Just wanted to also add in regards to the scent, that I went into the barn 2 days after cleaning stuff and I can still smell the lovely rosemary mint, but not in an obnoxious way. Just a nice, fresh smell.
Ok, sorry if I’m coming off stalkerific. But I used the stuff on my leather steering wheel and shifter, and WOWSA! So nice! The sponge was so nasty after doing that. 12 years of my hand dirt on that leather, and now its soft, smooth, and best of all, clean! And my stinky car smells better too. Bonus!
I took pictures, of course!!! Will post them once I get them off my phone.
I would love to see pictures! I have used it on the leather seats in my car and in my truck, and been pleased – I’m thinking I should now try it on my steering wheel too . . . 
I’m actually going out to pull tack out of my trailer and see what of my own needs a good cleaning!
Thanks for all the feedback! Did anyone see any new products at Rolex? I feel like I should have been skulking around the trade fair, spying on what else is out there in the market! 
:lol:
Libby
And, since I’ve been thanking everyone else for their reviews, I thought I should add that I finally got out to clean my own tack this afternoon. Way back when, someone asked me if I put anything in the soap to retard mold or mildew – I don’t, but I am pleased to report that you can lock your tack up in the horse trailer, during a humid Florida Spring, and since the saddles were mostly clean when they were last put away, they were not very bad today. Even my one saddle that I fight a moldy/mildewy problem with regularly wasn’t bad today, so maybe y’all are right and this is good stuff! :lol:
So, now, I just have to USE my tack and actually ride my horse!
Well, I finally placed an order - Vanilla/Lavender for me and Citrus Ginger for another COTH-er :winkgrin:
I really do like this soap. It is super easy to use, and the more I use it, the more I like it. Thanks so much! Oh, and, so far, it has not irritated Mr. Sensitive under his chin (from the Micklem chin strap). In fact, I think he is happy that the strap is finally soft. I had not been able to find any soap before this that I could use on the chin strap without irritating him. So I had taken to wiping it down with a damp cloth after every ride. That left it clean, but stiff and uncomfortable. Your soap leaves it clean and soft.
I got to use it twice over the past few days, and I’d recommend it to others. It has a clean, subtle scent.
And it’s durable in the jar I left the jar of soap in a hot car all afternoon (oops!), and it retained its shape and texture nicely. No melting, no mess, no separating.
My tack is in pretty good shape and I clean it fairly regularly, and this is how the soap worked for me:
I especially liked how my Micklem bridle felt after a cleaning. The leather was soft and supple with a little shine without any hint of grease or buildup.
The soap also did a nice job on my Quillin halter, which has more of an oiled finish to it. My paddock boots and half chaps also cleaned up well.
For my saddle (a newish Kent & Masters, which incidentally, I’m really liking so far), I will continue to follow up each cleaning with a separate leather conditioner since it needs a little help softening up as it breaks in.
It looks like it will be a nice addition to my tack cleaning kit, and I’ll follow it with a heavier conditioner for the items that need a little extra TLC.
I also plan to give it as gifts in the future.
Late to the party but super impressed with what I’m reading. How do I buy this magical stuff???
[QUOTE=Quinn;6963698]
Late to the party but super impressed with what I’m reading. How do I buy this magical stuff???[/QUOTE]
You can purchase it here! Bensmom has the link in her signature!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HigherStandardsFarm
I just put in an order today for myself. I can hardly wait to try it. Thanks Bensmom!!
For what it’s worth, I’m the one whose saddle reacted poorly the first time I used this soap. Apparently the saddle just freaked out because it was in want of balsam. I cleaned it again today and it did just fine. 
Finally cleaned my tack yesterday and while, after reading this thread, it would be too easy to oversell this stuff and assume it will fix your tack, walk the dog, and pay your board, I was still ridiculously happy. For me the keys were the nice smell, how my hands felt afterwards, AND how dirt that I just assumed was now a part of my tack was removed without extreme measures. There is still some dirt that will require extra effort (I guess those jockeys mentioned above), but it cleaned up a bunch that my previous soap did not.
Sooo, Bensmom, when will you be inventing an equally awesome conditioner?
Although this soap definitely left my tack feeling soft, I doubt I will ever be able to totally get away without conditioning in dry dry dry CO, and the thought of getting my nice soft hands all greasy and stinky after using your soap was disheartening. You know, something to work on in your free time…
Renn, I am SO glad to hear that your saddle did fine the second time around. Whew! I was worried!
Fawkes – I know what you mean – I was tempted to claim it would do your taxes too, but I figured y’all would call me out on that
And so glad to hear it didn’t melt in the car – DH is always worried about that, but I’ve never had it happen!
Time for more feedback – if there was a conditioner, would you prefer liquid, balm, or lotion-esq consistency? Hmmmmmmm.
I vote balm.
I used mine for the first time today - I got both Vanilla Lavender and Citrus Ginger, and used the Citrus Ginger. Scent is very subtle - if anything, I wouldn’t mind a bit more. Didn’t mind the lack of lather, I could tell from the sponge that dirt was lifting away (I do clean my tack every ride, so no jockeys or build up to judge on), less to wipe off while cleaning, and nothing felt tacky afterwards. Everything (Barnsby saddle, Beval girth, Dover breastplate, Horseware bridle, Ariat boots and half chaps) felt nice after using the soap. Happy so far!
And I also vote balm.
The products labelled “balm” in my possession have the consistency of a thick lotion. Is that what you’re going for?
My vote is “whatever ends up absorbing the best.” I don’t tend to care for liquids as much because I find they like to run off rather than really sit into the leather. I also find thicker conditioners like balsams hard to work in. So, my vote is for something no “thinner” in consistency than, say, olive oil, and no thicker than butter. How helpful isn’t that?
I gave my low quality schooling bridle another going over with the soap yesterday, after I used that to hack out the pony because I expected to get rained on… and boy did Mother Nature deliver while we were out in the back field. I’ll be darned- the thing really is softer. And I don’t think it was because of the rain.
Renn – that feedback is extremely helpful!
I ordered the ingredients that will make up a balm yesterday. I am just a little nervous because I had 9 years of product/field testing with the soap, so I had fewer concerns about offering it for sale – especially after COTH tested it!
But a new product will make me more nervous, so I guess we will have to accelerate testing! If the new materials come by Friday, I will make a test batch on saturday and we’ll see! But, I’m thinking the consistency of soft or whipped butter – in fact, I wonder if whipping it would work? To the consistency of a whipped body butter?
Incidentally, the recipe I’m going to work with is also “good as a body balm” for people! So you could condition your hands, and your saddle! :lol: I want it to smell pleasant tho – so that will require some fiddling.
I got mine last week … Vanilla Lavender. My mare wears a leather halter
for turnout, and I used it on that. It’s older and has been rained on and such
for a year or so now. The soap did bring the color back up - but I do think
this muchly-abused piece of leather needs a good conditioning every so often
too.
It was great on my leather girth and my leather breastcollar … got that icky
sweat off it and left it feeling very nice. I mostly ride with a synthetic Tack-a-tack
bridle, but do have a nice one that I use in the ring when mare is not sweating
so much. It did a nice job on that too.
And best of all it is encouraging me to keep up with my tack cleaning a little better
LOL … we all know how that is.
For the conditioner - I love the consistency of Lederbalsm, but dislike the greasiness
that sometimes happens. So something thicker than a lotion, but not too ‘goopy’ so
that it gunks up everything, would be fantastic.
Thanks !
Ah, I was thinking the same thing! I like the consistency of Lederbalsam, but not the greasiness – so I will experiment with my ingredients and see what I come up with! (and I love the tack-a-tack products!! I have several neat things Tara made for me )
Oooooo… conditioner! That would be lovely. I have been using Lederbalsam, but agree that the slight greasiness is a turn off. Plus, it can be a bit sticky the day after using (which irritates me because I just cleaned and conditioned my tack and then every dust particle/bit of hair in the barn sticks to my saddle). And that is one of the big bonuses to me of your cleaner - it makes leather soft, but isn’t sticky. I like the idea of a soft butter consistency for conditioner. Not sure about whipped - my experience with whipped butter and yogurt tells me that you get less product for the volume then Hmm… the Udderly Smooth Udder Cream sitting on my desk right now has a very good consistency that would be nice.
Since I’m posting anyway, I’ll update again. I think I have seriously turned into a tack cleaning phene… I have been cleaning my saddles and bridles/breast collars after every ride. I have also already cleaned my paddock boots again (you know, the ones that previously were only cleaned maybe once a year) since it is so easy and takes such little time. Wore my new paddock boots and half chaps last night to break them in (thank you Rolex shopping!) and cleaned both after. All of my leather stuff loves me right now
