Fern Valley has her post on Fridays featuring horses, as well as Johnie Rotten's Trading Post which is always up and open for business.
Todays post will be about the things we would all Like to have. The things we WANT. It is okay to want nice things. It is also okay to like certain brands. Brands that deliver quality, not necessarily quantity. And it is okay to like brands that others do not. We each have our own tastes and our own reasons for liking or disliking the things we do. Quality tack holds up over time and the quality delivers, on the price you spend buying it. More than that though, with care- quality tack retains its value. If you ever need to sell it, you can usually get a quick sale at a reasonable price.
Admittedly I used to shop based mainly on price alone. I started with the clearance and "Sale" items. ALWAYS. Things have changed, for me anyways, but that is a tough habit to break. A lot of times I found I was buying and replacing stuff a number of times. Had I bought quality the first time around and paid the price to begin with- I would not have spent as much time and usually more money too, replacing things over and over.
Get out your wish lists, and get out your lists of online sources and tack companies. If one of us knows where someone else can find something on their list- please post the company name or make a 'clicky link' for them to help them find it. Horsemom was seeking boots in the first FSF post. I'm curious to know if she was able to get any, but when she does, she now has a couple places to start with when looking.
Clicky link 101- replace the parenthesis with < and >
(a href="web address goes here")clicky link words go here(/a)
Be honest with what you want, but more so, be reasonable with your budget. Yes there are some extremely great deals to be had out there. Those are the deals just way too good to pass up. Many times they come through word of mouth. Sometimes we stumble across them and don't even realize how great it is until afterwards. That's when we either start crying or doing the Happy Dance. Here's hoping we are all doing the Happy Dance!
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I'm first, that's what I wanTed.
ReplyDeleteOh, that clicky explanation is the one that FINALLY threw a switch in my head.
It took You, Mel and BlueHeron to FINALLY congeal it in my head.
Write it down, that helped me:)
Good luck with the sales and the finds!
I still check sales and clearance, but I wont buy tack that isn't quality. First of all, a crappy saddle isn't good for your horse. Second, it wont hold up to use. I buy good tack, I have bridles over 20 years old that still look good.
ReplyDeleteI love those leather wipes. At first I thought they were an excessive luxury...now I wouldn't be without them. Just a quick wipe down of saddle and bridle after my ride and my stuff stays really nice. One wipe will do it.
I love to shop for tack, don't have any specific needs right now as I found a mare sized show halter on ebay for $30+shipping(about $50 total). my guy here probably couldn't make it for that with the silver . Going tomorrow the big annual Tack sale in town, maybe soem good finds . picke up a nice copper mouth eggbut snaffe , and a dark oil headstall(with some silver bling) last year for the whopping amount of $20! the headstall was brand new(not a blrand name but good quality) and c/w reins , the bit was used but in great condition. so here'e hoping... course what the heck I will do with more tack?
ReplyDeleteAlso a few years ago a guy I know said he was short of cash did I want his english saddle? I figured I would have a look and pass it on to my neice, turned out to be a Passier S Baum $100. (Kinda thought I better grab it) and my neice scooped itoff of me before I had a chance to change my mind! (thats OK I haven't ridden in an english saddle for 15ish years I don't see it happening anytime soon)
note to self! USE SPELL CHECK!! sorry gang
ReplyDeleteLast night I wanted a trailer capable of hauling 11 horses to the unhappy place.
ReplyDeleteAfter they spent 3 hours in the fog ahem *visiting* and it was raining.
Other than that temporary lapse, I find that I do not really WANT anything.
I might need almost everything but I don't really want.
Weird huh?
Tack swaps and such are great places to find great buys.
Tack swaps/sales are GREAT places to pick up bargains!
ReplyDeleteBut when people get the SUPER DUPER bargains, it's always like FV's story. ;-) I love LOVE those stories.
I was talking to a woman at a 4H meeting who told me that when her son worked at [international AQHA trainer/judge's] local farm, he saw out of the corner of his eye a doctor's wife throw what looked like a saddle into the dumpster. He moseyed over for a peek, and found a BRAND NEW Wintec dressage saddle. He asked the woman if she'd really meant to do that, and she was like, "Yeah, I ordered that and it didn't fit my horse. Take it if you want. I don't care." Well, DUH. I'm a leather snob myself, but DURFY-DURR. He and his family used it for awhile then sold it for $300. Not a bad return...
But most horsepeople around here tend toward a gypsy-ish subculture, and a LOT of stuff and horses get traded around under the table.
I am at the point right now, kind of like Dena. Do I need things? A few- yes. Like a bridle to fit my new mare. Probably need a bit for her too. And Cattypex had to go and post a link to a bridle only website. Where I find myself drooling on the keyboard.
ReplyDeleteA nice simple bridle. Not too fancy, not too plain, simple noseband- no drop, flash, crank or figure eights. I find myself lurking around the $150 range, where I may have otherwise been perfectly happy in the $40 range.
Other than that? Anything else would be a want. I can remember going through tack catalogs, marking my choices, circling things, underlining colors, going back and looking again. Now they all go pretty much straight to the bin.
This is one area where craigslist can work very well... I went on a CL buying spree (one barn sale, and 3 yard sales), spent about $150, and wound up with:
ReplyDeleteNice used surcingle w/ side reins
Polo bridle w/ short pelham
Good split-ear bridle w/ cheapo alum. bit and slightly dog-chewed reins
Nice leather halter
Western tie-down
1 set Weymouth reins
Good braided reins
A few single reins (I make leashes out of them)
Copper-mouth full-cheek snaffle bit
Grazing bit, sweet-iron w/ copper inlay
Pelham w/ @ 3-4" shanks
Not too bad, eh? All used, but who cares? Hey, it's all broken in and all I have to do is clean it.
Ruthie
4 points, vs. Two points.
ReplyDeletenot three.
(xyz..)
mutter, mutter.
Lots of used tack stores in my area, I can think of 3 really good ones. And I love Leslie's Tack Solutions in Phoenix. I bought a used Syd Hill Aussie saddle for $300 bucks in great shape... they are like 2k new. Doesn't fit my mare... fits my lame old gelding though, and it's super comfy. My friend just bought a county dressage saddle for $150. I know nothing about English.. she assures me it's a steal.
ReplyDeleteI need to hit Leslie's next time I'm in Phoenix... I am learning to ride English, and I still need a decent girth for my English saddle, as well as an English headstall.. I am using my western one for now, since I ride in a snaffle. My trainer has these nice white girths with some kind of vinyl type material? I really like them.
Oh, and don't forget Ebay... I got my english saddle for a whopping $25, including shipping... I won the auction for $12. It's some kind of Argentinan AP saddle... not super nice, but functional, with a solid tree.
Amy- I love Tack Solutions. That place is one treasure trove heaven! Lots of great things to be found for reasonable prices. I have taken things in there as well and sold a lot of it in no time.
ReplyDeleteI found a turnout sheet in there for $50- just like new. Sells for $180 in the catalogs. I have also found a number of other great deals. Like a leather girth, mint condition- $25, stretchy black velvet helmet cover- $3, my Crosby C/C saddle on sale way under a lot of prices I have seen them listed for...
I could go into shopping overload in there. Too many good things and the stock is always changing. Show clothes are always a great find in there too.