cleaning sheepskin saddle pads

Hi. So I use a white, sheepskin, half back pad for shows and it has gotten a bit dirty The first one I had we washed in cold water in the washing machine with a very mild soap and was let to dry in our house away from direct light...it still shrunk about 2"! We brought it back to DOver and they repleced it with the one I use now. It doesn't get too dirty because I only use it for shows but I would still like to be able to clean it.

Any tips or tricks on how to clean them?

I put mine in the bath with COLD water and a bit of shampoo. Let it soak for 24 hours and rinse out then drip dry over a rail - do not even try to squeeze out any of the water or you will leave creases in it.

I have never had a problem doing it this way

Use detergent for leather!!! There's stuff you can get from Dover or possibly your local tack shop called Pepede (pronounced PEE-PEE-DEE) that's detergent just for sheepskin, breeches with leather, etc. It comes in a small orange bottle for about $15. I wash my halfpad on cold, delicate, with a capful of the stuff and it comes out fluffy and clean! (and DO NOT DRY!) Mattes also recommends stuff called Melp but I haven't tried it yet.