Moving Tack

[PNWSunnyDay]

I may be moving in the next few months without an immediate ‘horse home.’ There is a large chance that my tack will be stored for months. I’m wondering how I should move and store my tack so it doesn’t get damaged, misshapen, or moldy. I do not own a proper tack trunk as I have a box and rack at my barn for my things. Ideally, I would like to keep my tack and riding gear together. I’m looking to store:

-Dressage saddle
-2 bridles
-2 helmets
-2 pair tall boots
-1 pair paddock boots and half chaps

• odds and ends (a few half pads, saddle pads, girths, grooming stuff)

What would you guys do?

[Spudsmyguy]

I’d go to Lowe’s and buy a Stanley (or similar) trunk. They’re not expensive, easy to move, and hold an large amount of tack. You can easily fit everything on your list in one.

[clanter]

@PNWSunnyDay

-2 helmets

might chunk those as Most manufacturers recommend replacing your helmet after 5 years of use regardless .

[lorilu]

Clean them well and be sure they are dry. If you use a trunk, add one of those “Damp Rid” type moisture collectors (you will have to empty the water from it…). Not sure how to store a saddle in a horizontal trunk safely - sorry. I have my extra saddle in the house on a plastic sawhorse from Lowe’s. Perhaps that is an option for the saddle.

[eightpondfarm]

Onslaught is a fantastic mold remediation/prevention liquid. I wonder if you could wipe down the inside of the box/trunk and let it dry and maybe it might keep mold at bay? Just a thought…i’ve never tried using it that way. I regularly use it in our old rock house and swipe a saddle with it now and then too.

[PNWSunnyDay]

@clanter

@PNWSunnyDay

2 helmets

might chunk those as Most manufacturers recommend replacing your helmet after 5 years of use regardless .

Yes, @clanter I appreciate the safety tip! My oldest helmet is two years old, the other is just a year old. My old helmets have been chucked out

[pony_baloney]

For transporting my saddle in my car, I use a Playmate cooler. It’s the perfect shape and height and should fit in a Stanley trunk easily.

[hoopoe]

I would invest in a basic aluminum saddle stand and as soon as you are settled, place the saddle and bridle on it and store at room temp. I would not box up tack even for a few months. They should not take up much space in your bedroom or other living area. The clothings and boots live in the closet

[PNWSunnyDay]

@eightpondfarm

Onslaught

I have never heard of this product; I’ll check it out.

[Renn_aissance]

@hoopoe

I would invest in a basic aluminum saddle stand and as soon as you are settled, place the saddle and bridle on it and store at room temp.

Place the saddle on top of a thick pad or several folded towels to prevent the bars from indenting the panels. I prefer a wooden triangular-shaped stand for this reason.

[hoopoe]

absolutely, but in a pinch and in economy and space, an aluminum one is just the ticket. If there are saddle pads or a cooler involved ( wasnt mentioned) this is where they go, too

[endlessclimb]

@Renn_aissance

Place the saddle on top of a thick pad or several folded towels to prevent the bars from indenting the panels. I prefer a wooden triangular-shaped stand for this reason.

Yes, this. You might be better off storing it in the “tipped up” position to avoid this if it’s going in a trunk. Take the stirrups off so they don’t dent the knee pad area, and be sure there’s no pressure on it - vertically or horizontally - to avoid twisting the tree.

Actually - do you know anyone in the area where you’re moving? Any chance they’d be willing to put the saddle in a closet for you while you get settled?

[Jo]

@Spudsmyguy

I’d go to Lowe’s and buy a Stanley (or similar) trunk. They’re not expensive, easy to move, and hold an large amount of tack. You can easily fit everything on your list in one.

Was 100% coming here to say this.

[Posting_Trot]

The only time I’ve stored tack (saddle and bridle) for several months, this is what I did.

Clean the tack well. Then slather it with a heavier conditioner and don’t wipe off the excess. Put the saddle in a loose garbage bag.

Buy a saddle stand and put it inside your house, away from any heating or cooling vents. Put a clean saddle pad on it, put the wrapped saddle on that, put the bridle in the bag with the saddle, and then pretend it isn’t there until you need to use the tack again. (Actually, I’d check it every couple of months or so).

This worked for me. The only thing is that if you’ve had any problems with mold on the tack previously, I would not store that piece of tack with anything else.

[lorilu]

BEST is a sawhorse that sits up in the gullet with no pressure on the panels.

[eightpondfarm]

i bought a few plastic saw horses that collapse flat and carry easily. Cheap and serves my purpose. I have a couple of them in my pickup bed for when i haul into my lesson and need to tack up beside my trailer. (stock trailer, no tack area in there). I totally agree about them holding the saddle up by the gullet. ONLY problem is the saddle is unstable and will wobble, and fall of much more easily than the triangle fold out kind with the wither roll.

[frugalannie]

I was gifted a bunch of strap goods by a friend. They’d been stored for more than a year in an old wooden trunk in a hayloft in New England: summer humidity, winter temps. There was no mold on anything. As far as I could tell it was because the leather goods were all wrapped up in the flannel bags that expensive human shoes and handbags come in. I don’t know what they’re treated with, but it was magic. 20 years later they’re still pretty good. So if you have any friends who have a dress shoe and handbag fetish, get their bags!!

[Knubbsy]

I have mixed feelings about this advice, but my conservation science professors from grad school insisted we do not apply any conditioners to leather in our museum collections because they are not meant for long term storage, but only for materials that were regularly handled and the conditioners worn/rubbed off (I got the impression that like cosmoline on firearms, the sealants become miserable to remove if left to sit for a while). BUT this is assuming you are storing your leather goods in a climate-controlled (both temp and humidity controlled) space without pests. I’m not sure I’ve worked at a museum where we treated our leather objects aside from extremely poor condition items at accessioning/intake - but also these weren’t working living history farm objects so they weren’t going to be put under strain in the future.

Not sure any of this was helpful in hindsight.

[PNWSunnyDay]

After reading all of the advice I think I will prioritize storing my saddle indoors as soon as I move. Even if my boots and other items stay in a big plastic trunk I will get that saddle out and find a good surface to hang it. I am moving from a damp area so there is no way to really make sure my saddle is dry enough to be sealed away.