Yard Organisational Porn

[VioletStripe]

I've just moved yards and I have a blank canvas with my stable and section of my store room, so I'm looking for some inspo.

Please post your own set-ups/dream pictures you have of how you have/would love to have your bits and pieces stored! And if you have any advice for good DIY swaps and the likes then let me know!

At the moment all my stable has is a tie-ring and an automatic drinker, so I will definitely put a couple of rug rails up. My store room has a saddle rack and a couple of hooks and that's it! My project-loving-partner is involved and itching to help, so hit me with ideas!

 

[Tash88]

Following!

I moved back to DIY a couple of months ago and had a blank canvas. My store room is okay and always tidy but I wouldn't say it was organisational porn worthy, plus really it is meant for two people and so I only take up half of it as I may have to share in the future, so feed bins, hay etc. on one side and just a couple of pallets used to hang wet turnout rugs on the other side. I'm always on the lookout for a cheap rug hanger.

My stable is a lovely large 16x12 and I painted it traditional black and white. I bought new rubber mats for the whole floor area and wall mats for some of it; at the time I couldn't afford to cover all the walls but I have them where there is most likely to be a draught. My horse can't be trusted with rugs etc. hanging up in the stable so he just has a wood pellet and straw bed over 2/3 of the stable, a water bucket, salt lick and haynet!

 

[Birker2020]

I have a hay bar in my stable and then a load of these hooks on the short side of my stable (I'm lucky as I'm at the end of the row) and I do up the front chest strap and put each one on a hook, I have three lots, one hook of four for lightweight rugs, one hook for medium weights and another for heavy weights and the fourth hook of four is for stable rugs. A brilliant tip is to write the weigh of your rugs in permanent highlighter on the breast straps of the rugs so you don't forget as sometimes its not easy to guess weights by feel alone.

I have a little chest which needs emptying and throwing as I'm too scared to go in there as its full of spider webs which is full of electric fence tape, bandages, misc rubbish. I have a box on top of the chest with my hi viz stuff in and then water containers, wheelbarrow and tools on the pallets and spare bale of shaving(s) for the next week or so.

I have a large pallet for my shavings and these are under a tarp and fenced of with some old discarded metal hurdles belonging to the YO. Then another pallet which can house two round bales of hay (imperative as my horse gets through a round bale every 24 days).

I have a feed bin with three compartments which holds my bute, supplements and feeds. There is a room we all share and i have a corner which houses a big chest my partner made of about a million rugs (lol) and plastic boxes full of saddle cloths, old parts of leather headcollars, my trolley, spare tools and general stuff like water bucket for washing horse, etc.

 

[Kizzy2004]

Outside my stables I have a plastic garden box to store rugs in and a rug rail for the rugs in more regular use. I also have a plastic storage unit on wheels with 4 draws which I have boots, shampoos, any lotions, vet wrap etc. Tools are stored outside the stable and I also have a grooming bag hung up on the outside of the stable.

In the stable I don’t have much as my gelding likes to play with everything but in my mares stable she has a homemade rug rail which is basically a piece of rope with some plastic pipe in the middle to make it easier to get any rugs on and off.

In the storage area I have a plastic shelving unit with 4 shelves which has wound up electric fencing tape/rope and any spare gate handles/insulators, fly sprays and the usual feed bins.

 

[Annagain]

For longer term rug storage, the vacuum bags where you use a hoover to suck the air out are brilliant. They really save space. A pain if you need to get them in and out frequently though so I tend to use them to store winter rugs over the summer. This winter, I've got away with only getting one out so far.

 

[milliepops]

i use those hooks to hang up "in use" rugs too, the horse that doesn't feel the need to take them down has them in her stable for easy access.

I have my own tack room, i have a big metal cabinet (ex MOD) which is full of shelves and has some hanging space, really handy to keep everything to hand, but still out of the way and free from dust, bugs etc. I got mine off FB marketplace, they also pop up on ebay sometimes. or metal office cabinets are a more lightweight option.

To maximise space shelving is good, i use metal garage racking, again other options are out there, i like big tall shelves that I can put stuff I don't use all the time out of the way.

I have stacking hoppers for feed bins which sit on the bottom shelf out of the way

Plastic drawers for things you use frequently, i have grooming kit in one, washing kit in another, horse boots, lotions and potions etc. again keeps it all tidy and clean.

 

[VioletStripe]

These are great ideas guys!

Would you recommend those hooks instead of a rug rail then, for in the stable? I'm tempted to have a couple of them outside for drying the turnout rugs in use, and then a rail inside for the stable rugs?

Definitely need to get some drawers I think!

 

[milliepops]

i don't like rug rails inside stables, too easy for the horse to pull a rug off, the nice thing about the hooks is you can move them if you want and also hang multiple rugs easily, if they are damp then you aren't folding them over. but it depends on how your stables are constructed. for me they hang over the top of the wall and I can just about reach on my tip toes

 

[Fransurrey]

I put shelves up in my store room, to put stored rugs on and feed bags, then more shelves for hoof gear (boots, rasp and so on), first aid kit etc. I have a rug rail (pipe on rope) for dry rugs that are in use, with the excess rope going across the short side of the stable. This bit is used as a washing line for drying exercise sheets, gloves, anything that gets soaked, really, that isn't a rug. I also have S hooks in each corner. Really useful for hanging just about anything on (I put wet rugs on these, so they're not on top of the dry ones). I also have lots of coat hooks on the inside of the door and wall of my storage area, for tack, hanging carrots up (I store them hung up high), bags of 'stuff'... I think I have a hook problem, tbh...

 

[Birker2020]

These are great ideas guys!

Would you recommend those hooks instead of a rug rail then, for in the stable? I'm tempted to have a couple of them outside for drying the turnout rugs in use, and then a rail inside for the stable rugs?

Definitely need to get some drawers I think!

As Milliepops says, rugs in stables are a nightmare for the playful horse so I hang the hooks over the top of the stable wall as we have the infilled end plastic things on the end of the aisle (as per photo). So they are over the top but the hooks are on the outside if that makes sense. I've seen a horse break its jaw on one of those hooks as it leant out the door and played with it with his mouth and got stuck and panicked.

Doing up the breast strap and then hanging the rug by this prevents the rug getting caught up and being stretched by the hook. If they are very wet you have the added bonus of the water running off them too.
It's a total pet hate of mine when I see my rug taken off my horse and either left on the bedding or the stable floor. The bedding may smell if the horse has been in there long and on the floor where she pulls damp hay out of her haybar or the floor is wet due to condensation is not conducive to leaving rugs on. And the door is not good either for a playful horse, that pulls rugs in and tramples on them.

Whilst I don't expect the staff to hang my rugs up like me, they are very good insomuch as they leave them on an empty trug or on a chest at the side of my stable so they are off the floor and dry.

 

[Annagain]

Old filing cabinets are good for storage of bits and pieces too and are usually pretty cheap from second hand office furniture places. I have old towels in the bottom drawer, boots and bandages in the next one, assorted bits of tack in the next one, with all my tack cleaning gear and random bits and bobs - screwdrivers, stanley knife, WD40 and a hammer (always handy to have tools at the yard for emergencies) gloves, wet wipes, loo roll (they sometimes run out in the yard loo) sun cream, lip balm, spare socks (I always have spare socks, you never know when you need them) pen and paper (not needed so much these days!) in the top one. Travel boots live on top of it.

 

[scats]

I use the spare stable next door (I’m in a block of 6 to myself- heaven!) as my storage. It’s still rubber matted from when I had a horse in it.
Down the right side I have those plastic drawer units filled with horse boots, a wooden chest thing with travel stuff in and a plastic container on top with exercise sheets and heat pad in. Back wall is wheelie, tools and my own shoe rack with various boots and wellies on it. The left wall is my big long bench for sitting/chilling/drinking coffee and then a couple more plastic drawer units with first aid stuff and things in. I also have a drawer that’s a bit like that one everyone has in their kitchen- a general messy drawer with all sorts in it. Under the bench are plastic containers that I can pull out easily with things like hi vis, my clipping suit and god knows what else.
I have a string hanging so I can fasten up horse boots to dry after use. I love my spare stable- it makes life so much easier having everything to hand.
I use the doors of the other spare stables as rug hangers (and I clip in one of the stables too). Tack is kept in shipping container, I’ve got the bottom end of that. Haynets, feed bins and things are in the communal hay barn.

 

[zandp]

I have a damp tiny area at the current yard for tack and feed and have metal garage shelving in there, everything I don't use regularly is on the very top and as I can't get to the bottom easily things that aren't used often are on there, with feed supplements and some fleece rugs / body protectors / clean saddlecloths etc in bags on the other shelves plus a 4 drawer plastic thing on wheels and I have a Black and Decker chest that has wheels and is easy to move and makes a great seat, along with loads of storage space. I'd love not to have my feed there but YO's shetland kept eating my feed so it had to be moved. Outside the stables I have 3 plastic shelving unit with grooming kit and potions on and my mucking out stuff is there too, along with a lot of odds and sods. I've then had to wedge what rugs aren't being used into an area behind the door of the next bit of barn on the farm - they're stored in black chests with wheels I got from Proper Job but B&Q and Homebase sell them too. Electric tape and posts live in a wheelie bin so they're easy to move and my sledge for poo picking in the wet and snow lives behind that with off cuts of the rubber mats cos you never know when you might need them. Current yard is crap for storage space tbh, rugs have to live in the stable but I can hang them against the stable partition - normally I'd use a broom stick with baling twine around it as rug storage hung over the front door / over the front wall but that doesn't work with the current yard.

I've put hooks in the wooden wall on one side and have hung baling twine from the hooks so I can hang things up against the walls - saddle cloths / head collars etc as I hate things on the floor and wanted / needed to use all the space I had.

 

[Keith_Beef]

There are not enough photos in this thread to justify the title!

 

[vhf]

There are not enough photos in this thread to justify the title!

I saw this on FB - does it help?

 

[Tash88]

There is also a great Facebook group called Horsey Hinchers with lots of storage hacks - well worth a look!

 

[dogatemysalad]

Storage space at my yard is very limited, so I only keep stuff that's in current use at the yard. Husband made made a wooden cabinet which stores my saddle and bridles, lunging equipment, saddle pads, hi viz, boots etc. I keep clean grooming brushes, spare lotions/ creams and clean rugs at home and bring them when the dirty stuff comes home.
It's the only way I can find what I need, otherwise things get lost under a pile of other stuff.
Mucking out tools are hung on a rack my husband made outside the stable and he also put up a couple of rug racks on pulleys at the back of the stable, which my horses have surprisingly always been very respectful of. They must know I hate rugs that smell of wee.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I saw this on FB - does it help?

Thanks for that; a suitable bit of vanilla for a Thursday morning.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

I don't have neither stable nor horse, but I do find it fascinating to look at images of various storage ideas. Here is some ideas I've seen for stable store rooms:

Holder for bandages


For bandages, and similar, make strips with rubber band hoops (like in a beauty box for make up bottles), and put on a wall, or like in this example, put up strips of velcro (I keep imagining the velcro getting full of hair, and hay, though, so I would prefer rubber band hoops)


Consoles put up to dry, or store horse boots on

Perhaps a hanging canvas shoe holder could be useful


What you can do with mainly stuff intended for bathrooms, like wire baskets, and shower hangers (but e.g. the bell boots holder is made from PVC pipe + brackets)

A similar solution




Clear bags or boxes makes it easier to see what's inside them


Hang hangers on pulleys to make use of the space high up


Probably best to post the rest of the photos in a second post to break it up a little.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Something simple like this could perhaps be useful somehow

I know it's towels on this one, but having a drying rack for rugs that folds out of the way once they're dry seems like a good idea

Hangers like this for garden tools could perhaps be used to something


Saddle pad hangers looks useful


Not sure it really is such a good hanger for a hose, but I like the simple idea

Keeping some things behind doors, or in drawers, is always good if you don't like dusting

If you want to make it more advanced, add horsey hangers which can be pulled out

 

[Keith_Beef]

That looks like a toilet roll holder, to me...

Ah, chains, now we're getting somewhere...

 

[ycbm]

I keep a set of plastic boxes with spare hoof picks, craft knives, buckles, clips, fillet strings, nails, pens, reading glasses, scissors, bandage tape, glue, cable ties, etc in them.

 

[Mrs B]

I've invented a couple of storage products designed to make people's horse-life easier ... can't link here as I'd be told off for advertising but do PM me if you'd like some info

 

[VioletStripe]

Thanks for these excellent ideas everyone! Will be showing my partner these and getting the cogs turning

Och tack, Lapphund. Bilderna är fantastiska - var i sverige är du?

 

[VioletStripe]

I've invented a couple of storage products designed to make people's horse-life easier ... can't link here as I'd be told off for advertising but do PM me if you'd like some info

Have PM'd!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Göteborg, sommarställe nära Kållered, so one can say I don't like to move far.

Just a few more images I've seen, for you, and those who felt the thread had too little pictures:

(Not strictly tack room, but a drying rack for buckets looks like a good idea)

Wood pallets can apparently really be used to to build anything, even tack room organizers

And lastly, homemade shed elevator

ETA In case anyone is tempted to make the above elevator, instructions can be found here https://www-instructables-com.cdn.a...ator-For-My-10x12-Storage-Shed/?amp_page=true

 

[Lois Lame]

That bit picture is nice. That's my kind of jewelry. I like the saddle/bucket idea too.

 

[VioletStripe]

Lapphund - my grandmother came from Göteborg I've never been unfortunately!

Amazing pictures! Oh to have a whole yard of my own one day

 

[vhf]

@FinnishLapphund I am now drooling!
I dream of a beautiful tackroom. The shed I have is 200-year old granite with an asbestos corrugated roof. It leaks around all 4 walls, condensation drips off the roof, and everything lives in the middle on anything that will stand up without support, or in waterproof sealed containers. Randomly it has a perfect level floor. It houses everything from feed to wet rugs and has been on the to-do list for nearly 7 years now!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

@VioletStripe If it wasn't for the Coronavirus, I would have said that if you do happen to come for a visit, maybe I could offer a little combined sightseeing/dog walk. Who knows, Coronavirus hopefully won't last forever.

@vhf As they say, Something is better than nothing, but it's amazing what we can get used of making do with. Hopefully you can try to get something done about it, in a not too far away future.