Stable equipment is the furniture, fittings and tools used in the stables, tack rooms and coach houses of country houses, farms and town mews. It includes cast-iron hay racks and mangers, stall divisions and posts, saddle and bridle racks, harness brackets, feed bins, water buckets, grooming boxes, lanterns, and the brass and leather tack itself.
The great Victorian and Edwardian country-house stables were fitted out to a remarkably high standard, with glazed tiles, polished brass, varnished pine partitions and patented iron fittings supplied by specialist manufacturers, among them Musgrave & Co of Belfast. Much of this equipment has been removed during conversions, and good original fittings are now sought after by owners restoring stable blocks and by designers creating characterful interiors. Cast-iron saddle racks make useful wall brackets, mangers and hay racks serve as planters, and tack-room cupboards and benches suit boot rooms and kitchens. Buyers look for makers' names cast into the ironwork, original paint, and sound castings without cracks. Equestrian collectables such as horse brasses, bits and decorated harness pieces form a further collecting field in their own right.
