Horse tack is all the equipment that comes with owning a horse, riding a horse and properly caring for a equine. For every piece of horse tack you will need to buy you will have to evaluate your horse’s needs and activities compared to the type of equipment you are purchasing. Tack like bridles, saddles, bits, cinches, saddle pads, lead ropes, halters, whips, stirrup leathers, horse boots, are just a few of the bare minimum supplies.

Your first trip to the horse tack store will probably be quite expensive, but will become less so over time. Get product recommendations from other horse owners before visit a tack store in your area. They will have invaluable knowledge about their likes and dislikes of certain products, tack types, and price ranges for their particular horses. We have written several articles below about various horse tacks for owners, riders and horses to expose you to basic knowledge about what you need and how the tack functions.

Lungeing (longeing) is horse training equipment used for exercising or horse training and teaching a horse on a long line and aiding in good horse behavior. Usually it is used for training foals or it is used on horses that you want to warm up before riding or cool down after riding. There are those that say not to use it for correction of bad habits such as bucking, but it is good for making corrections/improvement in gaits and in tossing the horses head. Because you aren’t on the horse, using a lunge line allows you to see what is going on with the horse. There is more horse training supply used in lungeing such as the Chambon, a lunging roller, a Cavesson or halter, a lunging whip, a bridle, and side reins, . Sometimes a bit is used so that the horse gets used to bits, but it should be a light one that is appropriate for a young horse. Horse training may include horse halter training. There are nylon rope nosebands and leather training forks. Good training, especially starting when the horse is a foal is a must.

The hackamore is the oldest form of horse control,” notes Pony Club instructor Susan Harris. “It works on pressure points on the horse’s nose, chin and face.” Possibly the truest form of hackamore is the bosal, simply a braided rawhide device that goes around the nose, ending in a heel knot under the chin. When choosing a new saddle, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the choices available. Few saddles are designed to both ride well and be suitable for training a performance horse. While there are specifically designed “reining” and “cutting” saddles, remember that each design has its own pros and cons. Also, just because the word “cutting” is on the tag, does not necessarily mean it was designed well for cutting.