What qualities/stock do you like in a small local tack shop?

laceyfreckle

laceyfreckle

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2007
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Essex/Suffolk
Research: There is a possibility that i may be helping someone open a tack shop locally to me (ok, across the road to my house).

Obviously i have a big vested interest in a tack shop so close:wink:

but what I need to know is:

What type of things do people want/buy from a local tack shop,

I assume things like

haynets, grooming brushes of various quality, feed buckets, reins, 2nd hand part for saddles possibly...

but I want to know what YOU use/would use/buy locally.

Also considering some form of bit bank if it is something enough people would use.
 
veterinary stuff! Because even if you usually buy online accidents happen and then it's great to be able to get the stuff you need right away (bandages, vet wrap, etc.)
 
I can get vet wrap and basics at my local chemists. So handy.
I have a good 20 miles to find a tack and feed shop and none of them are fantastic, one is hardly ever open, one is horrendously expensive and the other is quite good but far away and the really good one is miles away.

I would say basics and with feed and supplements the see what the market is like locally as you could waste money if someone else already stocks it close by.

How exciting to have one on your doorstep!!
 
Sounds a great opportunity. I would have spare bits of tack- like browbands and headpieces etc...single parts are so hard to get a hold of. A bit bank would be a very good idea, where someone could hire out and try different bits on their pony- it is very expensive to get bits to try etc, with the postage costs as well. A good tack cleaner and conditioning cream would be good- not the cheaper stuff that just makes tack slippery.
Good luck with it all!
 
Reiterating the good advice! I was expected to know everything from the name and action of every one of the enormous bit display (and others in the catalogues!) to the name and use and action of every boot, bandage and gadget, saddles and fitting, etc etc. Then there was body-protector and hat fitting. We did mostly 'for the horse' so had little clothing, thank goodness. I had a hard enough time re-hanging all the bridlework after customers had pulled it all over the floor, hanging up clothes would have done my head in!!

People always want good tack cleaning stuff, and supplements.

NH equipment is quite popular now too.

I would also suggest a fine stock of Bespoke Browbands. ;)
 
Our local tack shop has EVERYTHING in it. Honestly, I've yet to want something only to be sent away.
Last time I went I bought:
Fabby shampoo (with advice!)
Biotin and garlic supplements (with advice!!)
Winter coat remover type metal brush thingy
Quarter-mark stencils
Mineral lick (with advice!!!)
Waffle rug to keep pony warm after bath
Mane/tail spray
Balancer (with ADVICE!!!!)
Large sack carrots
Pony treats
Plaiting bands

Time before it was:
Poo picker
Shovel
Shavings
Lunge lines
Books
Purple foot spray (yup more advice :redface:)
Girth
Schooling whip
Saddle soap
Horselyx Lick
Grey horse stain remover shampoo (with advice, of course...)
Hi Vis

So almost totally different stuff.

Ps have I mentioned the importance of being willing/able to offer advice :wink:
He may be talking rubbish but it's convincing rubbish and keeps me spending!
 
Also worth thinking about is presentation - I really love and am much more likely to spend my money in a well thought out and nicely laid out tack shop. I think you can charge a little more for good quality well prsented items.
 
Trewsers said:
Also worth thinking about is presentation - I really love and am much more likely to spend my money in a well thought out and nicely laid out tack shop. I think you can charge a little more for good quality well prsented items.
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My local shop is a total tip with stuff piled high all over the place. I love it. It's like Aladdin's Cave. The owner knows where everything is though.

My OH can't stand it because it looks like the home of a 'horse mad lunatic hoarder'..... Horses for courses I guess.

The smart shop down the road scares me!!
 
Thanks everyone - keep the ideas coming! I think I may very well be one of the ones working in the shop so hopefully I will be able to give advice when needed/wanted. I am not über knowledgeable but I know a little of most things horsey

First aid stuff will definitely be one things we would be doing as well as being a point for sending off/collecting rug washing and repairing. Hopefully will stock some nh basics and some of the other things been mentioned. Will be sitting down tonight to compile proper list.

Keep the ideas coming!!
 
Knowledge and customer service is what would make me go back.

Also being current with up to date with things such as feeds - especially mollases free feeds, and stocking reputable stuff - I bought some effax leder balsam the other day - I had to hunt through a hundred and one other saddle soaps and a million Tins of beats foot oil - I had given up hope until I spotted one at the back!

As well as "reputable" products, sometimes alternatives - like a human antibacterial scrub instead of £6 a bottle hibiscrub - and sudocrem instead of posh creams.

On Saturday I bought a show jacket, some leder balsam, brown gloves and tie rings.

This is what my list would have been if I had it:

As above Plus
Global herbs stuff for coat (shampoo etc for show on Sunday
Probably a GH supplement of some kind as my tack room looks like a merchandise stand for them!
A large bag of tumeric to keep flies away from madam
Micronised linseed (Charnwood milling)
Halleys Timothy chop
Some kind of skin friendly stain remover
And the jim masterston massage book :)
 
Judging by my customers if you have a local RS then people will want complete sets of riding clothes. Our local shop does discounts on beginner packages, hat, gloves, boots and optional BP. They seem to be popular particularly for parents equipping kids and then they also buy jods, jackets etc from the same shop.
 
Trewsers said:
Also worth thinking about is presentation - I really love and am much more likely to spend my money in a well thought out and nicely laid out tack shop. I think you can charge a little more for good quality well prsented items.
Click to expand...

This is very true. On a hacking trip to the New Forest we went to a tack shop one afternoon (sad or what?) and were lured by its spacious colourful gorgeousness into buying loads more than we intended, including new trugs for ponies to eat out of, which we didn't need but were fabby colours, and new leather headcollars because they looked so NICE.

So presentation in my book will get you the extra £.
 
eml said:
Judging by my customers if you have a local RS then people will want complete sets of riding clothes. Our local shop does discounts on beginner packages, hat, gloves, boots and optional BP. They seem to be popular particularly for parents equipping kids and then they also buy jods, jackets etc from the same shop.
Click to expand...

Very good idea! We do have a couple of riding schools both within 4miles.

Presentation - shop would be in a renovated barn so although not huge could be aesthetically pleasing. Will think about presentation as agree that is likely to help.

Would like to be competitive in price but really beat the opposition by having all those things you want but have to search for/ small things that are hard to get.

The main competition is a local tack shop which is very expensive and has limited stock. £7 for their cheapest dandy brush last time I was there!!!
 
I like a bit of everything. Some shops stock a load of stuff then it doesn't sell and what is left is boring. In ours we have essential feed, but the other stuff like, johds etc can be in there all year and never change. A good notice board is essential for pets, livery, horses for sale, paddock maintenance, hay, loaners sharers etc. Also local show posters, a warm welcome, sometimes if the weather is bad we go to ours just to chat and swap gossip etc and drink coffee, but it all helps draws in the punters. I know mine so well I walked in there the other day and hitched a lift back home. I didn't buy anything but they sure as hell have my feed orders for next winter:smile: It was a five mile walk to next village on bus route.
 
I am not much help as 3 of ours have closed down. Now just one place to get feed and and not the best selection of gear. Personally gone bit too much into clothes and not so much useful basics.
They are a local company with more than one shop, so if they don't have it, it comes from another shop. This has seen other tack shops fold.
The second hand side is a good idea but you must take a percentage and be prepared for it not to move, so taking up valuable shop space.
Also could be worth stocking some dog stuff, horse owners have dogs and could do everything under one roof.


Eta car park big enough for lorry and trailer. Refreshments. May encourage people to stay longer if can sit outside and smoke? Toilets.
 
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Same here. The good one keeps going because they do a good personal service. They stock a little of everything, dog food, cat food, hen stuff, collars, leads, tack, rugs, hay, straw, really nice hard working people. They don't over stock on riding gear, they just do seasonal stuff but can get stuff in easy if you want it without the online delivery charges. Brilliant. They are nice and friendly family run business, make a point of knowing and welcoming you without pressure to buy...so of course I do buy because I like them:smile:
 
Our local tack shop is brilliant - it's packed with an amazing amount of stuff in a small space, and the owner is very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful.

They have a good notice-board in the window; they have schedules for local shows, and BHS dressage tests, a small selection of books and gifts, animal feeds - for chickens and ducks as well as horses - treats for horses and dogs, tack, boots, gloves, grooming kit, supplements, ointments and treatments, a huge range of bits, duck and chicken eggs and wild bird food, and they do rug repairs and small leather repairs too. They'll order anything that they haven't got. I think having a large stock is more important than presentation - a bit of a muddle always invites you to have a rummage, as long as it's a fairly orderly muddle! Trying to think what I've bought recently... Horse treats, salt lick, grazing muzzle, dandy brush (ordered specially because they hadn't got the size I like), gloves ....
 
I like to see a decent variety of good quality products, ie tack, horse/rider clothing, grooming kit/products which cater for both competitive and leisure riders, all aimed at different budgets. If I need to order something in to my local tack shop I like it to be ordered in super quick!

A good secondhand range, a good sale rail! ;)

Generally having a friendly knowledgable person behind the counter to bounce ideas off
 
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