my first Bartville Harness trip

Bartville Harness & Tack is a locally famous supplies shop in the heart of Pennsylvania's Amish country. Bartville services the farming community (livestock like cows, harness horses, plow horses, etc), thoroughbred racing outfits, and -- most relevant to us -- horse sport enthusiasts like fox hunters and eventers.

The shop is well-known throughout the MD / DE / PA region (probably VA too), but somehow I'd never visited before. Mostly bc.... it's well off the beaten path haha.

It's a beautiful drive, tho. Especially this time of year. Tho the roads are old with blind hills and turns, around any of which might be a horse buggy trit-trotting along. So, ya know, stay attentive and don't speed. 

Bartville is most famous for their leather work. Halters, bridles, harnesses, dog collars, stirrup leathers, breast plates..... All manner of strap goods are made to a high standard of quality in house. 

Not just leather - they also work with biothane and other materials suitable for the rigors of farming and driving. 

Considering the clientele, the shop also has tons of specialized equipment you won't find in a typical tack shop haha -- like this ginormous draft sized headstall for pulling. 

Personally, I loved all the little details and hardware too. Like that shiny pretty breastplate on this horse!!

Beyond the driving and farming sections, tho, Bartville's just like any big shop like Dover etc. The brand selection wasn't as varied, but everything is high quality and well stocked.

Oooh. And one of Bartville's compelling distinctions: the prices. Sure, some stuff costs the same here as elsewhere (and it's  worth keeping your phone handy for price checks). But some is priced ~15-25% below what I've normally seen.

Does Charlie need a new Himalayan salt block? No. Did I buy one anyway bc it was the best price I'd seen? Yes. Yes I did, lol. And a wall hanger too haha, obvi.

I was especially tempted by the tinctures and tonics section. Like, I have no immediate need for a box of Ulcergaurd tubes right now haha, and certainly no need to spend that kind of $$$$. Except.... Wow I almost did anyway bc it was priced so well haha.

Instead I grabbed MTG, Keratex, and a digital thermometer that's basically sold out everywhere else right now.

Really, tho, my favorite sections were the walls upon walls of strap goods. Bridles of all types, every sort of noseband imaginable. 

Racing bridles, hunt bridles, dressage bridles, event bridles.... All with different options for padding or stitching. The racing sections in particular, with the multicolored nylon options, really drew me in haha. 

It's worth mentioning Bartville's other dirty little secret. Maybe you already knew, maybe you didn't.... But this is where basically all of Nunn Finer's strap goods are manufactured. 

Reins, bridles, breastplates, stirrup leathers, etc. It's all made here. And available for like 20% off Nunn Finer sticker prices. Just FYI haha.

Virtually all of it is customizable too and can be ordered exactly to spec. Colors, hardware, lengths, sizes, all of it. Every single last bit. Even their selection of dog collars and leashes!

I also enjoyed browsing the aisles with Scott and his wife. They've kept horses healthy and happy at home under meticulous fastidious care for years - with that key distinction of exemplary horse people: their horses age well. 

So when they say a certain product is hands down the best, I take note lol. Like the above Sole Pack. I didn't buy any bc I currently have a full tub of Magic Cushion. But I'll probably try it next time I stock up. 

I also loved strolling the grooming and supplies section. Where obviously I grabbed another old school hard plastic curry since mine is ancient and losing teeth haha. 

Also check out those fun goggles! One day I'm gonna reprise my pair from our Hunter Pace Jockey Adventure a few years back lol... 

Really, tho, Bartville has everything. For just $125 this beautiful specimen could be yours!

My next leather halter (complete with engraving) will 100% come from Bartville, once Charlie finally kills his SmartPak halter haha.

Scott also clued me in on his favorite halter hardware configurations: namely, avoid adjustable chin straps. Which makes sense to me, since that's the strap Charlie always breaks.

Honestly, it was hard not to buy something from literally every aisle. Does Charlie need a new feed tub? No. Did I almost buy one? Yes. Why?!? Who knows!! Tho I did get new hardware to hang his water buckets LOLOL...

I also lingered among the saddle pad racks trying to rationalize a purchase here too. They had a TON of various padding materials and configurations, including stuff you can cut to size yourself for shims and whatnot. Probably mostly for the racing clients, but still very cool.

Lol and obviously when one owns a Charlie, one spends some time in the bandage section. 

The bit wall was extensive too - tho mostly fairly standard stuff. Also in this section was a whole wall of replacement hardware pieces and little odds and ends. From which I grabbed a few spare leather keepers since I keep losing them off one of Charlie's crank nosebands.

Lol and even the Amish sell CBD oil these days. It's a whole new world, y'all.

So yea. It was an awesome trip and I almost bought just about everything. But contented myself with a fairly practical haul: 

A brown buckle end pair of flexible rubber reins I've ogled at literally every tack shop for years, and finally bought! Boring stuff like a salt block and hanger, hardware to hang buckets, a thermometer, leather keepers... Another elastic trailer tie since I keep shredding them (whoops), plus necessities like MTG, Keratex, and a new curry. 

Aaand...... Then I went home and kept the party going online haha, bc once ya pop, ya can't stop, amirite? 

Online purchases included finally FINALLY finding a fuzzy elastic BROWN monoflap girth. Charlie has very specific girth preferences: "zero edges and maximum flexibility plz!" Brown short girths fitting that description are rare, but this HDR looks promising. And, turns out, Charlie's girth tastes are pretttty cheap, bonus! 

Oh and I got a decidedly not-cheap pair of Passier nylon-lined leathers. Bc it's time, yo. I've been running cheap ass stirrup leathers for so so SO long. I love the fancy nice ones, but could never justify the cost. But eh, with what I saved on all those other goodies, it sorta works out, right??

So there ya have it. My first (and hopefully not last) trip to Bartville Harness & Tack, complete with all manner of impulse purchases. 

Have you been to Bartville? Interested in learning more? They don't have a website, but their catalogs are excellent - you can order standard OR fully customized stuff of all sorts. Phone number is 717-529-6992, Ext. 0, for anyone interested haha. 

This little shopping spree was a fun escape from quarantine related doldrums. And a fun way to spend $$ I'd otherwise be using on lessons and shows. Retail therapy, right? It's not the same, but I guess it's good enough for now. Anyone else finally springing for a purchase you'd resisted for years?