Bensmom saddle soap - the review thread (if that's okay with Bensmom)

[Fawkes]

I used the balm this weekend, right before a ride since I wouldn’t have time to clean and condition afterwards. I think my favorite thing about the balm is that my hands were clean and not greasy afterwards which was literally the main thing I wanted as an improvement over other conditioners so thank you!

There was some attracting of dust/hair riding immediately after application, but it wasn’t nearly what I thought it would be and it all brushed off with my hand and wasn’t stuck to the saddle, so that was also an unexpected bonus.

Scent- it was totally fine as is (I didn’t notice any smell at all), but I also wouldn’t mind if it matched the soap scent.

Consistency - I was cleaning my saddle in 97F weather. I was sweating everywhere and it was miserably hot. The balm came with me from my air conditioned house. The consistency at the start was relatively hard (maybe refrigerated butter, still easy to work with) and then it did soften up more and more as I repeatedly dipped into the jar to get more out (I was using my fingers). I would say it ended up as more room temperature butter. No issues or complaints from me, I just did promise to provide feedback! It will be interesting to see how it works in winter

I rode again yesterday so about 48 hours after conditioning and the saddle and bridle were still in good shape.

Great job with the conditioner!

[Renn_aissance]

I applied a coat or two of the balm to both my bridle and saddle about a week ago. Normally when my tack gets rained on it gets big old water spots that don’t fade for days unless I do something about them Today I rode during a shower and after my tack was inside for five minutes you couldn’t tell. No spotting, no discoloration, no nothing. I’m sold.

[SolarFlare]

My leather balm finally arrived in Ontario! Just to give you an idea of shipping time, the package was mailed June 20th from Florida and arrived July 2nd (July 1st is a holiday here). Technically 7 business days but it feels like an eternity when you’re waiting!

I’ll try it out this weekend and post my review then.

[vagabondrider]

I’m convinced! I want to try this stuff! Any chance of a new coupon code for the holiday? Yay made in America products on the 4th!

[xcatheart]

Got my soap and balm today! Since I had already been to the barn to school xc with my two horses in the am and cleaned my tack with what’s remaining of my Rosemary Mint soap, I decided to try the balm on my truck’s leather seats too! OMG the leather in there looks brand new and there is no greasy, sticky residue. And I noticed it really softened up my cuticles! There is a faint honey candy like smell to the balm which I love (guessing it might be the beeswax?) I can’t wait to try this stuff on my tack, which looks so much better since using the conditioning soap daily! Great stuff!
I know what I’m going to be giving as Christmas gifts this year!

[Bensmom]

Yay!! I just love getting good reports! Made a couple more batches of Balm tonight

I’m thinking that we do need a new coupon code and a bit of a sale – it can be in celebration of the 4th, and well, my “send a kid to camp” sale – my pony and I are going to amoeba level eventing camp the last weekend in July – and y’all need to buy LOTS of soap, so I can justify to the finance guy around here, that I NEED to get back into showing, so that I have more opportunities to make everyone I know buy soap! :lol:

Seriously, though. One thing I’ve never mentioned that occurred to me today as I was packing orders – everything you guys buy lets me help the sport. So far, I’ve donated prizes for five shows, all around the country- for one long format, I got to do winners prizes, and for the other, I got to donate to all entrants – so much fun! – a silent auction, year end prizes for the PShR (my pony is half Shagya, and I wanted to support the PShR’s efforts for the performance registry for the breed) and even was able to donate to an eventer in need – so thank you for supporting, not just me and my business, but the sport in general! I’m going to branch out a bit and am hoping to donate some prizes for a h/j show locally soon too.

Keep your eyes peeled for a “send a kid to camp sale” announcement!

And thanks so much for the reviews! It makes my day to see that someone likes what I’ve made, and I actually like knowing when folks have problems too – that lets me know to make adjustments!

Libby (really, you haven’t seen me ride – I REALLY need to go to baby event horse meets middle aged fat lady camp. Really, I do! :yes: )

[amastrike]

Saddle before cleaning
Saddle after soap
Saddle after balm
Again

i am in love :love-struck:.

[big_red_ottb]

I was all excited to order some balm but now Etsy is being dumb…it won’t let me add my card. Grr. Oh well, I can wait another day while I figure out the problem.

[vagabondrider]

@Bensmom;7064344

I’m thinking that we do need a new coupon code and a bit of a sale – it can be in celebration of the 4th, and well, my “send a kid to camp” sale – my pony and I are going to amoeba level eventing camp the last weekend in July –

Keep your eyes peeled for a “send a kid to camp sale” announcement!

That’s great, thanks! I’ll definitely buy when the “send a kid to camp sale” announcement comes out!

[IFG]

[QUOTE=Bensmom;7064344]

Seriously, though. One thing I’ve never mentioned that occurred to me today as I was packing orders – everything you guys buy lets me help the sport. So far, I’ve donated prizes for five shows, all around the country- for one long format, I got to do winners prizes, and for the other, I got to donate to all entrants – so much fun! – a silent auction, year end prizes for the PShR (my pony is half Shagya, and I wanted to support the PShR’s efforts for the performance registry for the breed) and even was able to donate to an eventer in need – so thank you for supporting, not just me and my business, but the sport in general! I’m going to branch out a bit and am hoping to donate some prizes for a h/j show locally soon too.[/QUOTE]

Wow, that makes it even more fun to buy a great product! Good on you.

BTW, on the balm, love it as it is, but I would love it even more in scents. Of course, then I have an issue as to which scent to buy, but we won’t go there.

[Bensmom]

In celebration of the 4th, and because I REALLY need to go to event pony camp at the end of the month, we are having a sale, through Monday – the coupon code CAMP20 will get you 20% off all purchases through the weekend! Wheeee!

Libby

[vagabondrider]

[QUOTE=Bensmom;7065159]
In celebration of the 4th, and because I REALLY need to go to event pony camp at the end of the month, we are having a sale, through Monday – the coupon code CAMP20 will get you 20% off all purchases through the weekend! Wheeee!

Libby[/QUOTE]

Thanks for doing that! Have fun at camp!

[rememberthenight]

Oooh… I was just saying I wanted to buy some more for myself and as gifts… I used mine for the first time yesterday. It was too hot for me to ride, so I carted my tack up to AC. It took a little bit for me to figure out how much water to use in my sponge, but it took the sweat off the reins and bridle well. It even made my dressage bridle feel luxurious! I am very sensitive to fragrences, and they can give me a migraine quickly, but the soap didnt aggravate me at all!!! I was very happy with that. And I LOVED the leather balm. It smells like chocolate to me, so it must be cocoa butter based? It was not greasy at all. It was firm even in 95degree weather, and my hands felt great afterwards. The bridles still look gorgeous this morning. It passed my bridle test, so I will test it on my best western saddle (my baby) over the weekend.

[SolarFlare]

Ok, so I had a chance to try out the leather balm on my saddle and everyday bridle.

I didn’t notice any strong scent right away when I opened the jar. When I stuck my finger in to feel the texture of the balm, I did get a whiff of odour but nothing much. Hard to describe any scent at all, really. I think I would actually prefer if it did have a bit of scent to it. The natural scent isn’t unpleasant, but it’s just not…nice, I guess. Not offensive but not great. Can’t quite put my finger on it.

I found the texture to be very much like butter. We’ve had very humid weather here lately - it’s been raining every day for about a week, with another 5 days to come. The jar was sitting in my car for a day, but the balm did not melt.

I used my fingers to apply the balm to my saddle and bridle after cleaning with the Higher Standards soap first. The balm melted really easily with just body heat, and was easy to spread around on the leather. It left a sheen so I could see where I had applied it. I did leave the barn right after application, so I had to wait until today to see the results.

Results - my everyday schooling bridle feels probably the most supple it has ever felt since I’ve owned it. It is about 7 years old, and while it’s in good condition, now it feels like it’s been freshly dipped in oil but without the greasiness! Wow!

Saddle - also felt very nice, the balm absorbed well. However, I did notice a few streaky white spots. I assume this is just where a bit of excess balm was applied, because as I said I used my fingers. I just wiped it away with no issues. It could also be due to the extreme humidity as I mentioned earlier - even my martingale, which isn’t in use any more, is growing some mold this week.

Overall verdict - very nice! I’m going to see if some fellow boarders have any dry tack they want to test out with the balm too.

[reefy]

I got a jar this week and tried it today on my everyday bridle. It does get wiped off after most rides but not a good cleaning, so there were gunky spots on it.

I am a skeptic until proven otherwise and with this stuff, I am a skeptic no more!

This seriously made my bridle look really, really good. And it didn’t take too much scrubbing. I am pleased and even though I think this jar will last a long time (the soap, not the balm), I think since there’s a coupon, I just might order more. The scent was scrumptious (Confidence) but not overwhelming.

One question - can I use this on my tall boots? I’m never sure how best to clean them without dulling them.

Seriously good stuff - I know what I’m getting my riding buddies for the holidays :yes:!

[Renn_aissance]

[QUOTE=reefy!;7068959]

One question - can I use this on my tall boots? I’m never sure how best to clean them without dulling them.[/QUOTE]

I’ve used it and it hasn’t dulled them; however, mine are not particularly expensive and don’t shine up well to begin with. I went to a horse show having cleaned them but not polished them, though, and they looked fine. If you have a really nice patent shine on your boots that you don’t want to chance losing, clean the George Morris Way ™ which is just using water.

[Debbie]

I used the soap on my leather sofa and it didn’t dull the leather. It had a very rich look/finish after I cleaned all the dog drool off of it. Maybe try it on the inside of your boot as a test.

[amastrike]

Just ordered 3 more of the leather balm :D:D:D.

Bensmom, I posted a review on my blog :).

[SeeTheCityLights]

Just ordered the Vanilla Lavender! Super excited! I’ll be cleaning all my tack as soon as it gets here, so I’ll post a review as soon as I’m done!

[Bensmom]

Yay! Thank you guys – I’m off to read the review!

Don’t forget the 20% off sale is over tomorrow! CAMP20 is the code you need at checkout!