THE list of people involved in getting a horse safely to the sales ring and successfully sold is endless, and one such cog in the wheel is Tom Berney of Berney Bros Saddlery.

Tom is part of long line of saddlers in his family. Berney Bros have operated out of the same building in Kilcullen, Co Kildare since 1880. “The business has been handed down from one generation to the next. It was my grandfather’s grandfather that started it.”

Kildare has and continues to be an ideal location. Berney Bros has moved with the times from originally fitting horses for tack working on the farm, to providing tack for the Irish Army barracks on the Curragh, to supplying some of the best studs in Ireland.

The shop has always been very connected to the thoroughbred industry as well as the sport horse industry and Tom believes this is one of the reasons why they thrived when other local saddlers struggled. They also pride themselves on the quality of their work.

Berney Bros supply a number of prepping yards and studs with equipment ahead of the sales. He explained how everyone has their own preference and he believes there is no right or wrong way to prep horses for the sales.

Tom explained how preparation includes everything from feeding, giving supplements, rugging and exercise. He detailed how it all comes down to detail: “Really what it is their attention to detail, to get the horses to peak at exactly the right time.”

One practice which Tom believes to be very common during sales prep is using a roller and side-reins. Due to the high demand, Berney Bros have developed a lighter yearling roller especially for sales preparation.

The roller allows handlers to use side-reins, bungees, French martingales, chambon or anything else they so choose. There are variations within each of these pieces of equipment and in most cases it usually depends on personal preference.

Safe and sound

The Berney’s brushing boot has been around for generations and they are an essential piece of equipment. These boots are made with the offcuts of leather from making girths and they are lined with neoprene on the inside, with Velcro wrap-around straps helping to protect the horses’ limbs during exercise. Over-reach boots are also very helpful, especially for older horses who are shod.

There are a wide variety of lunge leads available and again which one you chose is usually down to each individual handler. Tom said that the tubular web rope is the most popular. These ropes come in a normal length of 24 feet but they also make them in a 34-foot.

These ropes are not just used for lungeing horses in preparation for the sales but they are also used for driving horses which often helps to make the horses lead better according to Tom.

Making sure that every horse arrives at the sales safely is very important. Berney Bros sell a lot of travelling boots and tail guards to make sure that horses are well protected during travelling.

At the sales

Correction presentation is essential when you are showing you horse at the sales and Tom explained how small things can make a huge difference to the overall impression.

Headcollars are the most important piece of equipment at the sales complex, all horses are also required to wear a bit in their mouth when they are outside of their stable at the sales. A bit can be easy attached to leather headcollars using brass clips or bit straps, and this is particularly helpful with foals.

Headcollars are usual used for showing foals and they can be worn in the sales ring, however, Tom is of the opinion that an in-hand bridle looks a lot smarted in the sales ring.

“It’s a bridle with a double thickness in the cheek, everything is hand stitched. Traditionally it’s made with brass buckles and with the yellow thread. The bit is then a straight-bar bit with a small ring, the smaller ring is important because it helps to make the horses’ head look bigger.”

“I think the most important thing for presenting the horse of the day of the sales is to have the bridle in proportion with the horse’s head. Generally with the stronger colts with a slightly bigger head they wear a wider bridle with a three-quarter-inch cheek, a flat browband and a raised noseband.

“For the smaller fillies with a daintier head they go for a slightly finer bridle which would be five-eights of an inch cheekpiece, it’s only an eighth of an inch in the difference but it makes a massive difference.

“Likewise with the coupling straps, for the more mature and bigger horses handlers tend to go for the traditional three-point coupling strap but for some of the smaller animals they would go for a lighter coupling strap with three bit straps on a brass ring. This is really just down to the aesthetics.

“As a general rule, most of the foals would be sold in an in-hand bridle with a lighter coupling strap. Traditionally the lead for the foals would have been made out of the white web but in recent years most of the handlers have gone for a solid leather lead.” Tom thinks they have made this change simply based on functionality.

Like most equipment for sales preparation there are a range of different leads available and it often depends on what the horse and handler are most comfortable with and used to. The one thing that is relatively standard with all leads is that they are at least eight feet long, and this is primarily due to safety.

“Most horses are sold in the in-hand bridle except for the horses in training, who are sold with a racing bridle and paddock sheet and roller on, with the reins going back to the roller.”

Tom concluded that smaller finishing touches are made using grooming products such as mane and tail detangler and hoof oil which all help to complete the picture.