# Cleaning the old and very dirty saddle



## pink333 (Jan 12, 2014)

firstly, get a soft brush from your tack box and brush of any mildew or dust that may be on the saddle. Do this really well. 

Then, do the same with a damp cloth. (do not wet the saddle, just wipe it off)

Get a good cleaner, not an oil or conditioner. A saddle cleaner. Lexol has a wide range of products that are pretty good. Using a damp sponge, soap the saddle all over, in all the tiny cracks. Use an old toothbrush if nessesary to get in th hard to reach places. but don't over soap the saddle. That can cause the filmy layer stuff and it's yucky.

Once you've cleaned the saddle, let it dry then get a good conditioner. My favorite is one from Passier. It isn't too oily. Go back with a sponge (it propably shouldn't be wet this time) and condition the saddle. Don't work it in like you did the cleaner, this is just to shine up and soften the leather. Softly rub it in with the sponge.

Once it's on, let it dry. Voila!

A quick tip for before the show: after conditioning the saddle, get a toweland buff it. Rub in circles, up, down everywhere. You can do this with a (very clean) soft brush as well. This will give great shine for the show and it should look pretty amazing.

Hope this helped!!!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Elbow grease, some sweat from you and some time...

Dust it off first and brush off any loose debris...
Hot water, as hot as you can stand putting your hand in.
Glycerine saddle soap or "real" saddle soap *not* any of the quick and easy stuff so many use today.
Piece of soft towel that you can rub and rub pretty hard and diligently with. _{piece of old bath towel works great}_
Lots of rinsing the dirt out of the cloth and rub some more. You need to make a soapy lather but within reason as you also need to remove with clear water all that lather.
Once rinsed and dry, buff it with another dry cloth.
Oil with _"pure"_ neatsfoot oil with several _very light_ applications as needed. Let oil soak in between applications and don't over oil it either.
Again buff till it shines.

A small amount of *white* vinegar {most have it in their house} sparingly applied will kill mold spores and keep them from coming back. Put the saddle in the sun to dry thoroughly. Expose the top and underside to the sun...it helps kill the mold spores. You can add the vinegar to the rinse water as it also will help remove the soap residue you leave behind unknowingly...

Remember though, mold grows on healthy leather, not on old and dried out leather so not all mold is a bad thing...but it needs to be controlled and stopped so it doesn't cause staining or damage to the leather.

Your English saddle you can try lightly wiping that vinegar cloth over it then re-clean it like I described above...might help you to get rid of the stickiness.

Good luck.
:wink:


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## mammakatja (Nov 3, 2009)

The above mentioned steps are excellent ways to revive an old saddle but I just wanted to throw in my absolute favorited product for cleaning and reviving is Leather New. It's a leather soap and glycerin in one spray and it's been around for decades. I've revived numerous old saddles with nothing but some dusting off with a scrub brush, wiped it down with a damp cloth, and then I had at it with Leather New spray. I like spray because you can aim and force it into all kind of little cracks and crevices, and it does an amazing job softening up old dried out leather while cleaning the dirt off. I just spray, rub it in and polish. I do like to treat my tack with pure Neatsfoot oil a couple of times a year too, but here's what I've revived recently with Leather New.


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I like Leather New for shining up tack that I am selling. I don't know how much conditioning it actually does, because I usually use neatsfoot oil for that. But a dusty or dull saddle that needs a little shine, it really does a wonderful job. 

I usually use a glycerin saddle soap for cleaning sweat, neatsfoot oil for conditioning and Leather New to put a shine on something I am trying to sell. 

What's funny is I live in Arizona and I have NEVER seen mold on tack. I know it is theoretically possible, I just have never seen it myself. Funny what a difference climate can make!


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