Ok I have a few questions concerning tack and other horse related stuff.
1. How do you know what size saddle will fit you without trying it out? I am looking at an 17 "english saddle, its used but in good condition, I just plan on using it for hacking and schooling. Is 17" the average saddle size?
2. How much do new stirrup leathers cost? I dont want anything fancy just something that will get the job done lol.
3. When leasing a horse should I buy my own set of grooming brushes and tools? The stable has ‘community" brushes and Ive leased a horse before I just dont remember if I bought my own brushes or not.
4. Probably the silliest questions but when ordering riding breeches is the size the same as your waist measurement or your hips measurement? I am ordering them from State Line Tack and cannot find a measurement guide and I want to make sure they fit and are comfortable.
5. Can any of you recommend a list or a community that advertises for used tack?
I live in Ohio if any of you are from around here and know of a good tack store or a 4-H club that has an annual tack sale please let me know. Also please no rude answers or ones telling me I should not be getting a horse if I dont know the answers to these questions.
I am an adult, havent had kids but I do have hips hehe. So a 17" should be fine then? I think my first saddle was 15" when I was younger.
17 inches is the normal saddle size… it’s kinda the all purpose size… most lesson barns have 17 inch saddles for everyone to use. If you’re thinner, you can use the smaller saddles… and they make really small ones for kids. The inches measurement is how long the saddle is from front to back… it should fit YOU!… that part doesn’t depend on the horse. The underpart of the saddle (the padded part that sits on the horse) should fit the horse… they make the padding closer together or farther apart (with a gap in the center) depending on the horses back and the size of the withers (height and width). That’s why they make different size trees… you’ll hear about wide trees or narrow trees and they make adjustable trees in saddles and that’s the part that should fit your horse. The length of the saddle (the inches measurement) is about you. The tree is about the horse. The average size for a fully grown person is a 17 inch saddle. If you’re a larger size person you might be more comfortable with a bigger saddle… I’m used to the 17 inch saddle, so I’m comfortable riding it, but it is a bit small for me (I’m only slightly taller than 5 foot and I wear a size 14 jeans)… I hope that gives you some perspective. 13 inches would be a saddle for a child… it would be WAY too small for a normal adult.
I’m not sure about stirrup leathers (I’ve never bought any) but I’m sure it’s pretty easy to find out… just search for some on State Line Tack and look at the prices.
Brushes… all of the people at my barn who own their own horses also have their own brushes. I’m sure you can use the community brushes (ours are more like lesson brushes… for the kids taking lessons, so maybe your community brushes are different), but you can control how clean you keep your brushes and what condition they stay in. I’ve never really had a problem using the lesson brushes… my barn actually just got some new ones and they’re really nice… but if the brushes at your barn are poor quality or dirty or anything, you might want your own. It’s really your choice. I don’t think brushes are really very expensive, but you might choose to wait to purchase some since you’re just buying a horse (so you might not have enough money to spend on your brushes right now). You certainly need to have access to brushes because it’s important to groom your horse, but if you can use the community ones, there’s no hurry to buy your own.
I’m really not sure about breeches… I know mine were a 30something, so (judging from knowing my measurements) I’d have to guess that’s the waist size.
You can go on equine.com and search their listings for tack that people are selling. Ebay also has some people selling tack, but I’m never sure about the quality of stuff that people sell on there… I feel like equine.com is more reliable because it has to be horse people and it’s a horse website.
Where are you in Ohio? I went to school at Miami University (it’s near Cincinnati for all you people thinking that Miami is only in Florida)… the big place for people to go around there is called Wind & Withers, but I think it might have closed. I bought most of my show clothes at a place called Macaulays. And I bought my hunt coat at The Tack Trunk. Unfortunately I don’t really know where any of those places are (I mean i can’t give you directions) because I’m actually from Cleveland. Around here, the best place I’ve found is called Valley tack and it’s in Valley City. There’s also a place I’ve heard a lot about called The Paddock, but I’ve never been there and I don’t know where it is.
Good luck and have fun spending all your money on your new horsey things!