Precautions to prevent tack theft

Instances of tack theft are not unusual and all too often the goods are uninsured, unless specific arrangements have been put in place. Many people do not realise how valuable their collection of tack is and are too casual in their attitudes towards safeguarding it.

The accumulative value of equine tack can be extremely high, as good quality saddles, bridles and other tack is very expensive. First of all it is essential that tack is stored in a room which has secure, five-lever mortice locking and protection across the windows such as iron bars. The same goes for when it is being transported. Any vehicles containing tack should always be locked if left unattended.

If the value of your tack is in excess of £25,000, security arrangements should be treated on a par with those that you would apply to security provisions for your house, and that means the tack room should be alarmed.

Many people assume that tack theft and the contents of a tack room are automatically covered under their household insurance. However, this is often not the case and horse owners should always keep their insurer up to date on the contents of their tack room.

Many people have accumulated their tack over the course of a number of years, and it is easy to under estimate its true value.

In an insurance claim, tack should be replaced ‘old for new’ and the insured value should reflect the new value of the tack. It’s worth spending a few minutes looking around your tack room and working out what you have to spend to replace all its contents. You might be surprised!