Tack is a general umbrella term covering many different pieces of equipment for the horse and rider. Tack includes saddles, bridles, reins, breastplates, martingales, girths, stirrup leathers, martingale attachments. There are too many items to list individually. Tack is generally made of leather. Leather in this case is natural leather (cow or buffalo leather) and not Synthetic leather. Some dressage bridles may be accented with Patent Leather to provide the “Shiny” look.
Just like Riding Apparel, tack is also classified by riding disciplines. For example, there are dressage bridles and show jumping bridles. Similarly, dressage girths are much different than show jumping girths. In fact, there are multiple type of show jumping girths. There are belly guard girths and half stud girths. Hunter Girths are yet another type of girths. They are usually covered with fleece on the one side. The girth keeps the saddle secure on the horse’s back.
Stirrup Leathers are used for hanging stirrups from the saddle. Stirrup Leathers come in different sizes, depending on the height of the rider. Dressage riders use black colored stirrup leathers almost exclusively.
Breastplates are mostly used only by Jumper and Hunter riders. The breastplates come in different styles. Some are 3 point, others are 5 point. The number of points is the number of connections it provides to the rest of the tack, including saddle and girth.
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