English Saddle Deep Cleaning Routine

[erinmeri]

I know that there are tons of tack cleaning threads, but I am looking specifically for tips on deep cleaning my saddle.

I am religious about caring for my strap goods, but I have fallen out of the habit of cleaning my saddle and it’s a bit of a mess. It is a Delgrange Partition, and the logo is full of footing and dust, the undersides have jockeys, and there is wear and build up that I need to address/remove from all sides.

In better days, I have always wiped daily and cleaned and conditioned regularly, but this need for a deep clean is a whole new ballgame for me.

I tried saddle soap and a terry rag to remove jockeys, but it started to remove the finish. Luckily I was working on the underside of the flaps. I will stick to sponges and microfiber cloths moving forward, and perhaps a super soft baby’s toothbrush for crevices (I have one on hand).

I would also like to address some seat staining and some dark spots from mold a few summers ago on the panels.

Any routines or tips and tricks to offer?

Do you use Castile soap or ammonia for the jockeys? If so, how diluted? Or do you use just plain old glycerine saddle soap and elbow grease?
Anything to correct the greying (only way I can think to describe it) of the flap leather beneath the stirrup leathers?
After cleaning, do you use conditioner or oil? Both?
Neatsfoot or Hydrophane Darkening Oil to even out the color?
Anything else I am missing?

Finally, some random website with instructions to “strip clean” tack said to condition before using glycerine soap because glycerine “seals the pores”… Something I have never heard of in my 44 years circling the sun. Has anyone else heard of that? Strange to me.

Thanks in advance!!

[yaya]

What are you calling a jockey?
I only know the term used for a rider.

[erinmeri]

@yaya

What are you calling a jockey?
I only know the term used for a rider.

A dirt jockey - those tiny black dots/mounds of god knows what… sweat, dust, conditioner.

[lenapesadie]

I use Leather Therapy products.

I think the cleaner does an excellent job on accumulated muck. The conditioner has not discolored any of the leather I’ve used it on. Combined the products seem to discourage mold.

I have a semi locally produced leather balm I use instead of the Leather Therapy Conditioner on my good saddle (that lives in climate control).

The baby toothbrush sounds like a good plan for crevices. I just jam my fingernail behind a dust cloth for seams n such.

I’ve not had any oil or conditioner restore the wear marks on the flaps from stirrup leathers. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a product for that.

[erinmeri]

@lenapesadie

I use Leather Therapy products.

I think the cleaner does an excellent job on accumulated muck. The conditioner has not discolored any of the leather I’ve used it on. Combined the products seem to discourage mold.

I have a semi locally produced leather balm I use instead of the Leather Therapy Conditioner on my good saddle (that lives in climate control).

The baby toothbrush sounds like a good plan for crevices. I just jam my fingernail behind a dust cloth for seams n such.

I’ve not had any oil or conditioner restore the wear marks on the flaps from stirrup leathers. Hopefully someone else will chime in with a product for that.

Thank you! I haven’t tried Leather Therapy, will look into it. Current tack room isn’t climate controlled, but I don’t have problems with mold riding 4-6 days a week, even with my lax saddle cleaning routine. Old tack room was so bad that if you took two days off, you’d have mold on your tack… and I cleaned my saddle every day that I rode when it was in there. I think it’s because it’s poorly ventilated and next to a creek that separates it from the woods. Just a wet, warm, dark environment. Glad to not be in there anymore!

What local balm/grease are you using if you don’t kind my asking? We have over half a dozen different greases on hand, but I am always looking for what people like.

As for your final paragraph… that’s what I am afraid of.

[lenapesadie]

I particularly like the LT cleaner bc it doesn’t leave any film or residue. Like the leather feels clean afterwards!

Ventilation is a big deal! I live in the Deep South so humidity is always a concern. I’ve seen mold stains on other people’s leather. I’ve cleaned mold of my leather. My leather doesn’t have mold stains. Dunno if that’s the LT or “my” mold lol. I started keeping my extra saddles and strap goods in my garden shed and they don’t get moldy. I had the worst mold problem in a wooden tack locker at one place I boarded at. It was a nightmare.

TBH w regards to flap wear, I rode w sock wrapped leathers on my new saddle for some time bc I’m that scared of wear marks lol. And water stains? Pfft if it so much as sprinkles my saddle doesn’t leave the house (saddle lives in my home office).

Um, I think it’s Katy’s or Kathy’s something or another I’ve had it a while and the label is pretty worn. cough cough I maybe just found it 2 plus years after losing it cough cough

I bought some Emerald Coast Equine tea tree balm more recently and was very happy with that. I’ll probably start using it again once I use up this mystery product.

[erinmeri]

@lenapesadie

I particularly like the LT cleaner bc it doesn’t leave any film or residue. Like the leather feels clean afterwards!

Ventilation is a big deal! I live in the Deep South so humidity is always a concern. I’ve seen mold stains on other people’s leather. I’ve cleaned mold of my leather. My leather doesn’t have mold stains. Dunno if that’s the LT or “my” mold lol. I started keeping my extra saddles and strap goods in my garden shed and they don’t get moldy. I had the worst mold problem in a wooden tack locker at one place I boarded at. It was a nightmare.

TBH w regards to flap wear, I rode w sock wrapped leathers on my new saddle for some time bc I’m that scared of wear marks lol. And water stains? Pfft if it so much as sprinkles my saddle doesn’t leave the house (saddle lives in my home office).

Um, I think it’s Katy’s or Kathy’s something or another I’ve had it a while and the label is pretty worn. cough cough I maybe just found it 2 plus years after losing it cough cough

I bought some Emerald Coast Equine tea tree balm more recently and was very happy with that. I’ll probably start using it again once I use up this mystery product.

Thanks for the tips!

It’s crazy. I am in NJ, so not the same humidity as you get, although as a Californian, it’s pretty damned oppressive. Anyways, two non-climate-controlled tack rooms on same property yield very different results. In one, I couldn’t go two days without cleaning tack before mold set in. In the other? A barnmate who was out for the better part of a year after a knee surgery had me maintaining her saddle every month or so with no mold or other issues. Very weird.

[Xanthoria]

Traditionally a twist of mane hair was used to scrub off jockeys. I’d try very warm water and saddle soap first, then scrub with mane hair.

[Argo]

A few ounces of ammonia in a gallon of warm water will help strip off the old residue and jockeys so you can see what you have. An alcohol based cleaner like Effax will open the pores so that when you condition, the product will penetrate. Depending on the state of the ‘naked’ leather, I might do a light coating of neatsfoot oil, and finish with something like Lederbalsam.

[Equibrit]

Wash with Murphy’s soap and warm water, using a toothbrush to clean the stitching. Let dry out. Oil generously with a 1" bristle paintbrush and Weaver #U-82 Top Grade Saddler’s Oil. If necessary oil again. When dry go over with soft cloth.

This one is 29 years old and was hunted in twice a week.

[Spudsmyguy]

@erinmeri

Finally, some random website with instructions to “strip clean” tack said to condition before using glycerine soap because glycerine “seals the pores”… Something I have never heard of in my 44 years circling the sun. Has anyone else heard of that? Strange to me.

Yes, gylcerine is a sealer not an actual soap despite what the label says.

[Equibrit]

You really don’t want something that sits on the surface of the leather, it will collect evil stuff. What is needed is something that is absorbed by the leather to keep it supple.

[aregard]

For jockeys, I have heard using an old toothbrush and/or a plastic brillo-type pad, dry, and lightly. You essentially pick them off rather than trying to dissolve them.

[Cowboy_Girl]

I second the Murphy’s Oil Soap for the deep clean. The condition as per normal from your region and climate.

[erinmeri]

@Cowboy_Girl

I second the Murphy’s Oil Soap for the deep clean. The condition as per normal from your region and climate.

Thanks, I might just start there, since I already have it. If that fails, I might go the ammonia route.

Thanks, everyone, for the tips!! (And if you have more, keep them coming!)

And this is a good reminder to self to keep on top of my saddle maintenance. I wouldn’t dream of putting away a bridle without at least rinsing the bit and wiping it down with a damp rag, but I let a lot of things go by the wayside during COVID (ahem, currying I see you too!) that I am paying for now or having to get back in the habit of. Le sigh…

[Bending_Line]

“Strip clean” to me means add a little bit of ammonia to your warm water to help cut thru the glycerine buildup if the tack is getting too waxy. You would only do that once every 10 cleanings or so–not for every day because it would dry out the leather too much. (If this is what you were asking?)

[erinmeri]

@Bending_Line

“Strip clean” to me means add a little bit of ammonia to your warm water to help cut thru the glycerine buildup if the tack is getting too waxy. You would only do that once every 10 cleanings or so–not for every day because it would dry out the leather too much. (If this is what you were asking?)

Yes, except for once every 10 cleanings or so makes me laugh and laugh because I never clean my saddle these days. So it is abysmal. Dirt jockeys abound.

[Bending_Line]

If it makes you feel better, we only clean tack when going to a show…like once a year! But I used to be a horse show groom, so I do know how to do it…

[Scribbler]

Over cleaning and over conditioning creates a build up of gunk that attracts dust. Especially one step products. It also contributes to mold. I don’t wash my saddle over the winter unless I can take it home to dry out for a few days.

I also discovered an Australian tea tree oil conditioner Oakwood and it really does reduce mold. I found my lovely Passier ledesbalm may increase mold

[walktrot]

I have a special order Albion Original Comfort dressage saddle that was built around 1999-2000. It was on consignment at Pelham, unused. I bought it in 2001 when I bought my beloved horse. It was an amazing bargain. It fit both of us perfectly. I had to put my horse down last July, and I’ve retired from riding because I’ll be 75 in a month. I’ve a done pretty good job on inventory reduction, but I refuse to give up that saddle.

I rode 5-6 days a week. I cleaned when it was dusty and needed it. I didn’t have problems even though it was in an unheated tackroom in Maine. I use HorseTech’s saddle soap, which is terrific. It didn’t need overall conditioning because I didn’t breakdown the surface of the leather. As it got older there were some edges that showed wear so that is what I concentrated on.

The last barn I was at had people who were really overdoing it. I watched one young woman with a jar of gummy conditioner. She said she was cleaning her saddle. It looked pretty new, and her answer to how long she had it was a couple of weeks. It was already looking like a grease ball. Modern tanned leather needs to be kept clean so it breathes through the pores. It is skin, afterall.