March 22, 2019

Using a Skirt Hanger for Saddle Pad Organization

A few days ago, I was chatting with a few bloggers when someone asked what the best way to store saddle pads is.  Now, I love organization:

Old pic, but it's all I got.  This has...evolved...since this photo was taken haha

But I don't really have a good answer for saddle pads at the barn, and twice recently I've gone out to ride and realized all my pads were at home.

At home I keep them in the laundry room/former kitchen in this weirdly extended set of cabinets, which is the perfect size for saddle pads.

Our barn doesn't have a ton of storage, so I keep overflow tack in my trailer, meaning anything other than the saddle pad I'm currently using needs to go in there.  My trailer tack room is very small, so if they're going in there, they need to hang on the wall. So I thought, why not try a skirt hanger?

$3.88 at Walmart
It worked great!  It has six positions but this cheap Walmart version isn't really designed for the weight of a saddle pad, so I started with three:

Putting that new tie ring to work!

When I went to hang it, I just folded the top three positions and the hanger back and hung it by some gridwall hooks:






The hooks are stronger than the hanger, and they're deeper, so it has a better shot at staying on the gridwall and not bouncing off the wall when I hit a pothole.

We'll see how it works as I do my first hauls this year.  Anyone else have any good saddle pad storage ideas?

13 comments:

  1. I have something similar to this mounted in my tack room but it has 4 bars. I like that I can swing it out if a pad is wet and needs more airflow, or have them all flattened nicely against the wall.

    https://m2.ikea.com/us/en/p/brogrund-towel-holder-3-bars-stainless-steel-60426707/

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    1. Do you have it in a trailer tack room or a barn tack room? I love the idea of it for a barn tack room but I wasn't sure a swing out like that would stay put during travel if I mounted it in the trailer.

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  2. I have one of those too! Been using it for years, it works great.

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    1. Is it the exact same thing or have you found a sturdier option? It perfect in every way except for being a bit too flimsy.

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    2. No mine is the same, looks like. I use it on my stall at shows for all my different pads, not in the trailer, so it doesn't need to be particularly sturdy for my use!

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  3. I pulled a shoe rack (https://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-Freestanding-40-Pair-Shoe-Tower-Chrome/20468150) out of my apartment dumpster (okay, it was just sitting near the trash area...) a couple years ago and it sits in my garage. It works pretty nicely and doesn't take up too much space. But for the trailer, I think the skirt hanger is a great idea!

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  4. I use the Ikea towel holder too, but mine is mounted in my garage. It works awesome for that, but I don't know how it would work in a trailer.

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  5. I made a PVC saddle pad holder/drying rack at my previous barn. I'm in the process of making a wooden version for my new tack room. The skirt hanger seems nice for the trailer though.

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  6. Im glad you shared this, as I still have not figured out a way to store my PILE of pads. It's a pile. Of purple.

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  7. That's pretty clever, though I don't really have a place to hang it. I just keep a pile of them in the tack room on top of a plastic storage box, some in a plastic storage bin in my storage at home, and the dirty ones are piled on an old coffee table in my garage I've been meaning to donate... I'm a hoarder with over 20 pads.
    I could actually use one for my skirts! :p

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  8. I love this idea for my trailer.

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  9. TIDY TACK ROOMS HAS LOADS OF GREAT SADDLE PAD STORAGE

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