Tack Swap!

I went to a tack swap a couple of hours north with a friend and her husband. It was amazing. There are no tack stores here, unless you count the crappy little section of the feed store. Great for hoof picks and halters, not so great for anything else.

The tack swap was at a ranch, a barn had been converted into a tack store. Glorious! Bridles and saddles and halters and bits and blankets and saddle pads and horse boots and so much more! Sorry, it's been awhile since I've been in a proper tack store.




I have to get all my tack online, which is annoying because I like to poke things before I buy them. There were a few items I'd been considering, but after feeling them and seeing them in person I know now that I definitely don't want them. One such item was a fleecy saddle pad that LOOKS wonderful, but it squishes down to nothing when you put the least pressure on it. No thank you to that!

I got some awesome finds. And for really cheap. The best thing about the tack swap was the prices. It was all consignment, so the things were used, but everything with the exception of a few saddles was dirt cheap.

I got a wool (wool blend, most likely) cooler with the words "2006 Desert High Point Champion" embroidered on it. We get to be champions now! I found a saddle blanket to use in the summer. It's a little smaller than my current one and much lighter weight. I think it's wool, or at least mostly wool, and if it doesn't work out it'll make a lovely home accent. My final find (well, first, actually) was a set of green cotton roping reins, which I wore around my neck while I poked every other item in the barn. They're super soft and the perfect length.





I was worried the the cooler would be enormous on Cherry, it's the kind that goes all the way up to the ears, but it fits quite well! Cherry was being a ding bat yesterday, so I turned her out to bounce around in the arena. Ding bat pony got all sweaty. Not to worry, we now have a cooler!