Tinned saddle soap, a sponge, and water for rinsing the sponge. Then condition if needed with either Lederbalsam or neatsfoot oil.
Rinse the bit at the sink after every ride.
Often humid and hot SE US.
Breaking in new leather is a different beast than everyday care, I think. Breaking in a laminated leather saddle is different from old school solid leather. Iād definitely ask the saddle rep for advice there.
For bridles and strapgoods, though, I like to break them down and warm a little bit of neatsfoot oil in the microwave and work it in by hand. Iāll do that once a day for a couple of days until the leather is nice and pliable, then seal it with StĆ¼bben glycerine soap on a dry sponge.
Daily care depends on your climate, in my opinion. My system in Montana was VERY different from what I do in Virginia. Iād condition or oil much more often somewhere dry than somewhere humid. Usually I just do a wipe down with a damp cloth and swipe over with the StĆ¼bben glycerine. Truly dirty tack, I like Leather Therapy Wash or Belvoir spray wash. Wipe it down, let it dry, finish with the StĆ¼bben glycerine. (I love StĆ¼bbenās glycerine, if you hadnāt noticed).
Daily care, I thoroughly clean the bit with water and a microfiber cloth (or sponge), and wipe leather tack clean with a damp rag, especially the girth (Mare and I like to jump in and out of puddles aka water jumps).
Every other ride or so, I will go over my girth, saddle and stirrup leathers with a sponge soaked in Lexol, but thatās really more for tackiness when Iām in the saddle 
Deep cleaning - I take everything apart, clean with saddle soap and water, rinse well, let dry out of the sun, then condition freely with Lexol, often more than once. Will do that in a few days before our first Hunter Pace of the year, whoohoo!
Bits on bridles: it seems there are two camps.
Clean and scrub the bit after each ride, vs.
Quick rinse or wipe and leave it āpre-flavoredā for the next ride.
Which do you prefer?
There is a third method, called āignore the bit and clean it for shows, maybeā the majority of recreational horse owners useā¦
anyway, when I am working horses I keep a bucket on the spigot and rinse each bit as I untack. They stay clean, more or less. I scrub before shows with toothpaste (which usually restores bits to their original shiny color).
I donāt think it is preflavored that way, if you start clean it tends to remain clean as recent treat gunk comes off easily. I always give a treat as I bridle so it is a moot point for me. My horses love their bridles!
FWIW, I use the system I used in a nice GP jumper barn. We wipe all the tack after use, condition once a week in heavy use, once a month off season if we arenāt using it. Occasionally I donāt have time and put it away dirty, but mostly I follow the schedule. My tack stays nice and soft and show ready all the time this way. I love Leather Therapyās conditioner.
Yes, youāre right about that third method!
I clean bits as we go, too. Itās amazing what can become encrusted on the bit, especially at the ālip lineā, or around the rings/cheeks.
What specific parts of Tack do you <g> find gets the most grimy, or is most difficult to clean? The inside surface of reins that make contact with the horseās neck is one place that needs extra attention to remove the sweat and gunk.
Breasplates and martingales, especially the strap between the legs to the girth.
Flash, figure 8, or drop nosebands, particularly on horses with a treat habit, lol.
I pretty much switched to fleece and synthetic girths when I was at a barn that had a dedicated barn washing machine. No more scrubbing leather girths.
Definitely agree reins and flash nosebands get the dirtiest. I dunk the flashes and wipe them down as I go like the bits, and I swish the rubber part of the reins if they look nasty. Mine get a lot of cookie bits on them!
girths too, but I tend to school in SofTouch girths and just hose the girth off when I hose the horse. I save the nice leather ones for off property.
breastplates can get gross easily especially with a drooler. I tend not to use them to simplify life!
also stirrups can get gross in bad weather so I keep a damp rag in the untacking area so I can address those before the saddle gets even taken off, as the sand bits can scrape the leather.
This is exactly what I do. Usually end up using Lederbalsam or neatsfoot once every week or two. Always wipe down to remove all the sweat from the sticky humid conditions in NC. Every six months or so, I take everything apart and scrub, especially on braided reins.
Cleaning tack - whatās your method?
Dishwasher on air dry(no heat). ā¦ I love Beta Biothane ā¦
Mine is usually realizing itās dirty, taking it home, putting it in the dining room, and then taking it back to the barn next time itās time to ride, still covered in dust :lol:
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Higher Standards Leather on a damp sponge after every ride for bridle and saddle- just a quick wipe down. I also rinse the bit in the sink. Condition about once a week or every other week and saddle gets cleaned on conditioner day.
Hot, humid Virginia resident here.
OK so regarding bit washing, I am a product of Pony Club in that sense: if you only do ONE thing today, you wash that bit child! Or the District Commissioner will hunt you down and make you muck out a winterās worth of deep litter stallsā¦ :eek:
On the other hand, cleaning leather is not my favorite task - I could change this by having an easily accessible saddle stand and cleaning gear right there, but fact is I bring stuff home to clean which means it happens monthly. Maybe. :uhoh:
When I do clean I hang up a bridle, undo all the buckles and remove the bit (or completely disassemble) spray liberally with glycerine soap, and use a sponge with warm water and soap to wash it down over a sink. It gets pretty wet and soapy, and I rinse it a bit (leaving on some glycerine soap is good) then towel it dry.
While itās still damp (important) I either condition it (Effax) or oil it. Reassemble next day.
I am in a dry climate. I have had my Stubben saddle for about 12 years and a saddle fitter recently said it looked almost brand newā¦
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Exactly that for new bridles/halters/unlined leathers.
For regular cleaning, Iām old school: warm water, no soap unless itās really gunky, let dry, just-barely-damp sponge and glycerin saddle soap bar. If I need to condition further, a bit of warm neatsfoot between cleaning and saddle soaping. This was the method I learned from a BHS instructor, and it has always served me well. Iāve never had the same results from Lexol etc. My tack looks greatāI have one bridle thatās at least 20 years old that I use for schooling and it still cleans up nice enough to show in.
The exception is my calf leather dressage saddle; it gets Passier Lederbalsam instead of saddle soap and never oil, but never needs it anyway.
