Keeping tack in the car?

3OldPonies

3OldPonies

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As title really.

I know I can be a bit of a wimp sometimes, but when I do get the urge to ride, or the weather, my main excuse is OK, it's so annoying that I've left my tack at home. I don't have secure enough sheds at the stables to leave it there, so was wondering about leaving it my car. Not ideal I know, it would be much better on proper racks, but at least I'd have it with me and couldn't use the 'I'm running late and didn't have time to collect it from the outbuilding at home' excuse.

Thoughts please.
 
i guess it depends on how much space you require in your car?
I say this as the woman who owns a range rover that can’t fit anything in the boot because of various child/horse/dog related items.... so much so, husbands just bought me a van 🤦🏼‍♀️
 
I leave mine in my car (currently an old Passat estate) all the time - it only comes in the house if I'm not riding for a few days or if we're going somewhere I don't want to leave it on show.
My 'new' Land Rover is having saddle racks that hook over the bulkhead and proper bridle hooks etc as it will have tack in 100% of the time :).
 
I have 2 saddles so one lives in the garage whilst the other lives in my car(depending on what I plan to do jump/dressage).
Our feed room isn't great it leaks in places and is damp so don't like to keep them there!

I bought one of these from ebay .. they're great stop the saddle flaps from creasing if it was just chucked in the boot!
Also the beam stops the saddle from falling off! The storage bit in the bottom is super useful too :)
My land rover has a pretty dark tint on the boot but if your car doesn't, definitely chuck a towel/coat or something over the saddle, but I'm sure you've already thought of that :)!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bold-Box...hash=item2ee6221cc5:m:mNT5bQ-h6p1YnuL1ON8nEzQ
 
I would never keep saddlery in the car. I used to work in insurance and if it is stolen, insurers won’t pay out. (They may if it is concealed in a locked boot but that’s tricky with a saddle)
 
Thanks everyone. My car is quite small, but a saddle will go in the boot, just! I think I'm going to go for it, otherwise I'll never ride!!

I do have one of those box stand thingies, will have to work out whether that will fit as well, might have to drop a seat, but I don't mind that.
 
Mine is on the back seat most of the time covered in a towel. I like the rack Alex posted above. I've got a couple without the sticky up bit and saddles just roll off them.

Fully appreciate the insurance issue but we've got quite high 'away from home' contents cover due to OH's camera equipment so hoping that might cover it if the worst happens. Yard is a lot less secure than my car!
 
After having my tack stolen from the yard and my horse insurance refusing to pay out I now keep my saddle in my car. I realise it's not insured in my car either but I perceive the risk to be less in my car. My car is on my drive most of the time but I do take my saddle out of the car and put it in the house if my car going to be parked anywhere else. My husband made me a saddle rack specifically for the car.
 
3OldPonies said:
Thanks everyone. My car is quite small, but a saddle will go in the boot, just! I think I'm going to go for it, otherwise I'll never ride!!

I do have one of those box stand thingies, will have to work out whether that will fit as well, might have to drop a seat, but I don't mind that.
Click to expand...

I used to have a Suzuki Swift 51 plate old shape, and managed to fit 2 saddles and bridles etc, in the boot of my car. They lived in there for years without coming to any harm, i now have a secure tack room, and a hyundai santa fe, however, my boot always seems full - very odd that and i only have one saddle these days!
 
I keep mine in the boot if i'm going to be riding several times within a short time scale. When I had a Discovery tack lived in there 100% of the time, but now I have a mini, it is a bit of a squeeze. The last few weeks the saddle has stayed at home as I'm a fair weather rider. My ridden one has most of the winter off except for the odd hack if it takes my fancy.
 
If i think I might ride/shift where I will have time, I chuck my saddles in the car the night before, but I wouldn't keep them in there permanently. Too many vehicle thefts etc I'm probably more bothered about my saddles than my car! 😂
 
If you do keep it in the car, it might be worth having one of those little dehumidifiers in there too, as there's nothing fogs up a car like a back seat full of damp leather.

Mine is generally full of harness and saddles, nestled on a bed of hats, whips, spare girths and brushes, but I do keep an old 4x4 just for horsey stuff, so I don't have to worry about the state of it so much.
 
I keep one or two saddles in my Disco all the time. It comes inside if the car is left somewhere it might be in danger, but the drive is just outside my bedroom window so I'd hear if anything happened to it at night, and its in sight during the day when I'm not hacking (when the tack isn't in it!) so I'm not overly worried about security. It usually lives on the back seat so I can put the dog in the boot.
 
SEL said:
Mine is on the back seat most of the time covered in a towel. I like the rack Alex posted above. I've got a couple without the sticky up bit and saddles just roll off them.

Fully appreciate the insurance issue but we've got quite high 'away from home' contents cover due to OH's camera equipment so hoping that might cover it if the worst happens. Yard is a lot less secure than my car!
Click to expand...

you really must check the small print and exclusions. Often insurance policies are more about what they won’t cover rather than what they will cover. If I had a penny for every tine I had to direct a customer (an angry one) to the exclusions page. . . .
 
Appreciate the insurance info, but like several others, I'd rather chance the car than the yard. It wouldn't be permanent storage, just overnight from time to time, while parked on the drive next to the house. Then I could get it out the night before, so no excuses first thing about running late. Saddle will fit in boot, just, and bridle can hang in hallway until the morning. Lots of security lighting too.
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I keep best set at home in spare room, with all other spares.

Made up an old serviceable bridle from bits and bobs and brought a 2nd hand Wintec (which fits well) and these both are secreted at the yard. I'd be v cross if they got stolen, but I am prepared enough with complete decent set to go back to. I clean yard tack properly weekly, rub over daily and bring home if am away or if weather v bad (prolonged ice etc).

Decent tack commutes for outings anywhere.

My hat, boots and BP are also hidden away at yard, and again I have a decent set of boots at home and spare hat (and jodh boots and gaiters) in horsebox.

Friend had hers wrecked by leaving in car for 2 weeks during last summer in high temps, saddle v faded and all v stiff, inc a couple of cracks. A local had hers stolen from car in multistorey car park...... insurance didnt cover it after all.

It's easy to leave in the car, but don't get complacent about leaving it there.
 
Mine lives in my boot, on a Stubbs Saddle mate.
The saddle holder means it's not come to any harm (actually better than a traditional metal saddle rack with the pressure points anyway) and being in the boot under the parcel shelf means it's covered under the tack insurance too :)
My car is a Vauxhall Astra, whatever car I go for next will also have to fit the same and saddle mate in the boot, I was quite surprised it fitted in the Astra in fairness!
 
I have had a variety of small cars, which I stored three saddles and bridles in a locked boot. I never had trouble with them, the pommels are well padded and they are stored with each other so the flaps stayed straight.
There are so many yard thefts, to me a tidy tack room is just a free shop for a thief.
I have a tack room in my house, for those not in use.
My yard is an organised shambles, it will not stop them thieving, but it makes things harder.
 
I had a friend years ago who had 3 or 4 brand new high end saddles on trial for a few days from a saddler. She kept them all in the back of her estate car. On the second day the car got stolen from her drive and was used as the getaway vehicle following a ram-raid of a fuel station. They later found the car empty and then found the saddles dumped in a ditch. Looked like they had thrown them out after stealing the car. Funny part was they stole about 3k from the fuel station but the total value of the saddles they threw out must have been about £30k!

Anyways, I wouldn’t leave my saddle in my car, but I do have a bareback pad that I leave in a container up at the yard so if I do decide to ride last minute I can still hop on and do something.
 
I really wouldn't. I lost my car in the Liverpool Echo Arena Car Park fire nearly 2 years ago. I am vastly out of pocket because the stuff in it wasn't covered on insurance. Thank goodness my tack wasn't in there, many people lost expensive tack as well.

Also do not assume that someone breaking into your car will make a noise. There are various ways of car thieves hacking remote central locking or keyless entry. Our 4x4 was unlocked by a thief looking for tools, they only took a torch and some small change but the same person did several cars that same day and many lost expensive equipment. If there is no damage to the vehicle your insurance may not accept that it was locked and then they won't pay out at all.
 
If your yard has insurance, could you maybe get a tack locker and bolt it to the wall? Not a failsafe but then neither is the car and yard insurance may cover it better.
 
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