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Reconditioning an older Edgewood bridle

I have an Edgewood bridle that is probably 20-25 years old now. It was mostly used for shows so the leather is still in great condition. Is there anything I can do to give it a refresh? I held it up next to a new Ovation bridle the other day and realized how tired the Edgewood looks even though it is a much higher quality than the Ovation. It feels sad to relegate it to a schooling bridle.

Depends on what youā€™re currently using on it, but I have one thatā€™s at least 15 years old and nothing works quite like a light round of oil and then an oil-based (as opposed to cream based) conditioner when itā€™s done soaking that up. Personally I use a Fiebings saddle oil and then CWD conditioner.

Thanks! I have used plain glycerin soap to clean and usually Effax lederbalsam for conditioning, which is I am pretty sure is oil-based. It still just looks dull :slightly_frowning_face:

You want patina, or do you want gloss/shine?

For the former, try Belharra. It is expensive but it works - and one tub will last you years. Iā€™m on my last bit of Belharra conditioning soap and Iā€™ve had it for over five years. I havenā€™t quite found anything that gives my brown leather such a good patina, and Iā€™ve resuscitated some very old quality tack with it.

If it is gloss and shine that you think your bridle is missin, take your bridle apart completely and use your favorite conditioner on it. Allow it to dry out a few days, and then put some Fiebings Resolene on it. Just do one layer at a time, and light applications. A little goes a long way.

The Resolene is a sealant; it will seal in the ā€˜conditioner glowā€™.

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Definitely donā€™t want a high shine but I do think the dullness is what is making it look so tired. I have Bee Natural Leather Finish, which I think is like Resolene (??) from another project so I may try that on the bottom of the martingale that you donā€™t see (between the legs) to see how that turns out.

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I stopped using glycerine because it leaves a residue, maybe that is the cause of the dullness. If so, I would give it a thorough cleaning either with Castile soap or a solution of ammonia and water to get rid of any buildup. And I use liquid cleansers now (Effax Leder Combi and Belvoir Step #1 are my favorites), they do a good job of cleaning and donā€™t seem to leave the residue that creams and polishes do. Castile can be drying though so you definitely need to use a good cleanser and conditioner afterwards, same with ammonia which is too harsh for my taste, the fumes almost knock me over and Iā€™m not about to put my hands into it without gloves.

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Good thought. I really hate the glycerin grime feeling - I feel like one of my schooling bridles got really gross when a teenager was riding my horse 2 years ago and must have just glopped it with glycerin every time she used the bridle. I have castille - so maybe Iā€™ll try a good cleaning with the castille, then condition and see what I have - if it still looks meh, then Iā€™ll do a patch test/sample the leather finish effect on the bottom fo the martingale to see how it looks.

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I worked for an old school h/j rider who was extremely particular about leather quality, cleanliness, and care. One thing she stressed was to use as little water as possible with saddle soap. I use the Anatres glycerine soap (I donā€™t remember what this person used) and never wet the sponge. Instead, try dipping the soap/soap contained into water as needed (literally as little as needed to get the soap to apply). With the soap ā€œdryerā€ it buffs in really nicely, and I found this made a huge difference with not leaving a sticky residue.

It leaves my tack looking and feeling great, but didnā€™t leave behind the residue that I now associate with mixing too much water with glycerine soap and getting tack almost sudsy.

I like the Leder Combi a lot too, especially for a deep clean, but it doesnā€™t leave my tack looking as nice.

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