[QUOTE=TBPONY;6954399]
Those pics are IMPRESSIVE!!! QUOTE]
AGREED! That is an amazing result! Thank you for sharing the pictures!
And to reiterate what Libby has already said… thank you all for encouraging her and providing such positive feedback! She and the soap totally deserve it!
[QUOTE=TBPONY;6954399]
Those pics are IMPRESSIVE!!! QUOTE]
AGREED! That is an amazing result! Thank you for sharing the pictures!
And to reiterate what Libby has already said… thank you all for encouraging her and providing such positive feedback! She and the soap totally deserve it!
Ah, I would NOT suggest using it on suede as I have not ever tested it on suede. I would use only cleaners that are specifically for suede and would mostly go at the suede with a stiff brush.
I have a suede seat and knee pads on one of my black country saddles and I don’t use anything on it – You don’t want to do anything that will make the nap of the suede go “flat” as it were – the grippiness of the suede will be lost if the nap lies flat after treatment with conditioners.
There are some cleaners made specifically for suede – Kiwi makes one that is available at Walgreens for instance, and Timberland makes one that can be ordered here that is a spray.
My soap seems to be working miracles, but I would NOT use it on suede (note to self – add that to the directions!).
I’ve had pretty good luck with dye, but mostly on my Danskos, which get knocked around a lot – once the dye soaks in and is dried, it doesn’t rub off. I’ve also (shhhhhhh) been known to take the scuff cover stuff sold for shoes and use it where I have leather wear marks on my black saddle. Never has come off on my breeches or me, but I’m not issuing any guarantees as to that! 
I love all your reviews and pictures! Such fun!!
Thank you – Libby
[QUOTE=TBPONY;6954399]
Those pics are IMPRESSIVE!!! Approximately how long did you spend cleaning your saddle? And since certain areas were significantly more dirty than others (ex: stirrup leathers) did you rinse the sponge out in a separate dish before adding more soap and moving on to the next area?[/QUOTE]
I spent a good hour on my saddle. I had a red Solo cup with some water in it that i would wring the sponge out in every now and then and then get a good lather going again on a large area. I put the sponge back into the soap a lot. My saddle really needed it and really looks great. That’s probably one good thing about the orangey saddle, that you can see the differences so easily (my mother had absolutely everything to do with picking that thing out; i was 12 or 13).
Today I cleaned a couple different pieces of tack- my Edgewood bridle, a beat up old low-quality schooling bridle and martingale, and my saddle.
Let me talk about the Edgewood’s situation here, as it’s going to be relevant to my review. The bridle is about 8 years old. Last summer we had some really freaky weather that brought some odd atmospheric conditions, and my bridle DID NOT like it- in the space of three days, it went from “fine” to “so dry it felt crumbly in my hands.” :eek: Mind you, it was in the tack room the whole time. Since then, I’ve been trying to get it back to condition, and I’ve used the gamut of products on it; it drinks up oil but never really feels “done” and the best thing I found to do for it was to soak it in Kocholine, which really improved the dryness, but also made it sticky (as Kocholine is wont to do) so now it grabs onto anything it can and tends to really attract and stick to dirt. It also looks dry when flexed, even though it doesn’t feel dry in the hands. I used to pay my way through horse shows by rehabbing people’s old tack, and I’ve never encountered a problem like this before.
I have pictures forthcoming of all of these pieces of tack. I am usually a Castile soap user, but I have flings with Leather Therapy.
On the Edgewood bridle: did a good job of removing dirt, but I had to do a fair bit of scrubbing on some of it. Not good on the jockeys that have developed- and which nothing has been able to get off, and that includes a toothbrush. I am beginning to suspect that they’re not dirt at all, but another thing the bridle is just doing now in its temper fit, which would explain the problem. I really liked the feel of the leather afterwards- I often feel residue left behind on this particular bridle, and that was not the case. A good cleaning job.
A pair of $15 web reins was next- these were purchased as an alternative to my horse chewing my good show reins, and haven’t been cleaned in two years because for $15, I don’t care. Pictures forthcoming- these reins had a lot of dirt built up on their leather parts, and the soap did a great job with breaking that up.
Crappy grain leather type bridle and martingale- did a really good job. The leather on both is stiff by nature and I don’t think the soap did anything in particular to soften it up, but they were a lot easier to clean than they usually are, and again, no residue.
Saddle- this is a calf leather Devoucoux. The seat really did not like this soap. The flaps thought it was fine. The grain undersides of the flaps and the billets thought it was great. The seat got a little streaky and turned green on the sides, which I have never seen before. Like on the schooling bridle, the soap did a really nice job with the grain under-flaps. This saddle did have jockeys on the flaps and I think will need the toothbrush treatment for that, because those didn’t come away with today’s cleaning. I don’t know what was going on with the seat. I did balsam the heck out of the saddle afterwards (it needed it, and that episode freaked me out) which may have solved the problem, but we’ll see.
Overall, based on today’s experience, this soap seems to do an exceptional job on grain leather, and a good job on calf or soft bridle leather. Reading this thread, I was kind of expecting a tack cleaning miracle, which may have been unfair to the soap! This reminds me a lot of my favorite Castile only with less lather and with a better finish to the tack after the fact. I think it will be a good daily product and will probably replace Castile for that. I may or may not try it again on the saddle to see what happens, and I’m curious to see how the Edgewood looks like tomorrow and after consistent cleaning with this, as it is more conditioning than the alternative.
Hmm – that reaction on the Dev saddle seat is really strange!! We had pics of a Dev saddle cleaned earlier in the thread and it was fine, and at least one, if not more of the BNRs that have used it ride in Devs and have had no issues.
Now, I’m really curious as to what might have caused it! Has anyone else had any issues at all? :eek:
Hey Bensmom- so when is this coming to the UK? It sounds fab!
[QUOTE=Bensmom;6955216]
Hmm – that reaction on the Dev saddle seat is really strange!! We had pics of a Dev saddle cleaned earlier in the thread and it was fine, and at least one, if not more of the BNRs that have used it ride in Devs and have had no issues.
Now, I’m really curious as to what might have caused it! Has anyone else had any issues at all? :eek:[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I saw others had used it on their Devs too with no problems, which makes me think either it was a one off or it would have happened anyway no matter what I used. I’ll give it another try. The rest of the saddle liked it fine!
Just got finished cleaning all my tack! Love the soap…it cleans well, no residue, and doesn’t leave my hands feeling sticky or dirty. I like it much better than the other glycerine I had been using (Carr & Day & Martin)
The most dramatic turnaround was in my filthy old Dansko paddock boots. These boots are probably 8-10 years old, and I’ve worn them a lot, both around the barn and riding. The backs of them always have big dirt spots on them, and over the years the dirt (and horse hair and sweat) has just kind of gotten pressed into the leather until it’s really hard to get off. Usually takes a lot of scrubbing, and I can still tell where it’s embedded in the leather.
Bensmom’s soap fixed all that! The boots look great, and the dirty spot is completely gone. 
Before (clean boot on the left, dirty on the right):
http://s737.photobucket.com/user/RedMare01/media/5F628263-665F-43AA-B69F-0C2260684DCD-4181-0000039131E658DE_zps87eccbbe.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0
After (both clean boots):
http://s737.photobucket.com/user/RedMare01/media/95580265-0BAD-45AB-AEBB-566307A0C82D-4181-0000039150A73E8C_zpsda396523.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1
I have turned into a tack cleaner. This stuff is great! My 15 year old paddock boots and 23 yr old bridle look like new. (well, aside from the actual cracks in the boots) I have been cleaning my tack every DAY! Unheard of behavior for me. Plus, my good boots shined up well enough to ride in Lucinda’s clinic with no polishing! Thanks, Libby-great invention, thanks for sharing. 
[QUOTE=Bensmom;6955216]
Hmm – that reaction on the Dev saddle seat is really strange!! We had pics of a Dev saddle cleaned earlier in the thread and it was fine, and at least one, if not more of the BNRs that have used it ride in Devs and have had no issues.
Now, I’m really curious as to what might have caused it! Has anyone else had any issues at all? :eek:[/QUOTE]
I’ve cleaned three Devoucoux jump saddles (using two different “flavors” of the soap). One light calf leather and two darker. Soap did a lovely job on all of them. I find that the leather on some of my bridles is just getting better and better with consistent use.
Whew – that makes me feel better! I cannot figure out what might have caused an unusual reaction, unless perhaps it reacted with something that had been used to clean Renn’s saddle before? 
I’m so glad that y’all have continued to be pleased, and Pol – good for you on the tack cleaning! My trainer, who was trained by LeGoff and his barn manager up through the '84 games, says if you will clean it and wipe it down after every use, you will have tack that lasts forever. At least until some horse steps on the reins and breaks them, or some such silliness.
It took me a little while to win her over to my soap. She was also a saddle fitter/rep for a time, and was suspicious to start with. But, she is a total convert now and won’t use anything else.
And she is a TOUGH critic – I promise, if this stuff didn’t do well over the long haul? I’d have heard about it, for certain.
The pictures are fabulous! Thank you guys so very much!
As soon as I figure out the best way to do it, I would like to ask for everyone’s opinion on logo ideas! Surveymonkey won’t let me display the image at the top of the survey, and I can post pics on COTH, but they don’t enlarge very big for you to be able to see them.
Any ideas on the best way to do a survey like that?
Thanks guys!!
Libby
I will also be placing another order soon because I want some to put in the trailer…and some to keep at home too. But the girls at the barn like all the three scents I got so are not letting me take some that I already bought
PS I like them all (citrus ginger, vana/lav and rosemary) but the rosemary is my fav.
I know you only made a small test batch of it, but any chance you’ll be making more of the Confidence variety soon? I’d love to get a few of the Confidence if you go forward with it - I think that one with the name alone would make a good gift for a few people I have in mind
Any samples left?
[QUOTE=GutsNGlory;6956115]
I know you only made a small test batch of it, but any chance you’ll be making more of the Confidence variety soon? I’d love to get a few of the Confidence if you go forward with it - I think that one with the name alone would make a good gift for a few people I have in mind :)[/QUOTE]
I, too, would love to order this if you make some more. Love my lavender/vanilla though.
Hey, Bensmom? Would you be willing to try a vanilla/mint combo?
Edit: I made an account on here just to ask you this :winkgrin:
Sure! I’m up for trying things, once the big orders are done. There is a very patient COTH’er awaiting her wholesale order at the moment . . .
I’ve really enjoyed work on this, and the darn day job keeps getting in the way – I need to create a file where y’all can give me logo feedback
Awesome! I’ve got my boyfriend all hyped up about cleaning my saddle for me, now.
[QUOTE=KaraLee95;6956853]
Hey, Bensmom? Would you be willing to try a vanilla/mint combo?
Edit: I made an account on here just to ask you this :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
Enthusiastically waves hands in air Second! I would be SO game for a vanilla mint scent! My two favorite scents combined - you can’t go wrong! Man… I’m going to be ordering a LOT of soap.
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