Plus, the name recognition is invaluable.
5 Likes
Yeah it is. SmartPak started as just supplements IIRC - it might’ve made sense to change the name if they’d switched to tack only, but not this.
Oh well. I get SmartPaks for one horse at the training barn because it’s easier for everyone and I can just forget about it. I order most of my supps elsewhere when I do DIY cups because SmartPak’s markup is hefty - and now without the benefit of in-stock tack, I’ll be spending a lot of money at Dover. Apparently.
Perhaps tack and clothing was a loss-leader, but now I’m likely to take my money to a competitor due to the ease of just adding stuff to the cart being gone.
3 Likes
I wonder if they will phase out the individual servings? It’s incredibly wasteful from a sustainability perspective, and costs for all that packaging have to be going through the roof with tariffs on materials. If the little “pak” isn’t even in your name anymore, maybe easier to overhaul how it’s distributed?
2 Likes
Yes, and they paid for that name recognition, I am sure.
That is one of my problems. I had a couple of bad Dover experiences so I am not looking forward to having to deal with them again.
I would think if this company wanted to not do individual servings they would not have paid the money to buy this company.
I do not have the numbers in front of me anymore, but I weighed the plastic from my horse’s SmartPaks once, a month of three supplements in cells was less plastic (by weight) than the bucket for one month of one supplement. The cells are recyclable where I live too. So in my opinion it is not near as horrible as others like to make it sound.
5 Likes
So my take on this is that they want to be seen as providing more options than just smartpaks. “Smartpaks” themselves will still remain as a central core offering, but they will have many more options in their new market space of equine health and wellness.
I will miss the tack and clothing. Their own brand stuff was decent quality and affordable. But I suspect tariffs are playing a part in all this.
5 Likes
Someone started another thread on this with a link to the SmartEquine article about the change.
3 Likes
That would be catastrophic to them as a company. A massive part of their success is how they made things easier for boarding barns. Many boarding barns only allow Smartpak supplements.
7 Likes
I agree that the name change is puzzling at this point in the game.
I rarely feed enough supplements (and am a big enough cheapskate) for using SmartPaks to make sense, so my purchases have always been mostly tack or clothing. I’m also not big on buying whatever the newest therapeutic “woo” gear is… so the re-branding and niche-ing down to focus on wellness stuff, I’m probably not the target market. 
Supplements (horse or human) are a huge moneymaker. I’d bet that the tack/clothing/etc was not.
4 Likes
I will miss them being an one stop shop.
I haven’t tried them (and generally buy bulk supplements not smartpaks), but their new liquid paks sounds like a good idea! I give my horse their liquid vit e, which was the one thing O couldn’t figure oit a hassle free way to bag in the rare occassions I need someone else to feed for me.
8 Likes
I am so sad to see this change. I don’t feed supplements. I loved Smartpak for their clothes, tack, treats, and supplies. The website is depressing to see it all going away. Really disappointed in this “rebrand.”
6 Likes
They appear to still have these.
At least for now. Their name brand treats are still on their website.
This hits the nail squarely on the head.
That is what I loved about them.
I could toss anything into my monthly order.
10 Likes
I am disappointed even though I’m not riding right now. I really appreciate that they had a great variety of plus size apparel in nice patterns and colors. I liked their tack options and the variety of brands, too.
5 Likes
I’ve been thinking about this. My guess is that clothing and tack - sized items - have a high return rate and not enough of a profit margin for the new company. I may return my “bought two sizes and returned one” item in perfect condition, but a lot of people don’t. That’s a loss leader, and wasteful. Supplements and things like fly spray and cookies have a CRAZY high profit margin (generally) and almost zero returns. The customer may demand a refund or replacement here and there, and you may not get a repeat order, but you aren’t shipping quarter sheets and boots back and forth. Plus people tend to be ruthless in reviews despite their “issues” being entirely personal preference or incorrect expectations.
Likely the target customer base is different vs what SmartPak was doing, and they’re willing to lose the tack and clothing business. They’ll be more like a horsey feed store with fancy “health” products.
8 Likes
The ownership, unless it has changed again recently, is a supplier of veterinary and human medical supplies, so tack and apparel are not really anything they’re interested in.
4 Likes
Makes sense. Too much hassle and not bringing in big bucks to be worth expanding into the market either.
Yes. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see prescriptions come back to the site at some point.
1 Like
Eh.
Maybe, but since covetrus does most of their business with veterinary practices, they might not want to compete on the prescription side of things.
It could lose them business.
4 Likes
True! I think it would have to be the kind of thing where they are involved, i.e. if you order a prescription from your vet (who partners with Covetrus), you can opt to have your prescription portioned into your smartpaks (for an extra charge). I know their flavored bute powder was pretty popular when they offered it.
1 Like
So now where are we going to shop for low to moderately priced everyday riding apparel, especially breeches? Pipers weren’t always the best fit on me, but they were cheap and came in a lot of sizes (including long) and fun colors.
5 Likes
I love my Free Rides for breeches specifically but for other tack and clothing items Riding Warehouse is where it’s at (or has been). I had been buying more from SmartPak as I was getting feed delivered from them but since they don’t (or won’t rather - there is a ton left for them to clear out in the Sale category) offer those items anymore and I can get my feed cheaper from Chewy, I’ll be shopping elsewhere. I do try to buy most things second hand to keep costs down and be semi environmentally conscious.
2 Likes
