My instructor won't allow me to wear blue jean material when I ride in her saddle because she says it will wear the leather down (its also a 25yr saddle). I don't mind because its her tack but when I get my own saddle, I really dont want to have to be washing my riding pants every other day from our work outs.
Does the blue jean material ruin the leather on your saddles?
I wear jeans nearly every day and have forever. They haven't worn out my legs as far as I can tell! Seriously, I think the answer is "No". A saddle I sold recently has had thousands upon thousands of hours over 10 years of riding with no damage that I could ever tell.
However if you look at an English saddle where the leathers contact the flaps, you can see where the color is affected but I don't believe that any leather is ever worn away.
I have heard this but I still ride in jeans most of the time. My saddle is fine. Most of the women at my barn ride in their jeans a good deal of the time as well.
She's probably worried about the gromets (those metal things that stick out on your butt pockets and the side or your jeans) as it would cause scratches on the saddle.
She's probably worried about the gromets (those metal things that stick out on your butt pockets and the side or your jeans) as it would cause scratches on the saddle.
I think it depends on the saddle, the jeans, the rider, and the activity. Say, for example, a very soft French leather Butet, some tough & slightly baggy jeans, a somewhat off-balance rider, and a jumping course. I do believe the bunched up, baggy jeans could rub along the seams of the twist and cause damage. I've seen it many, many times. If you look on eBay, many of the nice french saddles (highly used ones) will have splits along the seams of the twist (or just major wear); this can be attributed to riding in jeans, among other things.
Of course, metal grommets on jeans pockets are also a no-no!
I always ride in breeches. I feel like I can't move my legs freely in jeans. (Or maybe my jeans are too tight--haha!)
PS-I think riding in jeans in a Western saddle is fine. They are built differently. And as others have said, people have been doing it for ages!
I have to go with Equina, I think it depends on a lot of things. I have several saddles that have been ridden for 30 years or more and show no signs of wear (at least that could have been caused by jeans anyway) and I have a saddle that I have had for around 6 years and I can tell that it has changed where my legs sit. I don't want to say it has worn as the grain can still be seen and it is not weaker but the tooling is not nearly as pronounced where my legs are at. Of course that could just be my imagination too LOL. I do know that I have worn out more than one pair of pants in the inseams from a few thousand miles in the saddle.
I think in general western saddles are ok. It's the higher end english saddles that are made with the extra soft leather (like calfskin) that are most at risk. I could tell a definate difference in my first saddle when I switched to just breeches. The leather will wear down next to the twist and cause splitting. My friend is an Antares dealer and he's adamantly against riding in jeans. In fact, if he takes a saddle on consignment before he even takes a look at the saddle he asks what you ride in, jeans or breeches.
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