Your Complete Guide to Horse Gear, Tack & Equestrian Equipment in the UK
Every horse owner has a headcollar hanging on a hook somewhere. It’s the least glamorous bit of kit in the tack room, and it gets used more than almost anything else. That’s exactly why the leather headcollar vs nylon headcollar question matters more than it first appears. A Hartpury University survey of 5,615 horse owners … Read more
You’re scrolling at 11pm with two near-identical running martingales open in two tabs. One is soft leather that will smell like a saddler’s when it arrives. The other is a synthetic that wipes clean in seconds. Which one deserves your money? That’s the synthetic vs leather martingale question, and it’s trickier than it looks, because … Read more
Picture the long, grinding gallop up the final hill on a cross country course. Your horse has a generous shoulder and a ribcage that’s more shelf than barrel, and your saddle has quietly decided to emigrate towards his loins. Nobody wants that conversation at fence nineteen. A well-chosen breastplate for eventing is the cheap, unglamorous … Read more
You know the moment. Your horse’s head rockets skyward, the poll arrives somewhere near your nose, and for one long heartbeat you’re a passenger. A standing martingale for horse and rider partnerships like that is the old-school answer: one strap, girth to noseband, and a firm ceiling on how high a head can go. Here’s … Read more
A running martingale for showjumping is a leather strap that runs from the girth, between the forelegs, and splits into two straps ending in rings that the reins pass through. It does nothing while your horse carries its head normally. The moment the head climbs too high, it adds downward leverage through the reins. Simple … Read more
Few pieces of tack start as many yard debates as the humble martingale. Bring up running martingale vs standing martingale over a livery-yard cuppa and you’ll get strong opinions, a story about somebody’s cousin’s cob, and at least one person insisting you should never use either. Let’s cut through the noise. Both exist for the … Read more
Open any UK tack-room door and you’ll find one. Probably three, tangled in a bucket beside the hoof oil. The loose ring snaffle bit is the wellington boot of the bitting world: unfashionable, endlessly practical, and quietly responsible for more happy first rides than anyone could count. Yet “loose ring” isn’t one product. It’s a … Read more
There’s a particular moment every rider of a strong horse knows. You turn into the last line of fences, the horse locks onto the jump like a heat-seeking missile, and your reins stop being communication and start being a tug-of-war you’re losing. A well-chosen gag bit for strong horse work can turn that fight back … Read more
The pelham bit vs snaffle bit question comes down to leverage. A snaffle acts directly, passing rein pressure straight to the mouth. A pelham is a leverage bit: it adds shanks, a curb chain and a second rein, so you can ride on gentle snaffle contact or ask for stronger poll and chin-groove influence when … Read more
Your youngster’s first proper bit is one of those decisions that feels enormous right up until you’re standing in the tack shop holding two nearly identical bits, googling frantically on your phone. A snaffle bit for young horse work is, in plain terms, a direct-pressure mouthpiece with no leverage action — no shanks, no curb … Read more