A Bit Used Tack Shop

The staff really helped me out with a special request and I was able to get what I needed. There are not many tack shops in northern California and I would rate this one high on my list. Esther S

always fun to shop or browse. I never leave empty handed.

Bridles, saddles, pads, blankets, shirts, breeches, brushes and more! This place has it all and at affordable prices. They always have new, unused pads, brushes and halters for sale as well as a good selection of used tack and other equipment. Sometimes you might come across a shiny new bridle or something that simply sat in somebody’s closet for a long time and you can snatch it up at a nicely marked down price. I see a lot of first time owners gathering armfulls of necessities here. I wish I had saved on the time, gas and money by shopping here when I was first starting out too but I didn’t know about the place until a couple years ago. This is a consignment shop so their inventory is constantly changing. It’s fun going in one day and returning for another visit shortly after to find all sorts of different things you hadn’t seen previously. I sold a Circle Y trail saddle here last year and ended up getting $ 700 in my pocket after the consignment fees, which I think was around 20% Not too bad for a saddle that showed the good amount of use I put on it in the 8 years I owned it! If you’re looking to buy a saddle, they allow you to take it home and try it out for a couple days before settling on your decision to pass or purchase.
I believe that the shop changed owners recently and was reorganized so the interior is more spacious and thought out than in some of the existing photos posted here.

There is a very large amount of tack sold here compared to most used tack shops. You can find both English and Western tack in pretty much equal amounts, and there is also a large selction of used clothing (chaps, breeches, shirts, pants, hats, boots, etc). My only complaint is that the staff seemed a bit passive aggressive and it made me not want to be there despite their large selection.

This is a great concept for a business and the name is catchy. The owners of this shop are very fun and personable. What means the most to me is that these folks are honest, forthright, and fair. No longer do I have a plethora of junk that doesn’t fit right or that I don’t need. I can try out more styles without wasting money. People compliment my ensemble. They say that it looks tailored and of good quality but I know it’s’ A Bit Used’ :)

Owners are very rude and treat you like you are stupid. Very FAKE friendly
If you go in for consignments (yours) they tell you what they want to price it at (no choice)
Owner tried to get me to consign my name brand saddle for $ 120 proceeding to tell me it was a piece of junk. Saying you will never ever get $ 250 out of it. Saying «a sucker is born every minute»
Days later I posted it on CL and a a fb page. sold it for $ 250 PLUS Shipping.
That day I also had an older English saddle she said that is junk, we don’t want that. Saddle is brand new I sold it for $ 100 the other day.
Seller/​Consigners: Please take your stuff to CL or ebay, you deserve better.
On the plus side they have very good prices! They will love you if you are spending money here. That’s the only time they were nice to me,
UPDATE: Owners comment back was very nice and polite. I appreciate that my voice was heard but I can’t shop here again. Thanks for the positive feedback though!

Leslie is AMAZING! I can never leave this place empty handed!

Extremely helpful and friendly. The store is packed with everything you could want or need for both horse and rider.
Great prices, we will be back!

I abosuletly LOVE going to this shop. The owners are extremely nice and very knowlegable. I started shopping there before I even got my first horse and have NEVER had a bad experience buying or selling tack here.
Great stuff, great prices… I am a customer for life!

yayyyyy!!! i love this store. the owner is great and i do not shop for tack any place else ever!!!

This is a great tack shop! Although it looks small from the outside, its huge! I wouldnt go there for clothes, they dont have much of that there. But they do have a lot of saddles. Their price was fair and I took home a saddle for $ 150 to try it on my mare. I told them I couldnt bring it back until my saddle fitter came to check it out. I didnt want to hold it out too long so I had a friend look at it (she was suppose to be a wiz about western saddles). So she gave the a-​ok and I told the tack shop to forward the payment. I rode in the saddle for a 2 hr ride and she was very sore the days after, so sore that I couldnt even lunge her! I had my saddler look at it and she didnt even know what horse that saddle would fit! So its been at least 2 weeks since I had the saddle. I called them up to tell them the sad news and they said bring it back for a full refund! What great service! Such nice people! I will always go there for all my tack needs.

So, I found this tack shop (as the only tack shop in Sacramento, excepting one that is listed but apparently closed?) in the process of trying to make a keepsake for a friend that lives in Germany and doesn’t get to ride/​see her horses back in Cali. I am a seamstress and all around crafty person, but I have never had to make horse tack. I came looking for a pretty bridle or bit that I could turn into something meaningful. Lo and behold, I come on a Wednesday, which is the tack shop’s one day a week they are closed!!! I was beside myself. Of course I’m working on a timeline, the shop was out of my way, and I was getting a little bit frustrated.
Miracle of miracles: the owner of the shop was there! They were renovating on his day off, so he was there to open the shop for the workers and oversee. When he realized we were there to buy something (and after watching me have what I’m sure was a mildly childish breakdown) he let us in to the shop (which was torn up so they could redo a floor) and we picked our way through the bridles and bits. I have ridden before, but most of my tack expertise is in draft horses. Despite that, from what I saw the selection was thorough. I found two different bits, one that is GORGEOUS and has silver detailing over a vintage patina, and a very simple pony bit that is probably going to be used as my mock-​up, since it was $ 1!!!
The owner of the shop was exceptionally sweet, but a little put off by my complete disregard for the usage of the bit (I am aiming for pretty, not functional) and my overly bouncy nature. My poor boyfriend was totally shaking his head with the guy.
I am SO grateful to him, he let us in on his off day and we found exactly what we were looking for. He had a lovely selection of saddles, bridles, bits, and everything was easy to get to and look through. No baskets of junk, and I would bet that when the place isn’t dismantled for renovation the selection of other merchandise is just as lovely. The owner seemed to know his trade, and even stepping in made me wish I still had the capacity to lease/​own a horse!

A Bit Used is a small tack store out in Fair Oaks. Considering tack shops are few and far between anywhere close to Sacramento, I was please to find this place. They are a consignment store, so 99% of their stock is used. Unlike many consignment shops, I found their prices to be fairly reasonable.
They have a room set up for Western, a room set up for English, and a room of show clothes. Their stock of tack is good, their stock of clothes is so-​so. I went in to find a cheap English show shirt. I was able to find one, but I wouldn’t call their selection extensive by any means. I overhead the owner saying that a bunch of people had been in and picked over the clothes, as there were like 3 shows that weekend.
Not the most amazing tack store I’ve ever been in, but it seems like they’ll have what you need for a decent price.