Easy guide to cleaning saddles and tack

How often you clean saddles and tack depends on how often you use them. At a minimum, plan to clean and condition them at least twice a year — more often, if you're caught in the rain or live in a cold climate, which can leach natural oils from leather and cause dry rot to take over.

• Use saddle-soap, a sponge and warm water to work up a foamy lather.
• Stirrups, stirrup leathers and fenders attract the most dirt, so pay particular attention to those, wiping them on both sides.
• If dirt is really ingrained, let the foamy saddle-soap sit to soften it.
• Rinse off the soap, and be sure to do it thoroughly. If you leave soap residue on the leather, it will attract rather than repel dirt.
• Use toothpicks to lift out dirt on deeply tooled leather.
• Allow the saddle to air-dry for 8–10 hours, but not in the sun, where it could dry out too much.
• Condition the leather lightly.
• On Western saddles, use either pure neatsfoot oil (a light yellow oil made from cattle shinbones and feet) or a leather conditioner. Remember that neatsfoot oil (or any other oil, for that matter) will darken the leather.
• On English saddles, use a leather dressing, applied with a soft cloth.
• Don't miss the underside of the seat, fenders and (on Western saddles) jockeys, the pieces of leather underneath the seat of the saddle.
• Then buff with a clean, soft cloth to bring out the leather's natural shine.

• Use the same general technique as with saddles, but always take it apart first. Bits must be taken off the headstall and reins, for instance.
• Brush off any loose dirt with a rag or soft brush.
• Store a saddle on a rack with air circulating around it freely.
• To preserve that characteristic twist in the leather strap that connects Western-style stirrups to the saddle, turn the stirrups in the correct direction and then insert a wooden dowel through one stirrup, under the saddle and through the other stirrup.
• Hang bridles and halters on a rack shaped like a horse's head. (Nails or hooks can cause leather to bend and weaken.)
• Finally, keep your saddle free of dust and the dirt that accompanies dust, by shrouding it with a dust cover.

• If your saddle seat is suede, don't use soap and water on it.
• Instead, clean it with a stiff-bristled suede brush, available from shoe stores.