Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Can make bridle cleaning easier . |
| Disadvantages: |
Too much hassle to hang up . |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
How much can I write about a four pronged hook? I will have to wait and see. I spotted a new one of these on ebay for 1p. I bid and won it for 1p. The postage was £1.50 though but it was still a bargain because I got it for 1p. How we kid ourselves. The Cottage Craft 4 Prong Tack Hooks are actually £3.50 plus postage on equestrianclearance, so maybe it was a bargain after all.
What is it?
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It is designed to make it easier to clean tack, bridles in particular. My friend used to have one and I used to use it, until she left the yard. It hangs from the ceiling and you hang the bridle from it and clean it. if you imagine, it is easier wiping a bridle with a sponge when it is hanging from something. It allows you to apply more pressure and really clean the bridle properly. You can use both hands to wipe it with the sponge and likewise, rubbing in the saddle soap. It is easier than holding it with one hand and wiping it with the other. It is a good idea really. There are 4 hooks so 4 of you could clean your bridle at the same time, that would be funny. One hook would have been enough.
Why did I have to have it?
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I had to have it because the bidding started at 1p and I was the highest bidder. I can never resist a bargain and even with the postage it is still cheaper. I remember it being very useful when I used my friends.
What have I done with it?
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Nothing. I put it down on one of my tack boxes and that is it. My friend (a different one) was looking for her tack hook, she had lost it. We were looking and I couldn`t find mine, then I found mine. Mine is exactly as the picture, silver. Hers is red. A few days later she found hers. She has used hers. That is the only excitement mine has had so far.
Disadvantages.
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If you don`t use them, they are pretty useless. Seriously though, I keep meaning to hang mine up, then I decide to wait until I am going to use it. There are other people who use the tack room and they may walk into it an injure themselves. The prongs are not sharp, but even so, a 4 prong tack hook probably isn`t the sort of thing that should be permanently hung up. Maybe if it was just my tack room, I would hang it up all the time. The other thing, if you don`t clean your tack very often, it would not have much use (I am showing myself up now).
I think the main disadvantage is the way in which you hang it up. As you can see from the photo, there is a ring at the top to hang it from. Well how do you attach it? This is exactly why I haven`t bothered. The common thing in most stables seems to be bailing twine. I could hang it up with a bit of bailing twine but I would have to find something to hang it from in the first place. It also then means untying it after each use.
I have just had a good idea. I have a spare carabina clip at home. I am going to attach it to the ring at the top and then attach it to my saddle rack which is at a good height for bridle cleaning. I will keep it there whilst I am using it and I can then easily unclip it after use. WHy didn`t I think of that before?
Do I recommend?
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If you see one for 1p, you might as well have it. They are useful and make bridle cleaning easier. You really need to find a suitable place to hang it up all the time and a shared tack room probably isn`t the right place. If you are not going to hang it up all the time, then it is probably just as much hassle hanging it up each time you need it, than it is cleaning the bridle without it (unless you attach a carabina clip). Base your buying decision on whether you are going to use it or not, remembering that it is a good idea, but you can manage without it.
