Life as a horse owner can sometimes be stressful and is often quite busy. However, you should never let the dust build up on things that you’ve used your hard-earned money to buy. Stop tossing your skid boots in the horse trailer without care. Stop ignoring those scratches on the front of your boots from that day you tripped over your own spurs. Have some pride in caring for your tack and other equestrian accessories because we all know, “if you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good. If you play good, they pay good.” And that goes for our horses as well!

Tack Hacks

  • Attach Velcro to a wall in your tack room organize bell boots, skid boots, and other accessories with Velcro. 
  • When washing polo wraps, put them in lingerie bags to keep them from getting tangled and attached to one another. You can buy several of these bags at your local dollar store.
  • Using olive oil and a soft rag, rub out scratches in all sorts of leather items, from boots to saddles and everything in between. 
  • Wash non-leather tack in the dishwasher (preferably not with dishes), followed by a quick rinse cycle to get your dishwasher ready for kitchen duty. 
  • If you have a mold issue on your leather tack, put it out in the sun for a few hours. This will aid in the killing of mold spores because if you don’t kill them, they will spread! After the sunlight exposure, use white vinegar to remove whatever mold is still present. Keep in mind that vinegar can dry out leather, so always make sure to condition your newly mold-free tack shortly after cleaning. 
  • To keep mold at bay, utilize the desiccant packets that come with equine supplements, to help keep excess moisture away from leather tack. Use these near the most infrequently used tack because although they do work, it would take many packets to be effective for an entire tack room. 
  • Make your own leather cleaner and balm to keep all your tack fresh and conditioned!

These are just scraping on the surface of at-home tack care. Try out some of these simple solutions and keep reading www.cowgirlmagazine.com for more DIY projects, recipes, and barn hacks!

Quote by: Deion Sanders, formerly of the NFL.