There’s nothing like the smell of clean—clean stalls, clean laundry and clean tack. So why not make sure your tack is clean every ride? From the bit to the cinch, latigo to the cantle, cleaning all parts of your tack can help keep your equipment in top shape.
But, did you know there actually is such a thing as too much cleaning when it comes to your saddle and tack? Too much cleaning, especially with an aggressive-type of soap, can dry out the leather, eat away at the stitching and potentially cause mold. Once the mold starts growing, and it’s not hard to do, it's nearly impossible to remove the spores without harming or compromising the integrity of your leather tack.
Leather Tack
Our equine professionals here at Tough1 suggest the use of a gentle liquid saddle soap, such as Fiebing's Liquid Glycerin Saddle Soap, with a dampened sponge or piece of sheepskin to clean leather tack pieces. If your saddle has a lot of caked-on dirt, use a soft scrub brush like a toothbrush to remove the dirt prior to using saddle cleaner. Green mold can be easily killed and wiped off using a concoction of one part Listerine and two parts water in a spray bottle.
Oiling your leather is not an everyday activity. Just as with cleaning, too much oil is not a good thing; it can make the leather sticky and spongy, leading to the breakdown of the fibers. In older tack stitched with flax thread, excessive oiling can also eat away at the stitching. (Tack makers use nylon thread now.) We advise using neatsfoot compound oil rather than pure oil because the pure oil can get rancid, and in high humidity, it will cause mold.
It’s best to check with your saddle's manufacturer for what they recommend for cleaning. (You can email Tough1 at [email protected] if you have specific saddle questions.)
Bits
Bits require a seasonal checkup because they are a direct communication line to your horse. Bits can deteriorate faster, not being used, rather than being overused because they tend to rust just hanging in the tack room.
Check all swivel shanks to make sure the shank hasn’t rusted to the point that it’s frozen at the swivel. Some guides say to use a penetrating oil such as WD-40, 3-IN-ONE Oil or mineral oil to help break any rust. Careful, though, because too much oil on a bit can irritate the horse’s tongue/mouth. There are other alternatives to using oil to clean the rust. One such suggestion is to use a steel wool pad with light soap and water.
Always remember to disinfect bits if they’re shared by horses to prevent transmitting diseases. Filling a bucket with a solution of chlorhexidine (Nolvasan) will make disinfecting easier with just one dunk.
Tack Storage
Once your tack is cleaned, you want to do what you can to keep all that hard work from being wasted. Experts recommend that after every ride, take a damp cloth and wipe the underside of English your saddle to remove the sweat and dirt, thus prolonging the life of your leather. Wiping the saddle down will remove the oils and acid that come with the horse’s sweat, which can break down the leather. Do the same with your leather headstalls, wipe off bites to clean off the slobber and rinse off cinches/girths and allow them to dry before putting away.
Be cautious where you store your tack. If you store your saddle in a dark, unheated tack room it can be detrimental to the leather. The absence of light or heat causes mold to grow on your leather. Over the course of the winter, or even during the summer, if you’re not going to use it regularly, it’s in your tack’s best interest to be in a controlled environment that is not subject to temperature and moisture fluctuations. Investing in a quality bags and cases for your saddle and headstalls can help protect your tack from scratches, dings and dust, but it’s always important to check on them periodically for mold growth.
