Unheated tack storage - how bad is it?

[clyde.bay]

I have a shed on my property that I would like to covert to a tack room. It is a well built shed, but uninsulated. Currently I am storing my tack in the house - we really don’t have enough room for this and it is extremely cumbersome to haul it all out every time I want to ride, so converting the shed will be a high priority for spring.

I have always kept my tack in heated tack rooms when boarding, because I thought it was better for the leather. I am wondering how important this really is, and if insulating and heating the shed should be a high priority (given that we have a lot of other projects on the go). While it is consistently below freezing in my area in the winter, we don’t have frequent extreme cold. Also, while I would like to avoid damaging my saddles, they were all purchased used in schooling condition for a few hundred bucks each so don’t really represent a substantial financial investment to maintain. That being said, they are all good quality saddles and I would really like to avoid destroying them.

So, my question is, is it really that bad for tack to be kept in an unheated area during the winter? Assuming that the tack is well maintained and conditioned/oiled regularly.

[Renn_aissance]

The most trouble I’ve had keeping my tack in an enclosed but unheated area is that I have to warm the bit for my horse in winter.

If you have power to the shed, you might like to run a space heater in there while you are in and out. And, it’ll be good to keep an eye on the air humidity.

[mmeqcenter]

I never boarded anywhere with a heated tack room in Ohio. My tack was just fine

[Scribbler]

Humidity is a problem but not cold on its own.

[cutter99]

I second what Scribbler said. I have never had an issue with cold, and experienced plenty of it living in PA for 45 + years. Moving to the South and having the worst humidity made me replace as much of my leather tack with biothane as possible.

[Mallard]

I’m in Ontario and very few people have heated tack rooms, including myself.
As mentioned above… cold is fine as long as the tack is dry.
My Prestige saddle lives in my cold barn all winter, as do my bridles, girths etc. My granddaughters saddle stays in either in her unheated garage or the hatch of my car… she uses it for her lessons at her trainers barn and is we don’t want to leave it there.
Once the damper spring weather comes I always leave a couple of fans running where our tack is stored.

[wildlifer]

It’s fine - none of my tack has ever been in a heated anything. I keep it cleaned & conditioned & it’s fine in the Rubbermaid shed. No insulation needed.

[Ceylon_Star]

As long as you are able to keep the humidity controlled, it should be fine.

I live in a temperate rainforest zone, so we are constantly fighting moisture and humidity. If I haven’t had heat in a tack room area, I have at least kept RV dehumidifiers or mesh bags of silica gel to try to combat the moisture and reduce the chances of my tack molding. I have a shed at my house with bins of extra tack and gear, and even keep silica gel packs in all the bins and then an RV dehumidifier in the middle of the shed to help the overall space. It isn’t 100% perfect but it makes a HUGE difference!

[clyde.bay]

Thanks everyone! One more thing off the to-do list I guess