What Is BioThane Horse Tack?

If you've searched “what is BioThane horse tack” and come away none the wiser, you're not alone — it's one of those terms that gets used constantly around UK yards without anyone ever quite explaining it properly. So here it is, plainly.

What Is BioThane, Actually?

BioThane is a polyester webbing coated in a durable layer of PVC. That's it — no leather, no fabric that needs waterproofing, no natural material to rot, dry out or crack. It started life in agricultural and marine settings, doing unglamorous jobs like fencing tape and boat rigging, precisely because it could sit in the wet and the weather indefinitely without degrading. Riders — endurance and trail riders especially, who spend entire days in genuinely filthy conditions — eventually worked out that a material built to survive a farm gate in a gale was also rather good at surviving a horse.

In short: BioThane is a waterproof, coated webbing that looks and handles like leather, without any of leather's maintenance demands.

Why It Works So Well In British Weather

Leather is a natural material, which is exactly the problem. It absorbs water, sweat and mud, then takes its time drying out — and every time it does, it stiffens a little more, until eventually it cracks. It needs regular oiling and conditioning just to stay usable, and heaven help you if it's left damp in a horsebox overnight.

BioThane simply doesn't have that conversation with the weather. It's fully waterproof, so rain and mud sit on the surface rather than soaking in. It doesn't stiffen in the cold or crack with age. There's no oiling, no conditioning, no “let it dry out properly before you put it away” ritual — you rinse it, wipe it, and it's ready to go again. For a country where the forecast is rarely reliable and the yard is rarely dry, that's not a small thing.

Practically Endless Colour

Because BioThane is a coated webbing rather than a dyed hide, it can be produced in more or less any colour going — which is a big part of why it's taken over from plain black and brown in a lot of UK tack rooms. It's less “special occasion tack” and more “actual, everyday tack that happens to look brilliant,” which feels like the right way round.

Who's Actually Making BioThane Tack Here In The UK

Here's the bit that's surprisingly hard to find a straight answer to: BioThane tack you'll come across online is very often mass-produced and imported, made to a generic pattern rather than to your horse's actual measurements.

That's the gap Ponies & Pups exists to fill. Every piece is handcrafted here in East Sussex — not assembled from a supplier's catalogue, but made to order, in the size and colour combination you actually want. If you've been looking for who makes BioThane horse tack properly in the UK, this is that answer.

Where To Start

If you're new to BioThane and wondering where to actually begin, a few of our most popular starting points:

• An Adjustable BioThane Headcollar is the obvious first swap — the everyday piece that gets the most use and the most abuse, so it's the one that benefits most from never needing to dry out properly.
• Our Custom BioThane & Rope Headcollar is worth a look if you want something with a bit more presence for the yard.
• A BioThane Neck Strap is a brilliant low-commitment way to try the material — genuinely useful for security over a fence or a steadying hold on a spooky hack, and it never absorbs sweat the way a leather one does.
• If you're exploring bridleless or liberty work, our Custom BioThane & Rope Liberty Neck Rope is built exactly for that.
• An All Weather Rope Halter covers groundwork and everyday handling with no metal hardware to rattle or rust.
• And if you just want a touch of personality somewhere it'll actually be seen, our Custom Braided Browband and Flat Hunter Style Browband both do the job without asking you to compromise on the classic shape.

BioThane isn't a gimmick or a trend that's about to pass — it's simply a better match for what riding in Britain actually involves. Mud, rain, and the general chaos of owning an animal that considers a clean rug a personal challenge.

Once you've had gear that copes with all of it without complaint, it's genuinely hard to go back.