Tack & Farm
Our Tack & Farm section features an Apparel section to find both practical and fashionable riding attire. If you ride English & Western or Race, many sources are available in the Tack section.
Building a barn? Need an architect for your equine dream home? Find one in Barns & Stalls.
Have a hungry horse? Of course you do! Find a place to buy your feed and tuck your horse in at night in the Bedding & Feed section. Looking for a place to keep your horse? You can find it in the Horse Boarding section. Keep your horse happy and beautiful with resources in our Grooming section.
Traveling? Find a Shipping company or Horse Sitting service if your horse is staying home!
Running and maintaining a farm or stable is a continuous effort, and to help find products or tools you need, please see our Equipment, Fencing and Management Tools sections.
Seeking Services? Find financial and tax expertise in our Accounting section. Companies who will help protect your investment are found in the Insurance section. For those who want legal advice about purchasing, liability, and other issues, please look at the Equine Law section to find an expert. Build and promote your business with teams from Marketing / Videography / Web Design.
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By Nikki Alvin-Smith
When I arrived in America from Great Britain eons ago, I was soon engrossed in everything horse. In fact, it only took me a few months to purchase my first USA horse and put him in livery. My first and only boarding barn experience was at Caumsett State Park Stables, Lloyds Harbor, NY, at the previous estate of Marshall Field, the American entrepreneur and founder of Marshall Field of the Chicago-based department stores.
While the majority of horses were stabled in the new forty stall metal structure with two long aisles with ten stalls set each side of a center space, the original brick built polo barn was home to a couple of Grand Prix showjumpers, and also the location for the only bathroom available, so trips to and from and through the grand building were a necessity. These trips would have been much more enjoyable without having to negotiate the fierce Dobermans, named Angel and Lucifer, who the leaseholders of the property kept on the farm (at some point Lucifer attacked our poodle resulting in an expensive veterinary visit so that dog was aptly named). Despite the dogs unwanted accompaniment of my visits, as I walked through these beautiful stables the center aisle design was obviously a superb idea.
The center aisle design was especially appreciated during our first American winter, when the weather surprised us with its tenacity and three feet of snow. Blissfully unaware of how difficult negotiating the drive to the barn would be, we knew once there we would find safe harbor from the weather in the center aisle barn to tack up before we headed to the indoor to ride. En route to the barn we encountered the scary appearance of a huge bright yellow behemoth, a snowplow, which tore through the country road with little regard for where we were going to place our car to avoid a head on collision. It was quite a surprise to us, as England had no snowplows (even now I believe the country only has a handful).
Read more: Is it Time to Walk Your One True Love Down the Center Aisle?
By Jennifer Roberts
As the air begins to chill and the temperature drops, it’s time to start thinking about winter preparation in the barn. While it may seem cliché to say, an ounce of prevention truly is worth a pound of cure when it comes to getting ready for the winter months.
Get a handle on winter now, with these quick tips that will allow you to breathe a little easier once the frigid temperatures hit.
Fix your fencing now: Ensure that your fencing is all in tip top condition before the snow flies. It is much easier to replace broken fence boards now, and if you need to repair fence posts, the frozen ground will make in nearly impossible in the upcoming months.
Bucket Brigade: If you plan to use heated buckets, it’s time to get them out NOW… before you have to chip ice out of them on that first freezing morning. Even if you don’t use bucket heaters, make sure that your water line is well insulated and you are not at risk of it freezing if the temperatures suddenly plummet.
By Danna Burns-Shaw
Little’s Boots is a 100-year-old family business with “heart and sole.” Building the highest quality boots, with four generations of family boot makers, Little’s is in an elite group of legacy bootmakers. As the 86-year-old, 3rd Generation owner Dave Little states, “That’s why you don’t see many small custom boot houses; most of them eventually either get bought out or decide to go into larger production to survive, and that is when you lose the quality. If you think about it, all the big brands – Lucchese, Tony Lama, Justin, Nocona – were all custom boot makers originally, but as time progressed they got bought out by big corporations. They started doubling up and now some of them make even up to a thousand pairs of boots in one day. You can only do so much without going excessive, overworking your people and not doing the detail work that you used to do. By not doing the detail work, you lose quality…boot making is a very difficult trade.”
Dave’s wife, Mary Jane, was also raised in a family business; a business that has also lasted over 100 years, Volner’s Meat Market. Mary Jane’s brothers still have the business, located just a few miles from Little’s Boots, where they have been retailing and wholesaling meat since 1914. Mary Jane (84) and Dave still pop into the shop and check on how Sharon and Duane (their children) are doing, making sure there is no rash on their baby, Little’s Boots.
By Nikki Alvin-Smith
When considering various features of a barn, (regardless of whether you are going prefabricated, pole barn or stick built), it is important to carefully question the builders under consideration for the project as to which features are included in the price and which features you will be charged extra fees to include.
1. The Outside Spectacle
When choosing your new barn design it is wise to first consider how it will impact your property visually. What type of roofing and siding do you want and what colors? With the choice of color and product you should also think about maintenance and snowfall. For example, a metal roof will shed snowload better than shingle, but will also be noisier inside the building unless you add insulation underneath the roof.
2. Light is Right
Everyone loves a light barn. Regardless of whether you choose a sash window, transom window or other design it is important that the interior of the window have a protective grill. Think about how you will clean the windows too. This is at a minimum a bi-annual chore, so ease of operation and reach is important. Also consider prevailing winds and airflow in your building and try to maximize airflow. Windows add valuable light and can minimize the use of electric. You can also add skylights for natural light.
Shutters are a pretty addition but make sure they are out of the reach of inquiring equine mouths. These can be decorative or functional.
By Nick Pernokas
Nestled in the rolling hills of Central Texas, the Equibrand headquarters is an impressive site. The entryway features metal figures from many western disciplines and at the end of the long driveway, the building dominates the surrounding countryside on its knoll overlooking Granbury, Texas.
The lobby resembles something that might be in a home in Fort Worth, as does the conference room behind it. The equine magazines and saddles on display, however, remind you that you’re in the heart of Texas’s booming performance horse industry. Behind the lobby and conference room, you will find meek offices and all business.
Brad Vance, vice president of sales, has worked for Equibrand for a total of 18 years. This includes a stint from 1996-1999 and then coming back to the company in 2002. Today Equibrand is the holding company for the popular brands Classic Rope, Rattler Ropes, Classic Equine, Martin Saddlery and the Cashel Company. Equibrand employs approximately 180 people across all brands, locations and manufacturing.
Classic Ropes was founded in 1986. By 1994, they were making some leg protection and saddle pads, thus formally establishing the brand Classic Equine in 1995. A few years later, the parent company Equibrand was formed. They acquired Rattler Ropes, followed by Martin Saddlery and the Cashel Company.
Equibrand prides itself on hiring talented people with horse or ranch backgrounds as employees. Another resource for Equibrand is the close proximity of Tarleton State University in Stephenville. Tarleton’s reputation in the rodeo industry provides a pool of young and smart horse people, who like to stay in the area to work after graduation.
SmartPak offers new and innovative products for the season.
PLYMOUTH, MA – May 18, 2017 – Summer is a great time to be a rider, and you and your horse want to be outside soaking up every second of it. However, the hot weather and pesky bugs that come with summer can make it tough to enjoy your time at the barn. Luckily, SmartPak has smart solutions to help you and your horse beat the heat and the bugs. From supplements to horse gear to apparel, SmartPak is the one-stop shop for everything you need to make the most of the summer.
First of all, you want to make sure that your horse has what he needs to beat the heat and stay hydrated. Your horse sweats to keep himself cool, but that sweat is composed of water and key minerals that need to be replaced. Feeding a well-balanced electrolyte supplement like SmartLytes® Pellets is a smart way to replace the key minerals lost in sweat and encourage healthy hydration. This formula is now available at a new low price, making it even easier for you to give your horse the support he needs this summer!
By Nikki Alvin-Smith
The foal is the goal and the goal is to keep that foal happy and healthy. Every year foals die due to accidents. While some no-one could have foreseen, some are preventable. Many occur due to poor stall design.
The comfort and safety of ‘Mom’ is paramount. Your mare needs to have space to move around before, during and after birth. The ideal size stall would be 12 x 24 feet for a 16 h.h. horse. To achieve this stall size you may not wish to have a designated stall all year round, so when you design your new barn if you have any thoughts at all that you may have a pregnant mare in your future herd, either by design or accident, it is wise to factor in stall conversion.
If you implement a dividing stall wall that may be removed for foaling season, it will save you much heartache and provide your mare with the space she needs. The boards and/or grills may be removed from the channels and the channels removed to complete this new maternity ward. No sharp edges allowed.
When your mare goes into labor, she may throw herself about the stall as if experiencing a colic. The walls of a stall should therefore be solid board rather than the thinner tongue and groove pine. You can use 2x8 or 2x6 boards. The larger the board you use the stronger. The walls should also have support in the middle through either a wall straightener or brackets and be certain that no nails protrude.
Read more: Horizon Structures Presents….Don’t Fool Around with Foal Safety