Are you a tack bigot?

tallyho! said:
I think I've missed the reply that gave reason for black tack hate. What was the reason again?
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It's from the olden days. Black was used for harnesses and brown for saddles. Black was seen as common.

I own both black and brown tack - sometimes even on the same horse.
 
I think i also need a bell of shame as i had a good look in my tack room today, i have mostly brown tack but do have a set of black, and i found a pink (yes that was pink) bridle and a white one that a friend made for my horses from the webbing stuff when she was learning to make them.
I did have to try them on the horse but that is it.
Oh yeas nearly forgot my sheepskin numnahs are (well were/ supposed to be) white.
Think i have a cow bell of shame
 
the colour of tack thing came from the fact that black dye covers a multitude of leather sins- therefore hiding the quality (or lack there of)

honestly, i like simple tack, snaffle, pelham (2 reins, and a lip strap to keep the curb chain in place) or double bridle (all brown) and a straight cut saddle because of what we do. sheepskin numnah in winter when they slim down a bit to mantain saddle fit, and because i like it.

the rest i dont care, if you fit it properly and can justify it then good luck :)
 
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No i am not a bigot at all....I hate brown/havannah tack of any kind,but certainly wouldnt pass comment on somebody elses personal choice :D
My lad has NEVER had to wear a martingale in his life,he is 16 this year(yes i know this as he has been mine all of 8months of his life)
He has always been ridden in a french link,until last yr,changed to a myler comfort snaffle,best thing i ever did,wish i had bought one yrs previous :)
As regards the synthetic bridles etc...we are not all made of money,and people also use them for convenience which would fit into their busy lifestyle!
Yes i agree that alot of people overbit,spur their horses etc,that should be of more concern,not the colour of their leather,saddlecloth etc!
 
speighty79 said:
I also do not think children should use spurs -EVER.!
THEY SHOULD NOT BE USED AS A PUNISHMENT..!
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Being a child with spurs does not necessarily mean you're using them as punishment! I got permission when I was 13, from my instructor, when he judged that my lower leg was stable enough that I wouldn't abuse the privilege, and I felt very honoured.
 
Can't help but take offence to the treeless thing...
If I put my pony in a tree'd saddle again, I can't help but think I'd be on the floor. I've tried him with a well fitting tree'd and he moved like a sack of **** as did I. I don't use the fancy pads mainly because when I did try them from a friend the saddle slipped all the time. when I used a normal thin numnah or a polypad, there's no movement at all. I always just use a normal Amerigo girth too, rather than the ones "designed" for treeless saddles.

Freemax saddles you wouldn't even know they were treeless. I've got a Barefoot and can't say I've ever had a problem with it. It's made my horse happier which, in turn has made bringing him on much more enjoyable for me.

But anyway, my pet hate for tack is...
- Children with spurs.
- Chestnuts in Pink.
- Over-tacking (un-needed martingales, draw reins etc.)
 
Kao - due to your treeless saddle, you must also wear the Bell of Shame.

miss_bird - here's your bell, welcome to the club!

mashnut - as synthetic saddles are for novices, obviously, yours should have come with matching stabilisers. If they're not there, contact your retailer :)
 
^^ from the research I've done, treeless require those special girths (they are self balancing to eliminate pressure points) and also the special pads, otherwise the pressure is focussed on the back where the stirrups are, and also fom your seat bones.

tbh i dont like them in any shape or form, have seen the damage they have done and if anything require more work than a tree'd saddle to keep them right.
They also look hideous :o, i dont need an armchair to carry myself and ride properly- perfected by hours of riding bareback i think :)

I have supposedly difficult to fit cob types, but we manage alright, just means comprimise and dont have forward cut saddles (which is fine by us, cos we show so straighter the better, get some funny looks out hunting in that though lol)

I have heard good things about stubben string girths, personally we just go for a plain cotton/leather jobby, or balding girth for neatness, and a basic dressage girth on the other saddle.
 
What do people think about western saddles? Or portuguese ones? What about bareback pads?

I assume then you don't need 'bell of shame' unless it's in black?
 
Hey, can I join in with sharing the "bell of shame" please? I ride in a tree free saddle (although it is a Heather Moffett one as mentioned in my earlier post) but OMG how shocking :eek::eek: - I ride in a "cheap imported leather bridle" with buckles which cost me £5 from a mail order catalogue but 6 years later with cleaning every day it still looks good, at least when it gets wet I don't mind 'cos it was so cheap, admittedly I do compete in a porper leather bridle with billets.

PS I do think that the original post was a bit "tongue in cheek", I can't believe I am still reading all the comments - some are hilarious :)
 
mhorses said:
'oh that must be a novice' if i see a rider with a synthetic sadde!
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Lol, I had a synthetic dressage saddle that I evented with (had a leather one for the jumpy parts) - I did a CIC* with it twice, although I'm no pro - I didnt realise I'm still a novice?!

I also had to use a synthetic saddle on my Welsh Cob who I showed and did some BE etc. on, purely because at the time it was the only saddle that fit him!
 
Hee Hee.
I def need a bell of shame !
Ive got a black, synthetic saddle. ( that fits. )
My appy wears black snaffle/ cavesson bridle.
Tb wears a very nice burgundy oak coloured bridle with black reins. ( didnt like the reins that came with the bridle, and not paying good money on a new pair just for riding around at home. )
All my rugs are cotton, wool, jute or canvas. I dislike synthetic rugs, as i find ny boys get hot in them, but dont care what other people use. Its their money , their choice.
Kx
 
*Hands 'bells of shame' to Eeyore, Magicmelon (we know of your double sythetic saddle shame now, you are forever tainted and no amount of Jeffries havana-leather-with-the-pale-back can undo your tack sins. :( ;) ) and Circe.*

:p :D ;)
 
poppymoo said:
I'll pass it on to my OH.....not only is his tack black:eek: his saddle is synthetic, he uses saddlecloths and......wait for it......his hat is purple. Plus....he has been known to ride in shorts and chaps:o

Find that esemble in a manual......:o:D
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That is bad... he may need two bells. :rolleyes:
 
I generally try not to judge, but I admit if I'm at the local showjumping show and I see a kid on pony with a grackle/3 ring gag combo heading into the ring I tend to think 'disaster coming'.

Unfortunately not one of said combinations has ever proved me wrong.

In general I try to live and let live, as long as the horse is happy. They don't really care what they're in.

Unless I'm judging a first ridden/lead rein type class. Then I'm very judgemental ;)
 
I really dont like coloured bridles/ saddles ie pink i was mortified, my local tack shop was selling them, i thought they had taste hehe, coloured nose bands with diamante.

My Tb's boys are in brown leather tack, snaffles and they dont where nosebands unless i need a abit extra i put a grackle on. No martingales unless jumping then i use a breast plate , The less the better. :)

Im very sad tho as when it come to rug and accessorise i like mine all in the same rugs ect
They Have to wear brown leather headcollars no nylon rubbish haha, dark coloured lead ropes wool rugs ect haha yes i am sad.
 
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I actually couldn't care less what another horse is wearing as long as mine looks good.
My piebald cob is in black tack with white boots and white polypad. Absolute nightmare to keep clean but looks so smart! He wears a grackle when jumping and eventing because he likes to cross his jaw and a hanging snaffle.
My bsja mare is bay so is in brown tack with white polypad and white boots. Shes ridden in a cavesson noseband and normal snaffle. No martingale and no fancy extras.
It seems to be the fashion at BSJA recently to have a horse in all four brushing boots, over reach boots, martingale, grackle noseband and a pelham. I'm always shocked when I see people in spurs, riding in a pelham, kicking into every fence.
 
I also do not care what tack anyone else has on, unless we are out hunting- because dirty, ill fitting, miss matching tack out hunting is gross IMO.
OP- you sound incredibly up your own arse to be honest.
 
skewby
Veteran




Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Gloucestershire
Posts: 1,392 Re: Do horses "get used" to bits?

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JessPickle I would sooo love to find a "miracle bit"! I have tried a waterford gag (cos he leans like nobody's business, that's how he gets the better of me, leans on everything and takes off) but he hated it and to be honest it had no effect, even when I ended up riding with one rein on the 3rd ring. Pelham with roundings was the only thing that worked at all, still had no brakes but if I tightened the curb as much as I could (I know! Bad!) then at least I could type at work the next day. Other than that, myler snaffle, and ns lozenge with kineton helped a weensy bit, but not really. Instructor has taught me to stop with my body but it still takes a loooong time for us to stop (unless I turn him at something ) but at least I am stopping, I suppose ....




Was this posted by a different Skewby on 24/12/08 then?:p
 
hmm, Ive been thinking about this all day (I dont have much to think about!). I have come to the conclusion that yes, I do make mental judgements based on tack choice - not that I would ever say anything.

A woman who used to be at my yard used to use a martingale for no reason, it was far too big and looked scrappy. She also used to put her brushing boots on either back to front or too high up the leg. She also wore irritating white breeches with black leather boots, and all her tack was extremely expensive but always ill-fitting and grubby -although - I suppose all of this combined was only an issue for me as I didnt like her much, she was up her own backside.

There are others who I see out and about without nosebands, and I hold my hands up and admit I immediately tend to put them in the parelli don't-go-anywhere-faster-than-a-nervous-walk category. There is no actual basis for this reasoning.

I also think my horse looks like a beack donkey in her drop noseband, but I still make her wear it.
 
Hate anything from the KP range and coloured tack. Hate matching everything ie pink reins, bridle, saddle, boots, numnah etc etc.

Other stuff like flashes, black tack etc - not bovvered. Each to their own.
 
I have a tricoloured youngster (mostly white, some black and a little brown - the bell of shame is permanently attached:D), she had a black inhand bridle which looked good on her, but I have bought a brown bridle (not tried on yet) because she looked good in a brown saddle when she practiced "tack on" last summer!
I like to have rugs in different colours so I know which one is which and I buy lead ropes, headcollars, buckets and whips in red if poss because it's the easiest colour to find in the grass when they are dropped.
My personal pet hate is when the loose ends of stirrup leathers is so long they hang down round the riders feet. Oh, and tatty half chaps. Oh, and pink any thing. Oh, and droopy browbands.

disclaimer: Whilst I have these little foibles I don't go round poking people in the eyes because of them.;)
 
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My old riding teacher's words of wisdom were "no such thing as a harsh bit, only harsh hands". My old horse wore a French link snaffle in the summer when he was out at grass and fairly "let down" and then a Dutch gag in the winter - only one set of reins I'm afraid - for when he was very fresh and full of himself.
I used to show him in a pelham with two reins which was fine (although I had to make sure I didn't make him go overbent. The year before he died, I thought I would show him in the snaffle - major mistake. He was always full of adrenalin and when the steward asked us to trot, he bounced into canter, bucked and tore round the ring. When I eventually pulled up, I apologised to the judge and left the ring. "Nice horse, how old is he?" asked the gate steward. "Nineteen" I muttered out of the corner of my mouth. So different bits for different horses but ensure your hands are right too!
 
I think I need several bells of shame here...

Dressage is in a loose ring French snaffle - with a flash noseband! It's a black Heritage comfort bridle - with all the buckles on the outside! Oh dear me! Saddle is black Kieffer. Also, I have a half sheepskin numnah under it, with a polypad under that. And rubber reins! Horse is also ridden in draw reins sometimes!

Jumping - oh dear lord. I have a brown saddle and a black bridle! Bridle is another Heritage comfort with a grackle and a Dr. Bristol and the saddle is a Kentaur. Again with the half sheepskin numnah, and then a polypad. I wear spurs for jumping as well, and dressage comps as I can't have a whip. At home I have been known to ride in scruffy half chaps and boots falling apart, and trackie bottoms! Sometimes even PJ's!

Never fear, I shall never ride again, it is obviously very cruel to my horse, I should not be allowed...
 
Oh dear dear dear, I am certaintly not the fashionista! I ride dressage with a jumping saddle, I wear shorts or sweatpants depending on the weather with brown-falling-apart half-chaps, my horse's bridle does not match the saddle and I made her her own cooler that is a baby quilted pattern.:D Doesn't bother me, as its all I can afford

Generally I don't judge people on their tack, but I have to admit if they are novices and they have harsh bits I am put off. I usually think poor horse, but if they kn ow what they are doing then it's fine.

Haha some of these posts are hilarious!
 
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