Horse Own
How to Cash in on By Nicki Alvin-Smith for Horizon Structures Make Your Motto: “Curate Don’t Collate” Guilty as charged! As a veteran horse owner, I am guilty of being a hoarder of equine tack and paraphernalia, both inside the house and inside the barn. Just as handbags, jackets and shoes seem to have a magical attraction to many of us gals when shopping, saddle pads, bits, bridles, blankets and breeches also seem to inexplicably find their way home. I confess that as a lifetime horse crazed person the accumulation of a ‘bit of a boneyard’ when it comes to everything equine-related may have occurred. If you have ever moved ‘farm’ you will likely have realized a similar situation. Luckily, my hubbie is also an equestrian so the piles of neatly stacked saddle pads hidden in closets, drawers full of bits and spurs and cupboards full of every imaginable color of polo wraps goes for the most part anyway, without comment or complaint. Horse stuff isn’t limited to locations in the tack room/office or barn aisleway either, our house is adorned with horse brasses, books and equestrian art, expressive horse themed rugs and even a hunting horn decorates the wall of the mud room. Brasses that require regular time-consuming polishing I might add. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.
As the renowned American interior designer Bunnie Williams would advise, your house should reflect your interests and passions. No problem there where most of us are concerned. But in interior design and antique collection, there is another edict: “Curate don’t collate”. Good thinking. Following along with the interior design theme, to quote the then radical creative 19th Century anti-maximalist William Morris: “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” The same could be said of the horses’ house. Stacks of old hay could be sold to a local cow or pig farmer; unused tack trunks and collapsible saddle racks could be removed; aged health care products could be discarded; and more than likely equine tack and equestrian apparel supplies will yield a horde of horsey stuff for sale. Spring cleaning the barn is a great opportunity to take a hard look at
28 • The Sound Advocate • Issue 1, 2022
