I clean and condition my paddock boots and tall boots every two weeks or so, and often do a quick wipe-down at the end of rides. The air gets a bit dry here, so I don’t want the leather to crack.
YES
I clean them thoroughly every week or two. Give them a wipe down more often. Same for half chaps - they get cleaned.
I avoid bathing and mucking stalls when wearing them (but do both on occasion).
I am out at the barn 5-7 days per week, and ride 5 days per week.
Right now I am on my second pair of Ariat Devon Pros in 16 years :eek:
The first pair lasted 10+ years. The interior shredded (but still wearable). The zippers broke (sewed them closed and used them as pull ons for a few years).
This pair is on its 6th year. The interior around the heel is shredded - but again wearable still. The zipper on the right boot broke about a month ago - rigged it in a way that it “still works”.
I will note that the 10 year old one did eventually get cracks along the toe cap seam. The 6+ year old ones - exterior leather is still in perfect shape.
Here are my 6 year old paddock boots and 4+ year old half chaps. (excuse the horrible angle)
Edited to add - WHAT a clean them with. A damp rag most of the time. When they are newer (like the first 2-3 years - ha!) I used Ariat Mallard Wax on them. As they get older- I get lazier and they get saddle soap and a bit of olive oil. Maybe leader balsam if I know I am going to be out in the wet in them.
I do a fair bit of walking and riding in them - but like I said, I do tend to change out of them for heavy chores (but there has been some months were they were used as “work boots” too).
I swear I clean/condition all my tack weekly. But in my head I guess paddock boots never fell into “tack” category.
So I broke down and headed to the barn an hour early so I could clean them up. Scrubbed them with the Leather Therapy spray stuff, and threw some neatsfoot oil on them (since that was all I could find last min.) They did clean up nicely, so I guess I will be adding “clean paddock boots” to the weekly routine. Especially if that means I can get them looking nice enough to wear to other small schooling shows. There are not words to describe how much I dislike tall boots.
I think anything made of leather should, more or less, be given the same level of care (note, not the SAME care, just the same level. I don’t care for my strap goods the same way I care for my saddle, and my paddock boots get very different care than my tall boots. But I care for them all the same level).
I see what neglect can do to anything made of leather on a daily basis. A lot of stuff, be it tack, boots, or saddles, comes through our door that would have been perfectly good had someone just spent a little time caring for it instead of ignoring it all. A little saddle soap goes a long way!
A “fix” for paddock boots where the zipper has broken, if you aren’t going to have it replaced, is to have a cobbler remove the zipper and just punch holes for laces.
Less convenient than zip-ups, but the boots will still be wearable. And if you’re at all handy and have a decent leather punch, you could probably do it yourself.
[QUOTE=Kimstar;7864136]
A “fix” for paddock boots where the zipper has broken, if you aren’t going to have it replaced, is to have a cobbler remove the zipper and just punch holes for laces.
Less convenient than zip-ups, but the boots will still be wearable. And if you’re at all handy and have a decent leather punch, you could probably do it yourself.[/QUOTE]
Oh! thanks for the tip! Never thought to do that. My 10 year old boots were stretched out enough that they made fine pull ons - but the half broken zipper on my current pair (only top half of the zipper works) - would do better as lace ups. I have a hole punch!
I have a pair of synthetic leather paddock boots (you would never guess by the look of them, no one believes me) which are about 5 years old and just starting to look a little roughed up after hard-use. Obviously I don’t really “clean” them because they’re not real leather. Getting them wet during a bath kind of cleans them up because of the synthetic. honestly I don’t know if when these are ready to pitch if I want to get leather because they’re SO convenient to clean, NO break in period, etc.
I have a pair of tall boots I bought to show in and then stopped riding for some time. I have to dig them out of the closet for a December show, and I’m worried because I’ve only ridden in them maybe twice ever. they’re not broken in, and i’ve never oiled or conditioned them. I’m terrified to.
My paddock boots get cleaned off when I walk through wet grass :o
My horse’s tack OTOH, gets cleaned/wiped down after every ride.
Dammit, I guess I will be actually cleaning my boots this weekend lol
[QUOTE=One Two Three;7864186]
I have a pair of tall boots I bought to show in and then stopped riding for some time. I have to dig them out of the closet for a December show, and I’m worried because I’ve only ridden in them maybe twice ever. they’re not broken in, and i’ve never oiled or conditioned them. I’m terrified to.[/QUOTE]
Get them out now, and start wearing them. Condition them with some thing like Vogel boot cream or even just Lexol conditioner (the only time I’ll ever recommend that stuff!) by putting it on the INSIDE of your boots. Never on the outside. Wear them around the house as well as riding. Only use a damp rag and boot polish on the outside (I do sometimes cheat and use soap on the outside and probably will on the pair I scored for free this week that need some serious TLC).
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;7864193]
Get them out now, and start wearing them. Condition them with some thing like Vogel boot cream or even just Lexol conditioner (the only time I’ll ever recommend that stuff!) by putting it on the INSIDE of your boots. Never on the outside. Wear them around the house as well as riding. Only use a damp rag and boot polish on the outside (I do sometimes cheat and use soap on the outside and probably will on the pair I scored for free this week that need some serious TLC).[/QUOTE]
Is Lexol bad? I don’t use it, but dind’t know it was bad. What do you recommend? When I don’t have much time, I use Horseman’s one-step. When I have more time, I use Higher Standards soap and conditioner.
It’s soooo much better than Horseman’s One Step, which is really bad for leather. Why don’t you use the HS all the time? It shouldn’t take any more time. I find that because it does such a good job, it actually takes less time than a lot of other products.
I don’t find that Lexol does all that good of a job for cleaning and conditioning. The cleaner leaves a funny feel on the tack, to me and the conditioner, for the most part, just doesn’t condition well. It doesn’t seem to be taken up well by leather.
Really, if you use a good saddle soap (like HS, but also Tattersall, the old fashion Fieblings, and a few others) you shouldn’t need to condition very much at all. I actually don’t remember the last time any of my strap good saw any kind of “conditioner”. I find that even the good products leave my bridles and stuff too gummy, but a good soap like HS keeps them very soft yet silky clean. Heck, I bought a new bridle a few weeks ago, and a couple of rounds with HS darkened and softened it substantially. I did dip it in olive oil when I finally had the time to do it, but if I hadn’t wanted it so dark, I probably wouldn’t have needed to.
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;7864502]
It’s soooo much better than Horseman’s One Step, which is really bad for leather. Why don’t you use the HS all the time? It shouldn’t take any more time. I find that because it does such a good job, it actually takes less time than a lot of other products.
I don’t find that Lexol does all that good of a job for cleaning and conditioning. The cleaner leaves a funny feel on the tack, to me and the conditioner, for the most part, just doesn’t condition well. It doesn’t seem to be taken up well by leather.
Really, if you use a good saddle soap (like HS, but also Tattersall, the old fashion Fieblings, and a few others) you shouldn’t need to condition very much at all. I actually don’t remember the last time any of my strap good saw any kind of “conditioner”. I find that even the good products leave my bridles and stuff too gummy, but a good soap like HS keeps them very soft yet silky clean. Heck, I bought a new bridle a few weeks ago, and a couple of rounds with HS darkened and softened it substantially. I did dip it in olive oil when I finally had the time to do it, but if I hadn’t wanted it so dark, I probably wouldn’t have needed to.[/QUOTE]
Thanks! I didn’t need to condition much in Georgia, but I’m finding that, since moving to Dallas, that my leather just needs a lot more moisture with the much dryer air here. It’s like night and day.
I suppose I’ll try to put more time into the cleaning/conditioning here. I guess with the one-step, i just dipped in a sponge, gooped and wiped, rather than getting a bucket with water, and following up with conditioner. I just need to not be so lazy 
[QUOTE=PaintedHunter;7864516]
Thanks! I didn’t need to condition much in Georgia, but I’m finding that, since moving to Dallas, that my leather just needs a lot more moisture with the much dryer air here. It’s like night and day.
I suppose I’ll try to put more time into the cleaning/conditioning here. I guess with the one-step, i just dipped in a sponge, gooped and wiped, rather than getting a bucket with water, and following up with conditioner. I just need to not be so lazy :)[/QUOTE]
My tack cleaning with HS consists of dampening my sponge, swirling it over the soap, wipe/scrub the leather. Re-swirl as needed. Rarely do I even go back to the sink to re-dampen my sponge, unless I was wiping something particularly dirty. I don’t like a really wet sponge, and I hate it when I make foam (that’s actually not good for the leather, I’ve read, as foam can be drying). I occasionally will go over stuff with a warm, damp rag (particularly my breastplate and girth) before saddle soap. Condition as needed, which for me is almost never. I could see drier climates needing it more. Step away from the One Step! 
