Looking for Opinions & Product Suggestions

[system]

Hi everyone,

I work for a fairly well known tack wholesaler, and we are looking as possibly including some more hunt-type bridles and equipment for the upcoming year in order to expand our current offerings. As a COTH addict when I’m not working, I wanted to come here first and ask for suggestions. What are you always on the lookout for equipment wise, and what kind of tack do you currently use/buy for riding in the Hunt field.

It’s useless to create products without customer input, so we’d like to hear everything & thank you in advance!

[Romany]

Decent THICK as in 1" thick rubber reins. In dark browns, not just bright orange.

Decent thick stirrup leathers, thick as in 1" or 1 1/8": I think I’ve got that right. Cut from quality hide so they don’t stretch by 5 holes on one side only when ten-ton bessie has to stand in her stirrups for 2-3 hours at a stretch. :lol:

Breastplates and breastgirths with discreet buckles and chunky leather, not skinny hunter stuff, and not buckles that look like they came off a circus horse or driving harness, with big brass buckles everywhere.

And breastplates and breastgirths that are very adjustable - too often the breastplates fit OK around the neck but have loops that need to be shortened by a saddler to the girth under the belly. Maybe make the belly strap from biothane!

Simple cavesson nosebands that have a “kind” buckle, like maybe a crank-type padded buckle, at the back of the chin. The regular ones always seem to chafe.

String/mohair girths in dark colours - trying to keep leather girths clean and supple is a losing battle when one is scorching through wet mud all the time.

A treat would be a good line of well-designed, well-made quality leather packs to attach to one’s saddle, along the lines of flask carriers, fencing tool carriers, saddle bags, etc.

I buy Jeffries tack; high-end, plain and simple, made in the UK, and lasts forever.

Would you like a guinea-pig?

[whicker]

so many wishes!

Wide cushioned stirrups, like endurance stirrups, but look English style and fit English leathers. There are lots of us who have backs, hips and legs that have seen battle over the years. Less shock coming through the stirrups means we can stay out longer.

Mattes type contour shaped saddle pad, without the extra sheepskin trim all the way around. especially under the girth. It pushes the leg out away from the horse and interfers with the subtle feel and leg cues.

Ways to add more gear to the saddle, quietly.

A really easy flask that lets you drink while you are unexpectedly galloping. If it is there for runners and bikers, why do we have to be dehydrated? It should be washable, not change the taste of the contents, contoured and have a lid that doesn’t fall off.

Running and standing martingale attachments in sizes. A short necked horse or pony doesn’t need the length that a long necked one does. Very adjustable, excellent leather, and well made buckles with keepers that stay on.

I like the concept of the 5 point breastplate, want one that is all leather and more discreet. Has to be totally adjustable.

I frequently design what I need when I need a better solution. I’m happy to guinea pig, too.

[SLW]

One thing that has endeared Bartville Harness to me is their willingness to create a hunting bridle per my specific measurements. That means a horse that needs a horse size crown piece, cob brow band and check pieces and horse size cavasson gets just that. Another needs some other combination of parts and I end up with bridles that fit my horses perfectly. Ordering a cob or horse size bridle usually means a trip to the shoe repair guy for adjustments before I even get to use it.

[Romany]

Whicker - take a look at Nuu-med saddle pads - numnahs - they make exactly what you describe.

And about flavourless flasks - I don’t know where to get them, but I’ve seen ones made from Nalgen, which isn’t suppose to impart flavour into the liquid.

I also save the little 187 mil plastic wine bottles - they don’t impart flavour, either, and they’re free, so it doesn’t matter if I lose a lid occasionally.

[whicker]

Romany,
Thanks for the ideas!
Are the wine bottles the little ones that are used by airlines or hotels for their mini-bars?

I haven’t seen the saddle pads in my tack shops, so I will check those out, too.

The nalgene bottles I’ve seen are a hard shape to hold and need a holder for the saddle. The insulated polar bottles work better and keep the drink cold. But, I haven’t seen a holder that would work well for hunting, especially jumping. I use an endurance one sometimes on a quiet horse, but it wasn’t designed for our hunting saddles and flops around. Plus it isn’t discreet enough.

It would also be helpful if the O.P. would consider a line of high energy foods, like those triathalon athletes use. My daughter coaches triathalon, and suggestedJelly Belly sport beans, Honey Stinger honey, and Gu. These all come in small flexible packets. I haven’t been out to test them yet, but I think the jelly beans might be the easist to deal with, since we can’t drop litter, like they do in triathlon.

I do like the idea of the soggy fruitcake, but haven’t figured out how to deal with it. In the past, I carried the little laughing cow cheeses, which worked well and were edible no matter how late in the hunt they were eaten. Maybe we need another thread on hunting food and drink…

[Romany]

OMG - I could LIVE on Laughing Cow Cheese - I never even thought of taking that out! Doesn’t it get a bit tricky extracting the gooey cheese from the crumpled foil at a crisp gallop, though?

The wine bottles…I bought mine in 4-packs at the Liquor Barn when I went to Rolex. I still have a few - the wine wasn’t great, but the bottles are; I see one says “Suttom Home Family Vineyards” and another says “Beringer California Collection.”

Swigging from one right now, actually, having dug it from the depths of the fridge - and looking at the design, which is a regular screw-top, it should be simple enough to thread a needle with some brightly coloured knitting wool, so (a) no-one else would be seen dead with it, so you don’t have to share, and (b) so if/when you drop it you can find it in the long grass. Stick the needle up through the lid, big knot in the end now inside the lid, and wrap the wool around the neck of the bottle and knot it a couple of times - voila, red-neck flask!

The fruitcake doesn’t seem to go soggy, oddly enough. I guess it would if you really drowned it in booze, but I’ve never had that problem.

You can buy Nuu-Med pads online from their website, and there are a few sellers on Ebay UK, too, who’ll ship to N America without breaking the bank. If you’re shipping to the US, you should be able to get the 17% VAT knocked off, not from the Ebay sellers usually, but certainly from big retailers like Ride-Away.

http://www.nuumed.com/index.html

Mmm…Laughing Cow Cheese, plonk from my red-neck flask, and boozy Christmas cake: it’s not just for breakfast any more!

[Doctracy]

Bridles with thick leather and padding, not all rolled. No fancy stitching, easy to clean. Big, flat, smooth breast collars. Nice, inexpensive saddle bags of decent leather. Holders for cell phones, water bottles, cutters, that can go on breast collar.

[wateryglen]

I’m on a roll!!

Flat tack! It’s soooo hard to find sometimes! Plain, brown, thick & wide please! Make the nosebands substantial so they don’t break w/standing martingales. And since so many of us are hunting larger horses we need a selection of large, oversize, draft cross sized bridles please! Larger than regular but smaller than draft. Particularly the browbands and often the throatlatches are too small. An oversize bridle with a choice of browbands sizes would totally rock!!
EX: my 3 half drafts can all wear regular sized bridles except for the browbands and they all need different sizes! :mad:
And reins that have a good grip but are all leather. Sometimes we have pullers and rubber doesn’t last. They need to be thicker/wider.

[Romany]

[QUOTE=wateryglen;5222305]
Flat tack! It’s soooo hard to find sometimes! Plain, brown, thick & wide please! Make the nosebands substantial so they don’t break w/standing martingales. And since so many of us are hunting larger horses we need a selection of large, oversize, draft cross sized bridles please! Larger than regular but smaller than draft. Particularly the browbands and often the throatlatches are too small. An oversize bridle with a choice of browbands sizes would totally rock!!
EX: my 3 half drafts can all wear regular sized bridles except for the browbands and they all need different sizes! :mad:
And reins that have a good grip but are all leather. Sometimes we have pullers and rubber doesn’t last. They need to be thicker/wider.[/QUOTE]

I reckon Jeffries make the nicest flat bridles - and I think the dimensions are on their website.

You’ve got me thinking about browbands, though: why can’t they be made so that one can add - I dunno - links, like a watch strap? It could be as blingy - or as plain - as one’s little heart desires!

[Hinderella]

Like wateryglen said, flat tack…it can be hard to find. And how about pony sizes? I know that most of the hunt world is on full size or larger horses, but there are some who hunt (or people like me, who aspire to hunt) on ponies, and it’s nearly impossible to find a good hunt style breastplate that is pony-sized.
A nice leather case for the Stanley flask on my Christmas list :

http://www.shopstanley-pmi.com/detail/TCL+10-00837-000

Good luck with your venture.

[Beverley]

@whicker;5218383

Wide cushioned stirrups, like endurance stirrups, but look English style and fit English leathers. There are lots of us who have backs, hips and legs that have seen battle over the years. Less shock coming through the stirrups means we can stay out longer.

Whicker- I went with the Sprenger flex stirrups some years ago at the suggestion of fellow foxhunters from Red Rock- problem solved!

LeatherWorker- I would echo the general sentiment ‘plain flat tack.’ Including for example the plain ol’ hunting breastplate (with standing or running attachments). Also, you can’t go wrong if you offer cheater stirrup leathers- I have one but if I were looking again, I’d have a preference for ‘a pair’ of leathers, matching 1" width flat leather, with the one having the cheater mechanism for mounting/ dismounting.

You didn’t specify whether you are a real world store or mail order only but if the former, you also couldn’t go wrong with a repair service that includes ability to add dee rings to saddles. So many saddles off the shelf are lacking this necessary option, and so many new foxhunters quickly realize how useful they are (I have dees on both sides of my saddle).

Oh, and good replacement thongs for hunting whips. And good poppers for those who wish to purchase rather than using home-made-from-baling-twine.

[system]

Thanks for the product suggestions everyone! I’ve printed this out to start comparing it to our current product line up to see what we can improve on and expand to appeal to the Hunting crowd.

We aren’t a store-we are a wholesale operation only that supplies tack stores, and we have a good handle on our current market.

We already offer 1" leathers that are both flat and nylon lined already, but the bridle area we can definitely expand and improve.

[whicker]

Leatherworker, please

Leatherworker,
I’m sending you a p.m.

Please keep in contact with us, and let us know how things are progressing. We do have quite a following here and in real life. We will be passing the word along, if we know about the products and they are well thought out and made.

[system]

Whicker, I look forward to your PM. We really do care about what our end customers think and I would like to have some very concrete ideas to present to my boss about what the customers want/need. I will be sitting down to work through some of the suggestions this afternoon with a co-worker to see what we can develop with our existing line.

[Equibrit]

I tend to buy QUALITY strap goods from the UK, made of English leather. It lasts at least several decades, and is of classic design, so never dates.

[whicker]

Leatherworker, please

Leatherworker,
I sent it as an email instead.
You do lovely quality work, so I’m sure you can create good things for us.

[system]

Thanks whicker! I also welcome emails from anyone here on the Hunting board with opinions!

[wateryglen]

Good idear!

LOVE the adjustable browband idear!
All the other parts of a bridle are come to think of it!
GOOD idear! :yes:

[system]

Thanks for the suggestion of Jeffries, I’ll be having a look at their website.

A few questions:

Hook studs or buckles on bridles?

Brass or Silver fittings?

Favorite thickness of reins: We can do 3/4", 7/8" or 1" with rubber covering, or up to 1" just plain leather, braided/plaited, with stops, rubber lining, etc.