Ideas for storing a saddle in apartment

[Omnia]

I have a dressage saddle I’m quite fond of, but I’m not sure if I will be using it anytime in the near future. I am looking for storage suggestions (preferably inexpensive) for an apartment. I am planning to get a dog before I anticipate using the saddle again, so my concern is that the saddle just sitting on a stand would be very enticing chew toy! I won’t have a garage or some place private outside of the apartment to store it.

Would a closed cabinet hold up if I drilled a saddle rack into it? Ideally it would be nice if whatever held the saddle looked like it fit in as furniture, but I’d like to spend under $300.

Thank you!

[2DogsFarm]

DH’s close contact lives on the back of a thriftstore DR chair in my LR.
Displayed along with his boots & bridle from his horse.
There’s a saddle pad beneath it & I have piled horsecare books on the seat - both as display & to counterweight.
I have cats & they have ignored the saddle & boots for the 15yrs it has been inside.

”‹”‹”‹”‹

If you could find a cabinet deep enough that sounds like a good idea too.
Or just mount a saddlerack if lease allows.

[Scribbler]

I have certainly seen people repurpose old wardrobes as saddle storage at the barn. But to attach saddle racks, the furniture would need to be made out of solid wood, not a modern IKEA fibreboard job.

You might be able to find a free standing saddle rack that could fit inside a cabinet.

But any cabinet that can fit a saddle is going to be deep! It will take up a lot of floor space in an apartment.

What about the kind of tack trunks for shows that have a built in saddle rack? That is rather bulky but could also function as seating or a coffee table

[TCA_Arabians]

I have my Mom’s old saddle and bags mounted on a bar stool in a corner by the fireplace. Looks nice. I have some old steamer trunks - used them for years as a coffee table when I had an apartment. A saddle would easily fit in one.

[Omnia]

Hmm, tack trunk might be a good idea. There are some cute plans online if I can’t find one pre-made that I like. I have access to a wood and metal shop, and a friend that will help in exchange for painting help…

Has anyone used Elite Tack’s plans before?

[MissCoco]

If you’re concerned about a dog, and are allowed to, mounting a saddle rack pretty high up seems like the ideal solution to me! I’m also extremely short, so the rack wouldn’t have to be incredibly high for me to walk under it easily.
Though as an apartment dweller myself, I’d definitely be a little apprehensive about that idea!

Alternately a steamer trunk as ottoman/coffee table could be a good place to store a saddle, and some of those “storage benches” are of similar size but sometimes cheaper
I also like 2DogsFarm’s solution, looks nice!

[furlong47]

I have a small studio apartment and mine just sits on a stand, but it is inside the carry bag that I use to take it back and forth to the barn. The bag is unzipped for air flow. Keeping it covered like that protects it from the cat. I have a second older saddle on a stand inside the closet, which is an option if your closet is large enough.