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How to Create an Organized Tack Room
“But it’s organized in my mind! I know where everything is!” Says the person standing in a tack room with piles of random pieces of equipment everywhere, open feed bags, and a counter full of unmarked supplements.
STOP making excuses for an unorganized tack room!
Think of all the unforeseeable reasons you could not do barn chores! Sickness, injury, or maybe just horse-showing. Do you want to travel, ever? Do you want to take a break occasionally, to go to a concert or spend time with family? YOU NEED AN ORGANIZED TACK ROOM!
Here are five EASY ways to get your tack room looking less daunting, calmer, and more organized!!
1. Start with a 10-Minute Reset (Not a Full Overhaul)
- Set a 10-minute timer
- Throw away extra baling twine, empty feed bags, and wrappers. Make sure you have a good trash can. This one is under $40 and has a simple, classy look for everyday use.
- Wipe surfaces down with a damp cloth – Rubbermaid Microfiber Cleaning Cloth Towels – a 50 pack! Less than $0.50 per towel and you can wash and reuse! I can’t tell you how useful good towels are when it comes to managing dust and dirt in the barn. I also use them to wipe down my tack after I ride!
Step #1 will give you a great start, especially if you’re short on time! You can always come back to #2-5.
2. Create ‘Homes’ for the Big Three: Saddles, Bridles, and Boots
Focus on the most-used items:
- Saddle racks at eye level – These saddle racks are what I have in my barn. You can stack them vertically, like we did. We also have our bridles lined up against the wall beneath the two saddle racks. Each horse’s bridle hangs perfectly beneath their saddle.
- If you have a lesson barn, make sure the lesson kids can reach the tack they use!
- One bridle per bridle hook – no stacking! Here are some of the bridle hooks that I have in my barn – where I hang extra bridles and halters to keep to my standard of 1 bridle per hook!!
- A single labeled bin for horse boots
- Boots are universal, meaning they can be used on multiple horses. If you have a lesson barn, it might be especially useful to have a single bin to hold all of the boots. Maybe one bin for pony boots and one for horse boots? You can customize to fit the purpose of your barn!
Extra note: LABEL!! Here are some easy stick-on labels from Amazon. I find it helpful to get the saddle racks that include the bridle hook beneath the saddle, so you can put one horse’s tack altogether. If you have a separate wall for saddles and bridles, make sure to label both! You don’t want the kids putting your 16.3h show horse’s tack on the 12h lesson pony!
3. Use Baskets (Natural Materials = Instant Calm)
Depending on the aesthetic for your barn, you can get brown wicker baskets for an elevated touch, white if you are boujee and have a lot of trust in your cleanliness, or plastic if you are just trying to be practical! Click here and shop around for the perfect basket to organize your wraps, bits, boots, etc.
Some ideas:
- Wooden crates for grooming supplies
- A small tray for everyday essentials
Why it works:
- Softens harsh hardware
- Creates warmth and a sense of home
- It makes it feel intentional rather than crammed
Make your tack room fit your barn’s vibes! What is your barn’s culture? Mottos? Live-by phrases? Adding small touches like woven baskets can help captivate your vibes.
4. Clear the Floor = Clear the Mind
Feeling overwhelmed by the stress of everyday work? Your cluttered floor doesn’t help when you’re already stressed out. Let’s fix that.
You can:
- Hang things vertically
- Mount blanket bars
Get your horse’s smelly blankets out of your tack room and into your barn isle. Sheets, blankets, and fly sheets are a lot easier to access when they are right outside of each horse’s stall on a blanket bar. This also declutters your tack room!!
- Add wall hooks for bridles, extra halters, lunge lines, etc.
When you walk into your tack room without stepping over something, your shoulders drop before you even notice.
5. Add One Cozy Touch
Some ideas:
- A lamp/ambience light instead of harsh overhead lighting
- A framed photo of your horse
- An air freshener
- A wall of ribbons
The tack room is a part of your horse’s world. It should feel good to be in. Make it personal. Remember the achievements, your first horse, that one clinic. Pictures and ribbons help tell the tale of where it all came from.
Your tack room doesn’t have to look like a magazine spread. It just has to feel like a place you’re happy to walk into and a space someone else could work out of. Now you can travel confidently knowing that your tack room has a refresh! For more ideas, follow along with The Chestnut Dream