What is your tack routine?

[BCGirl]

I have always been a little bit OCD about keeping my tack cleaned and oiled. But I haven’t been happy with my routine when it comes to my thicker hunt tack for a while. So this weekend I have done lots of experimenting.

Here are my results - I would also love to hear what others do to care for their hunt tack, as I find it is more difficult to clean and imperative to keep in top shape!

1. Kirk’s Castile soap is AMAZING for cutting the sweat, grime, grit and mud that covers my tack (especially breastplate) after hunting. And it is cheap.

2. Effax Leder Combi also does a great job, for everyday and for pieces that aren’t as terribly icky. But it is more expensive, however awesome stuff.

3. Ko Cho Line is a good product, I oiled some tack with that and am still waiting for it to dry.

4. I used Hydrophane leather dressing on the other tack and thus far I prefer the way that looks. Should I use anything right after the hydrophane?

Thought I would share! I would love to hear what others do as well!!

[Appsolute]

My routine - I keep it simple. Water, saddle soap, olive oil.

1. Hot wet terry cloth towel to remove sweat and grime. All “jockeys” scrubbed off, stitching cleaned with the rag (and I have plaited reins! - ugg - all crevices scrubbed clean with wet rag).

2. Olive oil - some areas very light, other areas that need it get the oil worked in with warm hands.

3. Saddle Soap - the bar glycerin stuff - on the warm, damp rag, tack is buffed to a sheen.

I have some items still going strong and looking good after 20+ years of this routine. Also passed a many an upper pony club rating - always got compliments on the cleanliness and condition of my tack.

I have tried many different products over the years - but I keep going back to this as I am happiest with the results.

[gypsymare]

My routine:

1. Have noble aspirations about cleaning tack immediately after the hunt while everything is still wet/muddy/foamy

2. Arrive home post hunt exhausted, care for horse and collapse into bubble bath.

3. Take a nap and completely forget about tack until the following hunt eve.

4. Either a) scrub everything down with Higher Standards while watching TV or b) plan to make time in the morning for it. Then run late the next morning after finding horse covered in mud and wipe off visible mud with plain water and a rag and quickly swipe with lederbalsam.

[BAC]

I haven’t hunted since I was a junior but I use Kirk’s Castile for heavy dirt and grime and I love Effax Leder Combi and go through gallons of it. I have noticed that the Belvoir Liquid Cleaner is very similar and just as good while slightly less expensive. And if you want an alternative to castile soap, I recently tried Moss’ Melt Away Leather Cleaner, its an excellent product.

Check out bensmom’s thread on the Eventing forum, her conditioner is outstanding and her saddle soaps are really excellent. Its called Higher Standards Leather Care, you can find a link on the eventing thread or just google it.

[BCGirl]

I love hearing what everyone else does!

Appsolute, I have always been to chicken to try olive oil but have heard great things about it.

gypsymare- I have been guilty of the same thing, sometimes tack just isn’t going to happen after hunting- the Kirk’s is AMAZING for that grime.

BAC- I also have some of the Higher Standards products and I love them for everyday cleaning and conditioning. Unfortunately a lot of my tack had gotten really really dry and I had to pull out the big guns this time! I love the scents of the HS products as well, and they don’t leave any residue, I highly recommend that as well. Shame on me for not mentioning it in the original post because it is awesome stuff that I use daily, especially for my Crosby that I adore and most things make slimy and I will be so sad when I can’t find Crosbys anymore, so I have to take care of them!

[BAC]

When oil is needed, my favorite is Walsh’s/Blue Ribbon. If your tack shop doesn’t have it you can order it directly from Walsh’s website. My tack shop orders it for me so I save on shipping. Its the best, and it has a bit of stain in it, so it darkens more easily/quickly and you don’t have to overdo the oiling.

OP I usually use a Lederbalsam (Effax) when the leather is exceptionally dry and a heavy duty product is called for.

[Ponyclubrocks]

I use a damp cloth to wipe off dirt and sweat after every hunt. Use glycerine followed by Lederbalsam about once a month or so.

[BeastieSlave]

I use the Pony Club method: clean, condition, protect. I clean with Kirk’s castille soap, condition with Leather Therapy conditioner (sometimes add olive oil to it), and finish with a protective coating of glycerine (wiped on with a barely damp sponge and left on).

I find that sometimes I only need to wipe my tack down with a damp sponge, other times I’ll wipe down and reapply glycerine. Lately I find I’m doing all three steps at least once a week!

It’s a lot of work, but strap goods are supple and beautiful and saddles are too. We’ve got two saddles that are over thirty years old and going strong. The Crosby Mark VI I bought used in 1984 is as beautiful as it was when I bought it, though the leather is much softer. No seat rips like most Crosby’s that age.

[Belmont]

Red Rock Hounds cleans almost all of their tack with Murphy’s Oil. I use the good ole freak out the day or morning before the hunt and wipe down with water/whatever is in trailer or helmet bag routine.

[JSwan]

Wipe down with damp cloth after riding.
Murphy’s Oil Soap for cleaning. (it’s just liquid glycerin)
Castile if it’s so filthy it’s unrecognizable.
Flexalan for conditioning. Once a year, usually.

[Good_Old_Sledge]

Plain bar glycerin saddle soap and Leather Therapy after (nearly) every hunt. Kiwi shoe polish on the boots, Fels Naptha scrub on the white britches, a stiff clothing brush to coat and vest - a lighter one to my hunt cap.

[candysgirl]

Murphy’s Oil soap for cleaning. For saddles I use those little round tack sponges. For anything really grimey, I use a washcloth or a toothbrush.

Australian Leather Keep for protecting/conditioning. It does a darn good job of waterproofing and conditioning. I use it on anything leather except my tall boots. Those are Marine Corps (my Dad was a Marine…) style spit shined with the old school Kiwi polish. The Leather Keep is on my cowboy boots, paddock boots, bridles, saddles, halters, etc.

[Hippolyta]

I have found that the glycerin soap doesn’t get along with new bridle. I used to love it, but on the new tack it just leaves gooey residue.

After riding I use Kirk’s with a damp cloth, or the Effax, on my bridle. The saddle I barely go over when I am done with the bridle. Stiff brush for pad & felt girth.

To clean it for real, I take it apart and use a toothbrush. Hydrophane for billets, leathers & any other super dry part of the saddle when it needs it. New bridle is already over supple, so I use some balm on that once in a while.

Cleaning 21st century tack leaves me feeling decidedly unfulfilled. I don’t get the same satisfaction that I used to get from the old stuff. boo.

BTW, some mice did a number nibbling on my castille soap. Veggie fat must taste good, but I wonder if they were blowing bubbles after?

[Kodiak]

[QUOTE=gypsymare;7862365]
My routine:

1. Have noble aspirations about cleaning tack immediately after the hunt while everything is still wet/muddy/foamy

2. Arrive home post hunt exhausted, care for horse and collapse into bubble bath.

3. Take a nap and completely forget about tack until the following hunt eve.

4. Either a) scrub everything down with Higher Standards while watching TV or b) plan to make time in the morning for it. Then run late the next morning after finding horse covered in mud and wipe off visible mud with plain water and a rag and quickly swipe with lederbalsam.[/QUOTE]

Hahaha. Glad I’m not the only one. I have a pile waiting for me now…

I do wipe off the worst of the mud/sweat with a clean towel while it’s still wet. But the rest has to wait for a motivated pre-hunt evening and a glass of wine. I scrub with saddle soap, wipe with clean towel, repeat as needed. Every so often, I take everything apart, clean very thoroughly, dry on the radiator, condition with Lederbalsam, dry on the radiator again, and put back together.

Not making the time for those last two steps before a hunt is the kind of mistake you only make once…

[Foxtrot_s]

When I used to hunt regularly, I took a five gallon pail of hot water with me in the back of the truck, with a lid. It would cool off, but not so much that it was really cold. A drag hunt lasts approx. 2 hours here.

We hunt in a very rainy, muddy territory. I would dunk the whole bridle into the bucket, hand rub the worst of the mud off and then fold the bridle in a towel.

When I got home, deal with the horse, unpack the truck and quickly soap the bridle and girth with Murphy’s or glycerine soap. Next day, condition.
Might be a bit unconventional, but that way at least it got done. I always have quality tack and it survived pretty well.

We don’t hunt until dusk here.

[BCGirl]

I love hearing everyone’s routine for tack! It seems as long as its cleaned, conditioned/oiled and generally cared for, quality tack lasts a good long time!