SubscribeGift a Sub
Enable cache 100

HI Spy: What Horsey Items Can You Not Resist?

Grocery stores are notorious for setting up their customers for an impulse buy. Just when you think you’re finished shopping, you arrive at the register only to find candy bars, sugary drinks and gossip magazines all within reach.



As a hardworking horse person, you’re probably able to resist the temptation more often than not. Those empty calories will only slow you down, and your money would be better spent on hay than the latest issue of your favorite celeb mag. However, when you’re walking out of the tack shop, your defenses aren’t so strong.



Some horse owners feel guilty if they leave the feed store without grabbing a bag of treats. Others are addicted to colorful saddle pads. Even if you stay out of the tack store, shopping online can present even more temptations. Who can resist a really good deal on a nice pair of breeches or a sparkly western show belt? You can even justify your horse equipment addictions sometimes. Lead ropes are cheap, and they always get lost, so it only makes sense to buy one in each color, right?

Click “Submit a Comment” below to share your favorite tack shop addiction. Some responses may be published in an upcoming issue of Horse Illustrated.

One response may be selected by the editors to win a monthly prize! If you would like to be eligible for the prize, please include your email address in the comment form (email addresses are not publicly displayed.)

See all HI Spy questions >>

View Comments

  • I can't resist the urge to by a bag of horse treats when ever I go to the tack shop! Not only does my horse freak out over them, but I as well love to watch him munch on them in happiness!

  • Anything! I just want to pick something up! It could be a small piece of jewlery or something for my horse.

  • I LOVE going to the feed store or tack shops just to look even if I don't buy anything right away. But my favorite things to get over all are grooming supplies! Whether it's Mane and Tail shampoo or a new brush or fly spray or any Cowboy Magic items.

  • I think I would always want to pick up something that will protect my horse,(such as better leg wraps, bell boots, etc,)because he is older and if he fell when we are riding I wouldn't want him to get hurt. In fact, if I had the money, I'd buy almost every horsey item in the tack store!

  • If I have a little extra cash:
    ~Tack, gosh I love to pick up a new show bridle.
    ~Show halters with brass nameplates.
    ~Grooming supplies, especially new softbrushes and wool grooming mitts.
    ~Show pads.
    ~Show breeches
    If it's a regular pop-in:
    ~New boot socks
    ~Stud Muffins :)

  • I love to buy new brushes all the time, there is always a slightly different brush than the ones I have and they come in so many different colors! I also love to try out new products, like hoof polish, fly sprays and many other things that I just want to try out.

  • Everytime I go to the tack store I have to keep telling myself why I am there and what I need to get. But I can almost never resist a new shiny leather halter, a pretty pink saddle pad, or the occasional soft bristle brush!

  • I have the hardest time resisting halters! I don't know why, seeing as how my horses hardly ever wear them anymore, but all the different colors and features make me want to splurge and spoil my horses. It seems like each time I go in, there is a new pattern or color that would accentuate my horses' features even better than the last halter I purchased for them. My other weakness is boots- not for myself, but splint boots, open front boots, galloping boots, no turn boots, bell boots- any boots, you name it! I love having all of my equipment match, and with four horses, the possibilities are endless!!

Recent Posts

How to Choose the Perfect Riding Helmet

Read along for a guide on how to choose your riding helmet for safely riding a horse. Being a horse…

5 hours ago

2024 Kentucky Derby: Make Your Pick

Read along for a look at each horse competing in the 2024 Kentucky Derby. In 2021, 17,779 Thoroughbred foals in…

3 days ago

ASPCA Right Horse Adoptable Equines of the Week: Vixen and Pipsqueak

Welcome to Horse Illustrated’s weekly installment of the Right Horse Adoptable Horse of the Week, offered in partnership with the…

4 days ago

Adopt a Horse Month Success Stories

Imagine an entire month dedicated to celebrating adoptable horses: For the past four years, the month of May has been…

5 days ago

Guest Ranch Horses

Horses in the guest ranch industry come from varied breeds and backgrounds. Learn more about them. The scenery may be…

6 days ago

2024 Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event Recap

Thanks to a rail down by overnight leader Tom McEwen (GBR) on the 13-year-old German Warmblood gelding JL Dublin, a…

1 week ago