Tools and hardware for the barn
Of course, we all think of the “big” tools that we use every day – the manure picker, the broom, the buckets. We could also keep the following tools on hand, just in case, and these definitely come in handy at shows for your stall and grooming area set up! They are also handy to have at home, as horses sometimes like to take things apart.
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- Hammer. This seems to be the tool that “grows legs and walks away” most often because you can use it for so many different things. At shows, use the claw to remove old staples and nails from the stalls before you move your horse in. At home, use it for everything!
Have extra snaps and buckles. Great for shows, broken stuff, hanging things, connecting widgets.
- Pliers. These are handy at the shows, I like a large pair for the heavy-duty stuff like pulling and twisting screws out of the walls, and I like a pair of needle-nose pliers for tack repairs. In a pinch, you can also use pliers to tighten screws and lug nuts without reaching for specialty tools.
- Double-ended snaps. You can never have enough!
- Zip ties. They can hang your water buckets at horse shows so that you are not putting more holes into the sometimes *questionable* accommodations. Loop a heavier duty zip tie around a metal post (if the stall has them) and then attach your double-ended snap to that. There are about a zillion other uses for zip ties, from emergency halter repair to closing feed bags.
- It’s handy to have a screw gun (or a drill as some folks call them) with screwdriver attachments, just to save your forearms from undue stress. These are also great for attaching a scrub brush attachment to, for the heavy-duty scrubbing that needs to get done.
- Screwdriver. Of course, if you have a screw gun, the screwdriver becomes obsolete. But, if you need to attach screw eyes, use the screwdriver as a handle to twist the screw eye. If you only have ONE screwdriver, make it a flat head, as these can fit into Phillips head screw, but a Phillips head screwdriver can’t fit into a flat head screw. Flatheads are also handy for opening cans of paint.
Screw eyes are easily installed. Use a screwdriver as leverage to twist!
- Have a potpourri of screw eyes, hangers, and attachments. Just in case. This falls into the same category as “duct tape, bailing twine, zip ties.” You never know what you will be able to fix!
- Retractable blades are wonderful for opening shavings and feed bags. This makes the stall set up process much faster if you have 10 bags per stall and 6 stalls to bed… or more…
- Over the door, hangers are great for home and shows. I like the metal ones, they are a bit sturdier than the plastic variety. At home, they make great towel hangers in the wash racks, and on the road, they make great bridle hooks. There are many styles out there to choose from.
- Vice grips. If you don’t have a pair, just move some mats without them. These tools can allow a five-year-old to move mats one handed! Because they lock in place, they are also good for gripping things that the pliers and your strength can’t do alone.
Vice grips are great for moving mats!
- At shows, it’s also handy to have a tool kit with everything you will need to set up a show stall. I like to mark all of the handles with initials, barn name, or you could use hot pink or orange tape around everything to mark it as yours.
For more ideas of things to buy at the hardware store for the barn, this barn hack article has all sorts of tools.
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This is the best broom for getting every last bit of shavings out of the barn aisle.
Because horses, where every mess is a big mess, and those extra bristles come in handy.
One for your tack room and one for you!
When you need to get rid of the barn gossip, and pronto.
These expandy-hoses are infinitely easier to coil than what you have now. Also there are like 6800 review for this hose!
You will be amazed at what the ground will throw at ya.
Nothing says posh like a manure fork that holds more.
Thank you!
