Taking care of your horse saddle is critical. The leather and metallic parts can quickly deteriorate if not properly maintained. Saddles are a pretty expensive purchase, so in order to protect your investment you want to care for your saddle properly on a regular basis.
Cleaning your saddle on a monthly basis will help keep maintenance minimal and prevent the hefty job of undoing long term neglect. If you use your saddle on a more regular basis, you may need to tend to it more frequently.
Horse saddles should last for decades. Unless they are not properly cared for. Then they can go to waste quite rapidly. Cleaning the horse saddle is important, but you will also need to apply a leather protector regularly to lock in the finish.
If you do not have a saddle stand to place your horse saddle on while cleaning it, you may drape it over a sturdy fence instead. Saddles can be cleaned with just soap and water. You do not want to get the saddle too wet and when scrubbing the leather you should not apply so much pressure that you stress the surface of the leather. Doing so could compromise the effectiveness of the leather protector you have already applied.
Disassembling your horse saddle is also an important part of cleaning it. Certain issues can accumulate in neglected areas like fungus, mold or rust. These can ruin your saddle or cause a health risk to you or your horse. Thoroughness is a good technique to practice in order to eliminate any possibility of complications with your saddle in the future.
Before you begin working on the leather of your horse saddle, put the metal parts to soak in water. When you are done scrubbing the leather, you can finish cleaning these components. Remember never to soak the leather and don't forget about the metal parts left in the water when you are done cleaning the rest of the saddle.
Remember that the horse is in contact with the underside of the saddle, so do not forget to clean this part as well. You will also need to clean all straps and harnesses and any metal pieces that are connected to the saddle core. Be sure these are allowed to dry before the saddle is stored to prevent rusting.
Once you have cleaned all of the parts of the saddle you should oil them, both the leather and the metal. Apply an even coat to the entire saddle and wipe any extra drips so that they do not dry and stain your finish with odd markings.
Once you have oiled your saddle and thoroughly dried off all of the leather and metallic parts, it is time to reassemble your saddle, Hopefully, you have kept careful track of all the parts that you detached. Do not leave any parts out when putting it back together or the saddle may fall apart or fail during use.
Taking Care Of your horse saddle will prolong it's usefulness. You are working to keep up it's looks and it's functionality. Rust and rot can break down a saddle and have a negative effect on you or your horse's health. If you tend to your horse saddle on a regular basis, you should have no problems keeping it in great, usable riding condition.
Cleaning your saddle on a monthly basis will help keep maintenance minimal and prevent the hefty job of undoing long term neglect. If you use your saddle on a more regular basis, you may need to tend to it more frequently.
Horse saddles should last for decades. Unless they are not properly cared for. Then they can go to waste quite rapidly. Cleaning the horse saddle is important, but you will also need to apply a leather protector regularly to lock in the finish.
If you do not have a saddle stand to place your horse saddle on while cleaning it, you may drape it over a sturdy fence instead. Saddles can be cleaned with just soap and water. You do not want to get the saddle too wet and when scrubbing the leather you should not apply so much pressure that you stress the surface of the leather. Doing so could compromise the effectiveness of the leather protector you have already applied.
Disassembling your horse saddle is also an important part of cleaning it. Certain issues can accumulate in neglected areas like fungus, mold or rust. These can ruin your saddle or cause a health risk to you or your horse. Thoroughness is a good technique to practice in order to eliminate any possibility of complications with your saddle in the future.
Before you begin working on the leather of your horse saddle, put the metal parts to soak in water. When you are done scrubbing the leather, you can finish cleaning these components. Remember never to soak the leather and don't forget about the metal parts left in the water when you are done cleaning the rest of the saddle.
Remember that the horse is in contact with the underside of the saddle, so do not forget to clean this part as well. You will also need to clean all straps and harnesses and any metal pieces that are connected to the saddle core. Be sure these are allowed to dry before the saddle is stored to prevent rusting.
Once you have cleaned all of the parts of the saddle you should oil them, both the leather and the metal. Apply an even coat to the entire saddle and wipe any extra drips so that they do not dry and stain your finish with odd markings.
Once you have oiled your saddle and thoroughly dried off all of the leather and metallic parts, it is time to reassemble your saddle, Hopefully, you have kept careful track of all the parts that you detached. Do not leave any parts out when putting it back together or the saddle may fall apart or fail during use.
Taking Care Of your horse saddle will prolong it's usefulness. You are working to keep up it's looks and it's functionality. Rust and rot can break down a saddle and have a negative effect on you or your horse's health. If you tend to your horse saddle on a regular basis, you should have no problems keeping it in great, usable riding condition.
About the Author:
Contributor, Tyler Wilmas, is a horse connoisseur and has a lot of great saddles for sale in his mountain ranch store. For more info on horse tack and other horse issues, read more of his posts online.
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