Everyday Riding Kit Checklist
The dozen things that get used every day, and nothing that does not.
The short list of kit for horse, rider, bag and yard that does the daily work at most yards. Print it for the tack room wall or the boot of the car.
The reasoning behind every item on this list is in the article The Everyday Riding Kit.
Tick what you own. Anything unticked in sections one to four is worth buying before anything else in the catalogue.
The two-week rule: if it has not been used in two weeks, it lives on the shelf, not in the bag.
On the Horse
- ✓Headcollar that fits: two fingers under the noseband, cheekpieces clear of the eye
- ✓Lead rope with a clip you can open with one cold hand
- ✓Hoof pick with a brush on the back
- ✓Rubber curry or mitt, dandy brush, body brush
- ✓Sponge or cloth for eyes, nose and dock
- ✓Fly mask and repellent while the flies are still active
On the Rider
- ✓Helmet to a current standard, fitted, living on a hook at the yard
- ✓Thin, grippy gloves for wet reins and cold mornings
- ✓Riding boots with a defined heel, kept for riding
- ✓Waterproof yard boots for chores and mud
- ✓A light layer that can be ridden in. A waterproof shell in the wet weeks
In the Bag
- ✓Grooming bag or box holding the brushes, hoof pick and sponge
- ✓Water bottle, sun cream through October, insect repellent for horse and rider
- ✓Small first-aid kit for horse and rider: wound wash, dressing, tape, scissors
- ✓Hat silk or spare hairnet, a spare pair of gloves
- ✓Headtorch that works, from the first week the evenings shorten
At the Yard
- ✓Flexible feed tub and a water bucket that are actually clean
- ✓Haynet with holes small enough to slow the horse down
- ✓Rug rail or hooks so anything that comes off the horse dries
- ✓Saddle rack and a bridle hook, not the stable door
- ✓Bin, broom and a spare headcollar within reach of the tie ring
The Spares
- ✓Spare headcollar and lead rope
- ✓Second hoof pick, on a string at the tie ring
- ✓Spare girth or girth sleeve, and a spare set of stirrup leathers if you compete
- ✓A cooler or wicking rug for drying a wet or sweaty horse
- ✓The phone numbers of vet, farrier and yard owner, written down, not only in a phone
Buy the daily dozen well. Everything else in the catalogue can wait for a reason.
About a dozen items do the daily work. They deserve the money and care before anything else.
Headcollar fit, a hoof pick with a brush and a helmet that lives at the yard are the three most-used and most-overlooked.
Keep the bag for what has been used in the last two weeks. Everything else goes on the shelf.
General guidance for everyday riding and yard routine. Fit headcollar and helmet on the individual horse and rider. Any injury to horse or rider is a question for the vet or doctor, not a first-aid kit.
