I have had a lot of questions about saddle care lately. ugh. haha So how do all of you oil your saddle? What do you use to oil it? Also has anyone ever used shoe polish on a saddle to condition it or make it softer?
I don't oil (if you are talking about Neatsfoot oil and alike). I tried once on bridle and didn't like the end result (plus it darkens the leather). I use saddle soap following by conditioner. You definitely need to use latter on both - outside and inside - to keep the leather nice and supple. I've seen some older saddles without a proper care - looked bad (especially the inside: rough and nasty, even very nice brands).
Kitten, you have told me what you use before and I forget. Could you please tell me again. I remember commenting on how nice a saddle looked you had for sale I believe.
I normally avoid the actual oils as well - though I did have one particularly old roping saddle that needed serious oiling - I used neatsfoot oil and conditioner on it. Saddle soap and conditioner tend to work best for most saddles.
I've never put shoe polish on a saddle. I'm not that willing to experiment, but I doubt the results would be very good.
Thank you! I figured with the cooler months and a sweaty horse cooling off before he goes back out is a good reason to do none other then condition my gear. Now I have to find time to get to dover or the local saddlery and hope that they have what I am looking for.
Also when you soap down a saddle how do you go about doing it because I feel like I am doing it wrong or something. I always somehow seem to make a huge mess and get water and soap and grime everywhere.
Basically that soap is "hard" (not a spray, I tried spray but I always would get some on floor making it slippery). I basically just use a paper towel: get some on and clean all over the saddle, especially on dirty spots. Then do same with the conditioner and let it sit overnight (when it's cold in house to keep it warm), next day I just clean off the extras (if any) with the clean paper towel.
So you rub the soap on the saddle followed by rubbing the conditioner on the saddle then wipe it off the next day? No water or anything. Did i read that right?
I just got a tin of fiebings saddle soap, I used a makeup sponge to apply it lol. I just got a tupperware with water and dipped the sponge, rubbed it on the soap, then on my saddle and repeated until the whole saddle was done. Then I used lexol conditioner. I've had my first english leather saddle for all of 5 days and I've already cleaned and conditioned it 3 times lol, It had been sitting in a womans garage for a while so the leather was a bit stiff, but over all in great condition. Today I let me friend ride in it and she scratched it somehow, luckily she had some leather cpr and it worked so well you can't even see it anymore. I'm getting a bottle for emergencies like that lol.
Rachel, do you not wipe off the soap then? Just put the conditioner over it and rub it in? If so boy oh boy have I been doing this cleaning thing all wrong.
I didn't, but I was really rubbing it in, so there wasn't really anything to wipe off, but I was actually going to post this question because I wasn't sure either . It seemed to work well the way I did it, but I could be wrong lol. All my other saddles were cheapy westerns that I didn't really do much with, this is my first time having a good quality leather saddle, I have been using a wintec english up until now.
Well I am glad that I am not the only one with tack cleaning problems! haha I just got a really nice english saddle as well and want to keep it really nice. Help us!!! haha
I'm not sure if you saw my many previous posts lol, but I got a stubben on monday for $200, I'm so excited I've been telling pretty much everyone but my boyfriend ****, he won't understand that 200 is a steal And I also want to keep it nice, so much so that it killed me to leave it at the barn today! But I can't keep it in my car any more, it's only a matter of time before he happens to see a saddle in the back of my car lol. I'm thinking of maybe getting a bottle of leather cpr and just using it on the whole saddle since it did such an amazing job on the scratch that was so bad looking I nearly had a heart attack! I made a new rule today, if you want to ride in the stubben you need to be wearing riding pants, no jeans allowed to sit in my stubben! ****
Oh i hear ya! I got a Pessoa in August and when I got it I was even afraid to use it. I keep it covered with a saddle cover and then put a saddle pad over it and have like 4 saddle pads under it on the rack. When I take it off of my horse I make sure that is is resting on something and not just the cement isle in the barn. I am thinking I am going to get some of the CPR since i have heard so many good things about it. I am still wondering about how everyone cleans their saddles though. I always thought soap had to be rinsed. ugh so confusing!
I keep it covered and am very careful with it, but today it really took a beating :? not only did my friend scratch it but after that she was putting it on another horse and I think he spooked after she had put it on(I'm sure you had the whipping wind there today too) and I heard my saddle hit the ground :shock:, it didn't suffer any scratches or anything from that tho.
I just got the soap container out and it doesn't say anything about rinsing it, just to "dampen a cloth or sponge. Rub lightly over soap to produce a lather. Then apply to leather surface. When dry polish with a soft cloth for a light luster. "
My favorite saddle shop recommended Skidmore's leather butter. They showed me how well it works on a bridle they were making and it was AMAZING. Better than neatsfoot oil because it will stop absorbing once there's enough in it and it won't darken the leather at all. I haven't gotten any yet, but I'm planning to on payday.
Looks like I will be making a trip to Dover! haha We did have the wind today Beau didnt seem to notice he was too busy looking for deer (ugh) to notice the wind I guess.
Yeah, it is. It's the consistency of body butter (like for people). From what the tack shop guy said, you don't have to bother with soap (I asked about soaping and conditioning or oiling my new bridle 'cuz it was hella stiff), just put some of the leather butter on a rag, work it into the leather and VIOLA!
Interesting. That will save money on the soap part then too. And you said you saw this work first hand. I might have to pick this product up. Does it give the leather a sheen?
Yep. The guy worked a bit into the bridle he was working on (they make their own bridles there). It didn't really change the appearance of the leather (at least not that I could tell), other than to make it more supple.
The only place I've found it in my area was at that one tack shop. But, that's not saying much, since I live in a tiny town. lol
I will try googling it tomorrow when I am not doing fifty things at once. haha I just got a new bridle too that could use some softening even though it is pretty soft already. I just wanna keep my saddle "healthy" so to say.
I need to use it on my bridle, my reins (they aren't stiff, but they are starting to split...the previous owners apparently didn't take very good care of them), and the flaps on my saddle. lol
I clean the surface dirt off with a wet washcloth, then let it dry. Then I use Lexol, or sometimes Passier Lederbalsam. I don't do it often, but my saddles are stored inside the house.
My preference for engish saddles is glycerin saddle soap. Using a damp/wet cellulose (not foam) sponge rub onto the glycerin until you can see it on the sponge and wipe onto the saddle. Don't have the sponge dripping wet. This will do an area the size of the seat. Rinse your sponge and add more soap and keep going. Then rinse in clear running water, squeeze and wipe to remove soap and dirt. Lots of rinsing. Allow to dry then buff with a soft cloth. You have not only cleaned the leather but added moisture as well. English saddles are tanned differently from western and seldom require oiling.
I'm a fan of Horseman's One Step. It conditions & cleans at the same time, so it's a lot faster than soaping the saddle & then conditioning it with 2 different products. You just apply it with a slightly damp sponge, then wipe the saddle down with a soft cloth afterwards.
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