Barn or Tack Room Makeover: Part 1 — clean it up
- February 9, 2017
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- Maria Tibbetts
Posted in: Featured, Horse Supplies, Ranch Life, Uncategorized
The barn or tack room can sometimes feel like the place where old tack goes to die and be eaten by mice, rather than the place you keep your expensive, performance-enhancing tack and equipment.
Who doesn’t love to walk into the tack room and shove aside dusty, hay-covered halters that haven’t been on a horse since Nixon was in office, dig through grime-covered fly spray bottles that leaked their last drops when you still used Aquanet and cross your fingers that you can find that one chinstrap that still has both buckles?
With the new year, maybe cleaning the barn would be a good resolution. Here are a few tips for getting it clean and keeping it that way.
- Start by throwing away all the trash. Empty feed sacks, nearly-empty bottles, the halter rope with the broken snap, anything leather that crackles when you bend it. If you truly intend to fix it, take it to the house or the pickup where it is one step closer to returning to productivity.
- Move out everything that you intend to keep. Saddles, halters, bridles, brushes, blankets, etc. Take it all out and check for things that need to be fixed. Move it out of the way so your cleaning doesn’t make it dirtier.
- Move any “furniture” out. Saddle stands, pitchforks, rakes, etc. Whether you have a tack room or a tack corner, remove everything from that area, so you’re starting fresh.
- Sweep it. Even if it’s a dirt floor, sweep or rake it.
- Wipe off the surfaces. Use soapy water and a rag to remove the dust from any shelves or hard surfaces.
- Put everything back. Be intentional. Ask yourself what makes sense, rather than what you’ve always done.
- Check out our post later this week with tips for organizing your barn and tack room.
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Posted in: Featured, Horse Supplies, Ranch Life, Uncategorized
About Maria Tibbetts
I grew up on a ranch in the panhandle of Nebraska. Both of my grandfathers raised Quarter horses and before they knew they would be related someday, broke horses at Fort Robinson for the Army. I showed horses in 4-H and AQHA growing up. I'm...