crump saddle and a classic navy hunt coat ($2.63!). They are both stored in “just in case” land now, but I did use them.