I am building 0ut a new barn for our boarders. I want to build nice lockers for them to store equipment. If you have a picture of a great idea, I would appreciate it. Quick question…do I need to build each locker big enough to store one or two saddles? Thank you in advance.
The barn we currently board at has lockers for boarders and lessees. In general, they have space for two saddles, but most folks don’t use more than one, leaving more space for “other stuff”. The locker we had originally with three people riding and two horses on property was large enough to handle three saddles. When I sold one horse, we moved to a standard locker. There are also “half-lockers” off the upstairs viewing lounge for folks who don’t have horses owned or leased, but available for rental so they can keep a personal saddle there for lesson use. (fit approved by the trainer, obviously)
Here are many to browse thru:
images for tack room tack lockers
For boarders, you probably want enclosed ones, for security.
If so, be sure there is good ventilation thru them, holes or gaps top and bottom of the door.
Tack can bring much moisture to the locker and get stinky in a hurry if no air gets to it.
Ours is a private barn, so mostly the lockers are to keep stuff out of the way.
They are 4’x4’ and have one portable three saddle rack and a wire shelves unit and one saddle rolling cart for each one.
The doors are similar to what you see in locker rooms, with a big gap at the bottom and top, so they are very well ventilated.
Hope some of those in that link may give you ideas to help with what you are needing.
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We are about to build lockers, and are putting expanded metal mesh inserts at the top of the doors for ventilation. Maybe bottom too. We’ll see. Approx 30x30", 7’ tall lockers, regular saddle rack on top, bottom saddle rack with a bar for pads under it, two bridle holders inside the door, hooks on the side for girths and whatnot, room underneath for a plastic tote or two for stuff that never gets used with grooming box on top. Shelf over saddles. Corner lockers will have shelves in the extra space and trainer (me) and boarders with multiple horses get dibs on those. Our barn does eventing so most everyone has 2 saddles, 2 bridles.
Jennifer
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Great ideas everyone, and awesome pictures with ideas in the link Bluey!
One idea for controlling moisture in a tack box is to use a bag of dessicant, which you can buy at an RV store or camping store. I got a dessicant-filled bag at Cabela’s, meant for use in a ‘gun safe’ - the bag is the size of my entire palm and soaks up any excess moisture when my tack trunk is closed.
Keeps the mold on leather down to a minimum on items tucked away at the bottom. I was also told that if it stopped working well, to dry the bag out in a hot oven for 15 minutes, and it would be good as new.
Dessicant works best in an enclosed space, the more airtight the better. When I lived in Hong Kong I put my extra shoes and camera etc in a close fitting plastic tote box. The first carton of dessicant liquified in 24 hours but the second kept things dry. No ovens there so no way to reuse!
This was in spring when suddenly everything went moldy overnight.
If you left the dessicant open in a room it would just liquefy since more wet air would constantly arrive.
Am I the only one who thought that this thread was about How one stores murder victims?
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Now that you put it this way …
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I’ve actually thought about this alot.
I have one of those stanley 50 gallon mobile tool chests- and I love it. Goes to shows, trail rides- doubles as a mounting block- lol.
But if I could build my idea tack storage for boarders…I would do individual tack lockers. I’d actually make them big enough that one of the stanley boxes would fit in the bottom. Then over the top (with room to open the lid) two saddle racks (one on top of the other) and above that a simple shelf for whatever items they might want to store.
One side wall of the locker would have assorted hooks for girths, helmet bags, or even their coat they wore to the barn. The opposite side wall would have ‘clamps’ that would hold their saddle pads. They can do this for storage or to let them dry.
On the inside of the door to the locker, I’d have multiple bridle hooks for any bridles/halters they might have.
To prevent excess moisture in the locker, the front door would have a wooden frame and wood anywhere needed for hanging bridle hooks, etc- however the remaining portions of the door would have a metal diamond grate, which would offer security for their items, but also allow air to flow.
NOW, if I had a room that was 14 ft long and 12 ft deep, I could fit 10 of these lockers. on the 14 ft wall sharing the aisleway, there would be the entry door of course, but also 3 lockers side by side that open directly into the aisle. Then inside the room, 3 lockers would be behind those- only these would open into the ‘tack room’. Then on the back wall, there would be 4 lockers that open into the ‘tack room’.
That would get me 10 tack lockers in that space.
I know I’d also need additional room (maybe in a loft?) for out of season blanket storage or overflow or what not.
I kind of feel like I’d need more airflow. I could put a dehumidifier in the tack room, but that wouldn’t suck the humidity out of the 3 lockers that face open to the aisle way…
Just make the tack room bigger?
The problem in horse barns with any that is not in it’s own envelope, protected by properly constructed walls, is dust.
The best way to provide a dust free environment is to have the tack in a room with as few openings as possible.
Tack kept outside a room in lockers that are dust tight will have moisture problems, if well vented, dust problems.
Then, ideal generally has to give to whatever we can manage, in size and what we have.
I expect most of us do what we can and are happy to have what we have.
Thank you all, these are great ideas…I sincerely appreciate the time and thought you put into this.
I agree- the tack room could just be bigger. My thought on the loft is simply that it would be out of the way and not taking up main sq footage in the barn.
I agree about dust. However- if I’m going to put tack at risk for mold or dust, it will be dust every time.
Besides, I’ve not had alot of issues with dust personally.
What you say is true- we find a way to make what we have work!
Our tack room also has an enclosed space above it for extra storage, for those items we are not using regularly or out of season.
Enclosing that didn’t hardly add to the cost for us while we were already building the tack room.
That works very well, that being unused space otherwise.
I used to have a locker a lot like @SorryNotSorrydescribed as the ideal, except it didn’t have a door.
When I was a kid I could fit my entire tack trunk, two saddles, blankets on the top shelves and hang a ton of stuff on the pegboard walls.The pegboard walls were fantastic. You could put hooks wherever you wanted and not worry about being too short to reach your bridle and you could hang bailing twine to dry saddle pads and boots. The whole thing was about 6" wider than a standard trunk and a couple of inches shorter (the trunks usually stuck out a bit). There were two shelves that I had to use a stool to reach the higher one (so probably 9’ high). There were two saddle racks one at chest height and one at about eye level. They supplied multiple hooks you could use on the pegboard.
It was a bit of a shock when I started boarding on my own dime (instead of my parent’s) and I had to fit all my stuff into a locker about a quarter of the size.
That locker was in a row inside a room with a padlocked door with a numeric combination all the boarders knew. Almost a shed-row of lockers. Where I board now I have a locker with my own key. I don’t think one system is more theft proof than the other, however people are a lot less prone to borrow my stuff at the barn I am at now (which might be a culture issue not a design issue).
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The peg board is a great idea!
And I definitely like the idea of a door with a place for a combo lock. Just because I hate people ‘borrowing’ stuff. Keeps honest people honest.
IF all the lockers would fit in a room with a lockable door, it would be double protection from outside theft. I’m not as concerned about boarders stealing from boarders, but someone walking onto the property. There have been entire tackrooms cleaned out in PA. Scary.
