Colorado Care for Saddles and Tack

Intensely blue sky, brilliant sunshine, frequent ‘breeze’ and hugely variable temperatures often within the same day are some of the things that come with our beautiful landscape here in the high desert of Colorado.  The many equestrians from other states are usually quite surprised when they have been here for awhile and notice their skin feels like it has aged 10 years!  In fact, step off the plane from let’s say England and you may feel all the moisture leave your face!  Leather is leather – and that is what this is about.

Leather care that worked in Virginia will not work in Colorado.  Dust, which we have plenty of, dries leather.  Sunshine at this high altitude dries leather.  Wind dries leather.  On top of the usual things that will dry and stress your saddles and other tack like sweat and abrasion, these conditions are the infamous straw that broke the camel’s back.  I have seen more cracked leather on the seats, panels and flaps of saddles than most.  Not because people don’t value their oh so expensive tack but because they don’t understand what is required to keep it in good shape.  Here is your checklist.  Do these things and your tack will last longer, function better and be so much nicer to look at.

• Cleaning is critical and best if it can be done after every ride.  If things are not too dirty and sweaty, a damp cloth or sponge will do using warm water, minimizing the water and keeping that warm water clean.  Once a week a serious clean is usually in order using a pH balanced cleaner. (Note that many glycerin soap bars are NOT pH balanced so they will strip the dye out of your vegetable tanned leather since they are made for western tack which uses a different tanning process.)  Some of our favorite cleaners that we stock are Effax Combi, Effax Cream Soap and a nice USA product VeruGreen.  These are all pH balanced cleaners.
• Clean with a soft cloth like a wash cloth or a non-abrasive sponge.  Do NOT use anything abrasive and that includes fingernails for the truly disgusting areas.  Repetition and elbow grease only or you will have scratched leather.
• Clean ALL surfaces not just the ones you usually see.  Flip the saddle over.  Get all those surfaces.  This is a great time to check the stitching and make sure everything is secure.
• Work where there is good light.  Very important and kind of hard to find since many barns are a little dim so you might have to set up a portable light.  Put a cloth over the table you are working on so things don’t get scratched.
• Since it is Colorado, by the time you finish cleaning the underside of your saddle or the reins of your bridle, the starting point is probably dry.  So you are good to start conditioning.  Condition once a week after a good cleaning – never over leather that has not been cleaned!
• When we say conditioning, we mean oils of some sort.  Your saddle may be needing a light oil like Hydrophane or Effol Oil.  We use these on the saddles that we work on and keep these two great products in stock.  Just say no to linseed oil, olive oil or anything that smells unpleasant (some oils get rancid).  A very light coat please.  To much oil will just sit there and collect dirt.  Use a little piece of sheepskin as an applicator.
• A balsam can be used to hold the moisture in.  Leather balsam is a conditioners that contains beeswax.  Our favorites are Effax Balsam and VeruGreen Balsam which seal in the oils, help protect against the elements AND smell good!  If your leather is in good repair, skip the oil and use the balsam.  I like to use my hand to apply the balsam.  The heat from my hand helps it liquefy and soak in.  You can control the amount better with your hand because less is better.  Too much gets things gummy and nasty and you have to start all over again.  Also my hands say thank you!  Because leather is leather.  Let this soak in overnight in a warm area.  A quick buff with a piece of sheepskin makes the leather really shine!

Now – because rules always have exceptions….

• Minimize the oil on billets, leathers and reins.  It will make them stretch like crazy.  Then they are weak and likely to be a problem.
• Really nice bridle leather is going to stay nicer with a leather cream versus an oil or balsam.  4-Care, Bickmore and specific bridle conditioners are best.  If you don’t have that a balsam will work but keep the application light.
• Riding boots that need to be polished require different care or they will not hold a polish.  They will not shine.  You won’t be happy.  I like to use Kirk’s Castile soap which has coconut oil in it for a cleaner followed occasionally with a boot cream like Cadillac Boot Cream.  Good polish in cream form (not paste) is a must and should be used frequently to keep the moisture in the boot leather.

By the way, we never charge folks if they want to bring things in for us to advise on or shoot us some photos.  Better safe than sorry.