Hi! I hope this is the right place for this…
does anyone know if there’s a temperature limit when storing saddles in an unheated barn? I just bought a lovely new Stubben so am a bit concerned. Should I bring it indoors? I live in c-c-cold Alberta Canada!
i was actually told the heat can warp trees. i don’t think cold is a problem
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do not know but Stubben uses a composite tree that they claim temperature changes do not affect their trees
We have always stored tack in moderate temperatures… usually in the 50F range
Stübben composite material is impervious to water, humidity or temperature changes, and does not lose any of its properties over time.
Should I bring it indoors?
my daughter has her tack in the living room… threw out all the old furnishings …you do not need that TV, get a saddle rack and put the saddle on display… add one of those electric shock thing to ward off the cat
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I’m also in AB. I’ve never had a problem in a cold room. It’s the damp rooms that have caused issues with mold when the heat is on and the rooms aren’t insulated very well (cinderblock barns are bad for this).
Okay, I lied - one issue is that your butt freezes really quickly on cold hard leather! Might want to look into a fleecy seat saver for the winter months. Way more comfortable.
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I keep my high end dressage saddles in the house with their covers on - at temps about 68 degrees in the winter or maybe a bit cooler in that particular room.
I have never asked anyone about this but since leather needs to be cared for in a similar way that skin needs to be cared for - I always wondered if really cold temps could contribute to drying out the leather a little.
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I insulated the heck out of my tack room when the barn was built (walls and ceiling) and run one of the oil filled heaters in it from first night it hits in the teens till spring. I use the heater on the lowest setting, which leaves the heater cool enough to touch with your bare hands–it keeps my tack room between 45 and 55 degrees, depending on how cold is is outside. I soak my beet pulp in there which keeps the air with some humidity in it, but not enough to cause mold. Sure feels good in there when it’s below zero outside and the wind is blowing at 60 mph.
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In the unheated rooms, in the worst of the cold, we have for decades used these well house heaters:
They cost around $20.-.
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I’m in Ontario and it gets COLD.
I have never had an issue with keeping my saddles in the non-insulated barn all winter.
I had a Schleese for several years, and we now have 2 Prestige.
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Never worried about cold. While certainly not AB we do get snaps with several overnights at 0F and teens as daytime highs).
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I have been told by well respected harness makers, that letting the flexible leather freeze, breaks the skin cells. Good handmade harness can cost as much as some of the fancy saddles, upward of 5 figures depending on options you order! This freezing will cause the leather to breakdown sooner, not last as long or as well. Flexible leather has soap, conditioners, filling those leather cells. When the products freeze, they expand, more than the cell walls are made to do, breaking the cell walls. Leather is no longer alive like on the animal, so it has limited cell expansion,
We keep leather goods in a heated tack room. Temps are set above freezing, but not actually warm. I run a dehumidifier as well, so moisture can not mold on leather or walls.
I make my wet beet pulp in an insulated cooler in the feed room with hot water from the house. No added moisture in the tack room! Locally, talking to folks with sinks and water use in the tack room, they all have mold problems. So we never installed the planned for sink and use the dehumidifier set low (empty often) in our tack room. It does help keep the leather from mold or freezing. We have very thick walls of insulation, so it takes little to stay warm (compared to outside winter temps) in there. Usually around the 50Fs, not truly warm but not close to freezing. Comfortable with humidity removed.
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My new Bruno has been in an unheated Ontario barn for two winters and it seems fine. I don’t clean or condition it below freezing though. I just bring it home once or twice a month for that.
Unless you have a heated barn and a heated arena than I doubt there’s much difference. An hour riding at -15C and your saddle will be just as frozen. I would also think that continuous freezing and thawing would be damaging, especially if your cleaning it every ride.
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Pool noodles! So many different uses for them besides floating in a pool! I have snipped a lengthwise slit in them and put them over the sharp top points of my chain link fence; attached with zip ties–then tossed clean wet horse blankets over them to dry.
