Other general tack

Blankets At this stage I am using basic cotton blankets, two per horse to fit under the saddles. The upper blanket can be folded to meet the needs of an ill-fitting saddle or just to provide more comfort for the horse. When they get dirty I can just fold them in different variations and so reducing the amount of necessary washing. They are simple but hopefully very useful. Thanks to the Watsons at Horses and Horsemen for these! Bridles, Halters, Bits, Reins At this stage I have two options for bridles: either Wintec all-weather bridles and reins with a Mongolian snaffle bit, or a hackamore provided by Nungar Knots. Lets see if either of these are suitable for the local horses! Thanks to Tahita at Horses and Horsemen for making me up some fantastic rope halters that will be going with me as long as they fit the horses. Tethering Pegs: In a land with few trees it is important to have some way of tying up the horses while still allowing them to eat. Hobbling is one option but horses quickly learn how to run in them anyway! The best solution I found was a visit to the Black Market in Ulaan Baatar (Mongolia) where I picked up three tethering pegs for a dollar each. I will hammer them into the ground with my axe each night and attach the horses to them with a 7 metre tethering rope. Stirrups At this stage I have a set of steel four-bar stirrups from Australia. They are however not wide enough for my winter boots…..but no problem, the Mongolians ride in far wider boots than mine in winter anyway and so wide stirrups are available!