Why Leather Rewards a Little Effort

Good leather tack is one of the few things on a smallholding that gets better with age — if you look after it. A well-kept bridle softens and moulds to your horse's head, while a saddle that has been cleaned and fed regularly stays supple and holds its shape for decades. Neglect it and the opposite happens quickly. Sweat is salty and slightly acidic, and as it dries it draws the natural oils out of the hide, leaving the leather stiff and brittle. Add a bit of grit from a dusty school or a muddy gateway and every ride quietly grinds that grit deeper into the grain and stitching. The result is cracked billets, perished keepers and reins that snap when you least want them to.

The good news is that keeping on top of it takes ten minutes after a ride, plus a longer session once a week or fortnight. That is a small price to pay for safety as much as appearance.

The After-Ride Routine

Do this while the horse is still tied up and the kettle is on, and it soon becomes second nature.

• Wipe the sweat off with a clean, damp sponge. Plain warm water is usually enough for the parts that touch the horse: the inside of the bridle, the girth, the reins and the saddle flaps where your legs have been.
• Wring the sponge out properly. Leather should feel damp, never wet. Water that soaks in lifts the oils out and leaves a stiff finish when it dries.
• Concentrate on the parts that rub — noseband, crownpiece, girth and saddle flaps, where sweat and grease collect fastest.
• Wipe metalwork dry. Buckles and bit rings corrode if left damp, and a rusty buckle scratches leather every time it moves.
• Hang the bridle up rather than dropping it in a heap on the yard floor.

If you have been out in the rain, don't put the tack near a radiator or an Aga to dry. Heat hardens leather. Let it dry naturally, somewhere airy and out of direct sun, then condition it.

Giving It a Proper Wash

Once a week, or more often in summer if the horse is sweating heavily, give everything a proper clean. Take the bridle apart and lay the pieces out so you remember how they go back together.

Use warm water and a mild leather soap, worked into a lather with a soft sponge. Go over each strap on both sides, including the sections that hide under keepers and through buckles. An old soft toothbrush is excellent for stitching, holes and the crevices around buckles.

• Never soak leather or leave it standing in water.
• Avoid washing-up liquid, harsh detergents and disinfectant wipes — they strip the oils and leave a residue.
• Don't scrub at ingrained dirt with anything abrasive; soften it with a damp sponge and let it lift.
• Rinse the sponge often so you are not simply spreading grime about.

Let everything dry away from heat, then condition it while the leather is still very slightly damp — that is when it takes up the oil best.

Conditioning Without Overdoing It

Conditioning replaces the oils that cleaning and sweat have removed. A little, applied often, beats a lot in one go.

Warm the conditioner in your hands and work it in with your fingers or a soft cloth, paying particular attention to the parts that flex most: billets, stirrup leathers, cheekpieces and reins. Leave it to absorb overnight if you can, then buff off any surplus so it doesn't attract dust.

Go carefully with neatfoot-type oils. Used too generously they darken leather, weaken stitching and leave a sticky film that holds grit. Thick waxy conditioners suit British winters and tack that lives in a damp tack room; lighter creams suit show bridles you want to keep pale and smart. New leather needs very little — it has plenty of its own oils, and over-feeding it early just makes it floppy.

Storing Tack So It Keeps

Where your tack lives matters as much as how you clean it. A good tack room is cool, dry and airy — not a sealed shed with a dripping roof, and not a heated utility room that bakes the leather.

• Saddles belong on a wooden rack or a well-padded rail, with the stirrup leathers run up and the girth removed and cleaned separately.
• Bridles hang from a shaped hook or rounded peg by the crownpiece, never by the noseband, which distorts the shape and strains the stitching.
• Keep tack off the floor. Concrete sweats in cold weather, and mice will happily chew through a strap left in a corner.
• Never store leather in plastic bags or sealed boxes. It needs to breathe. A cotton dust bag or calico cover is ideal.
• Check monthly through the winter. Mould left alone eats into the grain and rots stitching. Wipe it off, dry thoroughly and re-condition.

A Regular Check Saves Heartache

While you are cleaning, you are also inspecting, and that is half the value of the job. Run each strap through your hands and look closely at the billets, stirrup leathers and girth points, which are the first things to fail. Stretch them gently and watch for cracking, stretched holes, perished stitching and any thinning where buckles have worn.

A replacement strap costs a few pounds; a snapped stirrup leather out on a lane costs a great deal more. Keep spare keepers, a hole punch and a tin of conditioner in the tack room. Ten minutes after each ride, a proper clean each week and a careful look at the whole lot every few months will keep your bridle and saddle supple, safe and ready for the next wet, muddy, glorious morning out.