Thanks to Pro Equine Grooms for this insightful article about organizing tack trunks.
Here’s my deal about tack trunks. I love the look of them, lined up neatly at a show or in a tack room. I find, however, they become a black hole of partnerless gloves, hairy horse grooming tools, and saddle pads in various stages of clean. I only ever need what’s at the bottom, and I never seem to be able to get all of the stuff back in.
Organize your horse’s tack trunk
For one, it takes some discipline to put things away the way you got them out. Perhaps this discipline I speak of is what I am missing? I also have a few tips for you, too!
The first thing I do is take out all of the stuff. And I mean all of it. Now you can vacuum the inside of your trunks, make repairs, and clean the interior surfaces.
Now begins the sorting process – and for the first pass of sorting I lump my tack trunk items into USE and DON’T USE. The “don’t use” things go to the trailer for storage. The “use” things get sorted into groups and put into containers of their own. This is the part where fans of the label maker machine can have a field day. Compartmentalizing things make it easy for you to find when you need.
You could have smaller containers for:
Hair stuff (gel, bands, yarn, scissors, seam rippers, your own hair bands, a brush, barrettes, hair nets etc.)
Tack cleaning (sponges, conditioner, soap, quick wipes, etc.)
Horse boots and polo wraps
Spurs, gloves, sunglasses, sunscreen, stuff you need just before you hop on.
Human first aid (bandages, ointments, pain relievers, etc.)
Saddle pads (These fit nicely into the bags that blankets come in)
Grooming supplies – Maybe keep your brushes separate from your products?