Mastering Tack Trunk Organization - Simplify & Save Time
Updated July 11, 2023
Ensuring your tack trunk is appropriately stocked, organized, and helps you use your time efficiently while at the barn is key. Keeping your tack and equipment tidy, organized, and clean is especially helpful if you ride multiple horses and rely on different products, supplements, saddle pads, and gear. A messy, disorganized tack trunk can cause unwanted stress and fluster you before you’re even in the saddle. Here are some products and tips to help you keep your barn and tack trunk organized.
Tack Space Savers
Finding products that help you to keep your tack trunk organized will make life easier, more efficient, and tidying up faster!
- Saddle Racks - Storing saddles on a saddle rack rather than the floor will prevent damage to the tree and reduce the risk of rodent damage. If your saddle does not have a saddle cover, a fleece-lined saddle cover keeps dust and dirt off your saddle between rides!
- Vertical Hangers - When space is scarce, it’s important to utilize storage vertically. Hanging and organizing items like sports boots and polo wraps on the back of a door or wall can free up much room. A hanging bridle bag can keep the leather clean while protecting it from dust, dirt, and scratches.
- Consider only keeping 1-2 saddle pads in your tack trunk at a time. This way, you can rotate in and out saddle pads when they need to be washed, and you are not constantly using up room for multiple pads.
Tackle the Clutter
- Grooming Bags and Totes - Having a bag, tote, or box that can hold all of your daily grooming needs is essential. Pick an organizer that will have enough space for everything you’ll use during a thorough grooming and will fit well within your tack trunk.
- Bridle Racks and Tack Hooks - You can never have too many hooks! Hang bridles, lead ropes, and rags on tack hooks throughout your tack room or inside your tack box.
- Clear storage drawers and containers with labels can be helpful in organizing small things, like braiding bands, clipping blades, or pairs of spurs, while keeping your trunk clutter-free. It also helps you not lose small things like ointments or wipes in the back of your trunk.
Barn Necessities and Extras
- Healthy horse treats like SmartCookies in flavors such as Guilt-Free Peppermint Pattie, Guilt-Free Carrot Cake, and the Guilt-Free Banana Bread. Keep your horse’s treats fresh in Tupperware or similar sealable containers.
- Liniments for after a hard workout.
- Extra spray bottles that you can fill with fly spray, detangler, or coat conditioners.
- Feeding buckets like Fortiflex Pails in different colors.
- Nameplate - Add a nice touch to the outside of your tack truck by attaching a stall nameplate to differentiate your trunk and area from the rest of the tack room.
Since it's hard to fit everything in your tack box, some barn managers will allow boarders to use additional areas, like a shelf or corner space, in the main tack room. This area will be where you store common-use items like cleaning or bathing supplies. This makes bathing and tack cleaning a breeze, with the added benefit that wet sponges don’t have to live in your tack trunk.
Travel Bags
Before you start organizing, consider items you might bring back and forth to the barn with you. This could include helmets, riding boots, and clothes. These items can easily be stored in helmet, coat, or boot bags if you’re running tight on space in your tack trunk.
Keep everything you will be using daily in your trunk and eliminate extras. Put them in storage or bring them home. The less you have to organize, the faster you can find things, so don't be afraid to purge some old or unused products.