# Using baby oil instead of leather oil?



## usandpets

Has anyone else heard of this or done it before? Would it work or harm the leather?
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## Speed Racer

No, it won't work on leather tack. Baby oil is made for very thin things like actual, live skin.

You should only use oils designed to actually be used on leather items.


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## coffeegod

You can use mineral (baby) oil on leather but you might end up with sticky tack.


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## Strange

We use olive oil to oil our saddles. But they don't often get oiled, since they usually don't need it. Daily our saddles get cleaned with some glycerin and usually a dash of Leather Therapy (love that stuff).


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## usandpets

Someone had asked my wife and I figured I'd ask on here. A guy I work with has some boots that he spilled transmission oil on them. He said they never cracked or dried out.

Supposedly, the girl that asked went ahead and used baby oil and it seemed to work. I didn't know if it would remove the coloring of the leather if it was stained.
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## waresbear

You know, I see all the time, peops saying they use olive oil, mineral oil, neatsfoot oil, etc on their tack. They are always oiling & oiling. For me, I use a leather product called Carr Day & Martin, I treat my leather maybe, 2 a year. Not needed anymore more than that. This stuff can turn a dried out cracking piece of leather into soft, shiny pliable again. I believe there is another product called Cosequin (sp?) pronounced Coachaleen that works about the same as my product. A friend uses the latter and has same results as I do, we both agree you can keep your oils & Lextol, etc, we have found the best.


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## Prinella

Our School tack is just treated with basic moisturizer some of it is over 20 years old and although some fading looks new


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## Speed Racer

waresbear said:


> You know, I see all the time, peops saying they use olive oil, mineral oil, neatsfoot oil, etc on their tack. They are always oiling & oiling.


I use neatsfoot oil, but sparingly. I don't 'oil & oil'. Twice a year is about normal for a good, deep oiling. There _is_ such a thing as over oiling/over conditioning your tack. People who know better won't do it.

As far as whatever you use that makes the leather soft and pliable, neatsfoot does the same thing. I've been using it for over 30 years on my leather tack, and don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

If you've found something that works, great. But there's no reason to denigrate folks who use neatsfoot. After all, it's MADE for use on leather items, unlike baby oil, olive oil, or vegetable oil.


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## Speed Racer

Oh, and Cosequin is a nutritional supplement given to animals for joint health, not something you use on leather. I'm believe you're thinking of Ko-Cho-Line.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

I've used Fiebing's neatsfoot (liquid, don't like the other) for as long as I can remember. I only oil once or twice a year. I have one saddle in my tack room that was made in the 50s and aside from a new off billet (new 10 years ago) it's still in great shape & very usable.
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## Speed Racer

Yep, my first saddle is over 30 years old, and my new-to-me Stubben was manufactured in 1975, which makes it 36 years old. Both look great, and the leather is still in fantastic shape. 100% pure neatsfoot oil FTW!


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## Rowdy Girl

Olive Oil....used it for years... I use the spray can kind..faster ( guess I'm lazy )...but keep leather very supple...and dry it in the sun. JMO


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## smrobs

Another neatsfoot user here. My family has been using it since my grandfather was farming (he would use it on his work harness along with his saddles) and it works great. I do the same, a good oiling maybe once or twice a year. On the rare occasion that I get stuck riding in the rain all day, I'll oil it again after it dries from the water but that's pretty much it. It kept all our 30+ year old saddles soft and supple until they got cooked in a fire, even neatsfoot couldn't bring them back from that.


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## Corporal

I have not heard of oiling tack with baby oil. I HAVE known trainers that topdress their scrubbed oil horses for auction with a coat of baby oil.
I think that those of us who have owned tack for a long time should INCLUDE the whole cleaning process. Here is mine, take it for what you paid for it!

First I disassemble all pieces from my bridle or saddle or breastplate or crupper. I use saddle soap, or glycerine soap or oil soap to clean my tack before I oil it. I rinse it in cold water, suds it up with a sponge, scrubbing if necessary, rinse dry and wipe with a towel, then hang. I like to clean my 6 saddle racks (the folding type) before I start, and then hang my pieces on them.) After that I use Neatsfoot oil in a bucket and submerge my pieces into it. If a piece is dry the oil will displace the air and I remove it after I see no more bubbles, then I run the piece through my fingers to remove excess oil, or I use a rag towel bc I can oil recessed saddle parts with it, like between the skirts and the tree covering.
Most importantly, I do NOT use my Neatsfoot oiled tack for at least a day afterwards. I have learned (the hard way), that if you overoil your leather it will stretch out of shape.
I laughed during the OJ trial about the gloves that wouldn't fit since they suggested that leather shrinks.
I try to plan to let said tack sit about a week. If it was not too dried out to begin with I usually only have to do this kind of heavy duty cleaning 1x/year. In between, or if I'm in a hurry, I prefer to use saddle soap.
BOTH make your hands really soft.
I guess I'd like to know if olive oil attracts any rodents. Perhaps it works well, but I use olive oil for cooking and I haven't found that it would be cheap enough for me to use. I Still own 5 English, 3 Western, 7 McClellans, and 5 Antique saddles, plus about 20 bridles. Cleaning day (week, really) is a BIG deal for me! ROFL


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## Speed Racer

Any plant/fruit based oil is in danger of going rancid, so I'm not sure why anyone thinks those are great types of oil to use on leather products.

Baby oil will make your leather slick, but that doesn't mean it's conditioning anything.


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Corporal - you ever rode your McClellans? My mom has had one in her den for years as decoration and it's always crossed my mind to try it for giggles.


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## Corporal

OMG, MHFoundation Quarters--YOUR question will open a can of worms here, just as it has on EVERY horse forum I am on!!! 
**Corporal sighs, eyes roll upward**
YES, I ride my McClellans all of the time. I also ride my other saddles, too. There were SO MANY McClellans made for the US Civil War then re-covered for succeeding wars, that I can say we probably own a few that are that old.
Here's the deal: You buy them, you ride them, you sell the uncomfortable ones, and you keep the best ones, replacing any worn parts. It's the design that is so great. The do not weigh much and just like an English saddle tree, the saddle does not rest on the spine of the horse, but rests several inches to the sides. The have 4 rings and holes for 6 coatstraps, which makes them ideal for strapping your stuff on for a long trailride. It is easy to attach a breastplate and that hugs the shoulders instead of grabbing straight from the chest like many Western breastplates do. Further, the crupper stabilizes the saddle and the surcincle makes it difficult, if not impossible for your saddle to slip to the side.
The original trees were wooden and covered with rawhile. From 1874 on they were covered with leather. The quarterstraps attach to the girth about 4 inches further back than an English girth, but they changed that in the 1903 type to be adjustable. You go overhand through the girth buckle, opposite to a Western strap, but to tighten, you can pull it over your shoulder to tighten. I've had fun tacking several horses up with all 3 types of tack and remembering how to do the girth/cinch correctly!
PM me if you want to know more, bc EVERYBODY has an opinion on this one!! =b


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## MHFoundation Quarters

Hope I didn't open a can of worms, didn't intend to. Just curious, I'll pm you


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## tinyliny

Corporal said:


> OMG, MHFoundation Quarters--YOUR question will open a can of worms here, just as it has on EVERY horse forum I am on!!!
> **Corporal sighs, eyes roll upward**
> YES, I ride my McClellans all of the time. I also ride my other saddles, too. There were SO MANY McClellans made for the US Civil War then re-covered for succeeding wars, that I can say we probably own a few that are that old.
> Here's the deal: You buy them, you ride them, you sell the uncomfortable ones, and you keep the best ones, replacing any worn parts. It's the design that is so great. The do not weigh much and just* like an English saddle tree, the saddle does not rest on the spine of the horse, but rests several inches to the sides.* The have 4 rings and holes for 6 coatstraps, which makes them ideal for strapping your stuff on for a long trailride. It is easy to attach a breastplate and that hugs the shoulders instead of grabbing straight from the chest like many Western breastplates do. Further, the crupper stabilizes the saddle and the surcincle makes it difficult, if not impossible for your saddle to slip to the side.
> The original trees were wooden and covered with rawhile. From 1874 on they were covered with leather. The quarterstraps attach to the girth about 4 inches further back than an English girth, but they changed that in the 1903 type to be adjustable. You go overhand through the girth buckle, opposite to a Western strap, but to tighten, you can pull it over your shoulder to tighten. I've had fun tacking several horses up with all 3 types of tack and remembering how to do the girth/cinch correctly!
> PM me if you want to know more, bc EVERYBODY has an opinion on this one!! =b


 
I think ALL saddles do this; the tree rests on either side of the spine. That's why we use saddles with trees.

I would never use mineral oil. NOt even for a baby's skin. It is mineral oil and is not truly absorbable by flesh, living or dead.


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## xxBarry Godden

Generally speaking - baby oil is usually what used to be known as liquid paraffin.
Being paraffinic (as against aromatic) it is pretty harmless stuff. If you buy the BP/USP grade in the olden days, folks used to drink small quantities of it. It should be a water white, odourless, viscous and slightly sticky liquid.

Leather Oil is typically based on Tall Oil Fatty Acids - a derivative of tall oil rosin which is made from a form of gum extracted from the processing of trees into paper. The refined oil is slightly yellow in colour. It works by being absorbed into the leather and will waterproof and protect the leather from cracking.

Personally, bearing in mind how valuable a good saddle is, I'd buy whatever they call 'leather oil' these days from a tack shop


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