Horse lovers, do you think we ....?

Question

do you think we collect things alot more then the ave person? say for example, how big is your collection of horse items? brushes, saddles, bridles, oilments, bits, blankets, ect.

i'd call it just being ready for anything, you know having that extra bridle incase your first one broke, or the matching brushes when you went to over night shows. . . okay maybe it's was just me and my friends when we were younger, but didnt anyone else tend to collect ALOT of horse items? (enough to say, oh, fill a barn??)

Answer 1

yes because my horses bridle just broke yesterday before a ride and we had lots of extra in the tack room

Answer 2

yeah we do. but it is back up stuff. you never know when your bridle will brake

Answer 3

yes yes yes!  we collect a lot! :-)

i bought a shire sized headcollar as a child, and 10 years later, i needed it!

i bought a foal slip as a child, yep, needed that in the end also....

etc etc etc !

my thing is, if its on offer, i buy it as i may need it one day..........

Answer 4

Yes - although I think many of us like to collect cool stuff, I have tended to collect stuff for a few reasons:

1.  When I find something I like, quite often it becomes unavailable or gets changed or someone else wants one too and then I can't find one later (like my Mom or Sis) so I buy a couple in case they think they want one too or so I will have that cool thing to use when the first one wears out.

2.  I have 6 horses and thought my 4 saddles would fit about anything until my 7 year old started to grow a couple years ago - I had to get another saddle that fit her but I can still use the others on the other horses.  Quite often, with the range of body types, we require more than one saddle if we have multiple horses - then when we put a lot of money into a good one, we don't want to get rid of it in case it may be needed again one day.

3.  I maintain a few different bridles because more horses are young - I routinely change them to a different bit if they are ready and sometimes we must regress to the previous one to brush up what I haven't done a good job of training one on.  Unfortunately since I have young horses, I am not yet at the point where I can use one bit for all horses for all things.  It's a pain in the rear to have to break down a headstall to change the bridle and I ride with mecate reins and slobber straps so it's just easier to build a few different bridles.

4.  I work part time at a tack store - it's fun and I get a discount and I won't be able to work forever, so I tend to "stock up" on things that are expendable (like detanglers and brushes) so I get them at a good price and will have them for years later when I can no longer afford the time to work there.

I used to get teased by a friend where I boarded my horse at her place because I had nice stuff like leather halters with nameplates that I didn't use.  I'd keep using my tattered old nylon halters all the time and keep the good stuff good - by not using it.  That's strange, huh?  I still have those nice halters and they're like new, but what good are they unless they're used?  I used to have one nylon halter per horse - then I had one break and was in a spot, so I've collected a few extras in case such a thing happens again.  But I kinda figure a lot of my stuff has to last me a long time - and I keep it good as I can so it's available when I need it.  I keep using items in as good condition as I can - cleaning saddles yearly and whatnot.  People think I'm a little overdone for keeping things in such good shape for not being a competitor at a high level.  but then I see people with cracked and worn gear that's never been oiled or properly cared for and it seems like quite a waste to me - if they bought it because it was good, why not keep it good as long as possible.  If it's crappy stuff, why use it in the first place?

So I can't vouch for every horse-person out there, but yes, I've collected a lot of stuff - some necessarily, some just because I can.

Answer 5

LOL  Great question!!  My dad's girlfriend is totally into horses and they have 2 quarter horses, and enough tack for 10!!  The thing is that I'm addicted to shopping for tack now too  (I also love horses, but never had one to buy for before)  we go to auctions together and visit the tack store all the time!!!  Neither of us can turn down a good bargan!!

Answer 6

See, I thought it was just me.

I have a lot of tack (17 saddles), plus other misc. things.

I would consider myself to be a (ahem) "collector" ,,, that is,  if they were anything of exceptional value lol!

Answer 7

holy cow do i ever.i have a tack room full of bits,bridles,cinches,bosals and mecates.one bedroom is full of saddles and blankets(and the expensive bits and bridles)buckets of broken buckles(never know if you are going to need one)i have saddles and tack that goes back to my great grandfather(including my great grandfathers pelham calvalry bit from the 1800s that i still use every once in a while)most of mine is family history thru the years and since out of my brothers and sister i am the only one who still lives(or even cares about ranching and horses)in my family other than my mother it is more of the family tree thru horses and tack.when i pass on if i dont have a family that cares, everything will be donated to a museum.

Answer 8

My friend doesn't have a horse because her parents won't buy one for her so she gets a million Breyer horses and names them all. She also has a million notebooks that have horses on them.

So, yeah, I think we tend to go a little crazy sometimes.

Answer 9

haha i agree. i have more fun shopping for my horse than I do for shopping for me!

Answer 10

yes absolutely, I have stuff I don't need or that is broken, but i keep it anyway, cause I MIGHT be able to use it one day.  I even save the shoes that come off my horses feet cause I feel like I could come up with something to use them for!

Answer 11

of course lol i mean i think most ppls horses r like their kids and since horses need so much stuff lol and we never seem to have enough time in a day things just start to collect haha =]]

Answer 12

Yes ^^ I have like extras for everything...bridles, saddles,brushes, saddle pads, medicine, ointments, boots, breeches, buckets...the whole sha bang xD

I also love when things match :) To bad that matching is more expensive :( but I at least got all my Mini's their won color halters lol

Oh, and yes...I belive it fills the barn :D

Answer 13

OMG....i know what your talking about...im a pack rat when it comes to my equipment...i dont throw anything away (even thought i have replaced it)  cause i might need it later...lol.... i dont have to worry about going over board when i go clothes shopping or anything like that...but when i walk into a tack store.....clerk get ready shes back....lol...i moved from a big goose neck trailer to a bumper pull and could not pack all my c**p in there....so i swapped that in on a even bigger goose neck...lol...the bigger the space the more c**p i can pack in there...lol....

Answer 14

I collect horse tack and accessories like some women collect shoes and purses. When I clean my tack room I swear It just accumulates to where im thinking, where did this come from, and I dont remember buying this. But I also run my business with my sister, so she buys stuff and then I find it, and then wonder where did this piece of equipment come from. The cool part is I have stuff from when I first started as a kid, so some of my stuff is almost 40 yrs old, I think thats cool, lots of my stuff you cant even find anymore.So between saddles, bridles, bits, training aids, pads, blankets, leg protection, brushes, vacuums, first aid, halters, ropes, show tack, ect ect ect I could fill a good size apartment......LOL

Answer 15

YES. Simply YES

Answer 16

Hahhaa I have a friend who is a horse lover she has a barn and lots of animals her collection has like 200 horses. she owns a horse too. SO yes

you guys do go OVERBOARD!