Ashley Griffin, University of Kentucky
Tack Room
A well-organized and maintained tack room that is enclosed, dry, and free of dust is important to good stable management. The tack room has traditionally been the headquarters for essential equipment and activities associated with managing horses. It can be simply a small area or room for riding equipment, or it can be large enough to serve as an office, a service shop for cleaning and maintaining tack, and/or a meeting place for clients and workers.
Tack Room – Riding Equipment, Harness
The tack room should comfortably accommodate equipment. It should be large enough for the number of horses that can be housed in the barn plus the number of horses that are ridden by more than one person in more than one discipline. Crowded or dirty equipment makes it more likely that the room will not be kept clean. Dirty equipment is checked less frequently and thoroughly and is more likely to fail. In large, multidiscipline stables, one may want to consider separate tack rooms for English and Western equipment as the racks for storing each are different, as are the needs of the riders.
Build the tack room large enough for the activities associated with it. The tack room may contain all or some of the following equipment and facilities:
- Special use room saddle racks
- Tack hooks
- Bridle and halter racks
- Shoeing box
- First aid kit
- Clothes closet
- Storage cabinets
- Shelves
- Filing cabinets
- Working or loafing areas
- Heating equipment
- Hot and cold running water
- Refrigerator
- Microwave.
Install at least 300 watts of incandescent lighting (100 watts fluorescent) per 100 square foot of floor area, and provide adequate convenience outlets. Side wall and ceiling insulation 2 inches thick plus electric heat and ventilation are an economical way to keep the area dry and comfortable in cold weather.
