When Tack Gets Wet, Don’t Throw In the Towel!

We have had our share of mother nature throwing a tantrum and we just went through a Crazy Blizzard that pushed snow into every possible crevice with literally the force of a hurricane!  A quick word about what to do when your tack gets soaked.

As soon as possible, pull it inside and let it slowly dry out.  Don’t try to speed it up with a blow dryer or such.  You will just cause the leather to crack.  After it is dry, try to determine if the panel which is the padding portion that goes next to the horse is still wet.  If so, it will feel cool.  A saddler will need to open the panel and pull out the wet flocking and replace it with clean, dry wool.  If the panel is foam, the panel needs to be dropped (removed) so that it can dry out.  If you don’t do this, you will not only have damaging mold in your saddle but it is likely that the metal bits in the tree will rust.  That is bad.

Clean all surfaces thoroughly with a pH balanced cleaner.  Take your time.  Repeat if necessary.  Then slowly add oil which has been recommended for your saddle.  Call us if you are unsure.  Thin coats with plenty of time to let the coats soak in.  Sometimes this can take days.  Follow with a balsam which has beeswax in it to seal the conditioner in.  When in doubt, let us check it.

Here are some photos of a saddle that survived a major flood both before and after it was restored.