Leather Care Matters
Renee shares her summer leather care routine for hot, humid climates, including why over-conditioning destroys modern saddles, the right way to clean girths and billets, and the products she never uses.
Summer Leather Care
What a simple, crazy thing to talk about... saddle and leather care. In the old days, yes, all you older pony clubbers and fox hunters, it was a daily ritual. Carefully cleaning and wiping all your tack, including your boots. I rarely see this today, or at least not to this extent. So, I'm going to share the do's and don'ts of summer saddle care!
Most of today's English saddles are made of much softer, grippier leather than 40 years ago. It actually requires much less conditioning to stay soft. Now, a lot of what I will discuss is for my Florida/tropical climate, with an average of 60-80% humidity. So keeping your leather hydrated is rarely a problem. I see very few dry saddles. However, because of our wet environment, over-conditioning can and will gum up your saddle and destroy the soft leather. Think about leather paddock boots when used to muck stalls and turn out horses in the wet grass. What happens? In about 3 months they just disintegrate! Leather is a skin. It needs to be hydrated, but not wet all the time.
Let's start as I untack my horse after a ride. I remove my girth and hose it off. Yes, with the water hose, both sides. I give it a shake, then hang it up straight. It is covered with sand, hair, ring footing, and sweat. A towel is not going to get all that off! Next, my saddle. If I was sweaty, or there's any sand on the flaps, I wipe that off with a damp towel. Now, turn your saddle upside down. Those panels and sweat flaps touching the horse are probably wet. Wipe all that down with a glycerin saddle soap (I prefer a bar or solid so you can make a paste with less water, however the premix sprays are super convenient for shows). Don't forget your billets! Keep this drier, like a paste. When you're done, wipe everything with a dry towel, and hopefully you have a climate-controlled tack room, or at least some airflow to keep it dry and mold spores controlled.
You do not need to use a leather conditioner on your saddle every day! This will destroy your saddle. You can use saddle soap, just keep it like a paste, less water. Never condition billets. I see over-conditioned billets too often, and they get gummy and stretch... then break. Another crazy note: neatsfoot oil and olive oil are not recommended for today's English saddles. When used in excess, they will make the leather gummy and can actually compromise your stitching. Also, barn critters and mold love neatsfoot oil.
I hope this is helpful! Happy riding!
Renee