42/ AUGUST 2017 THE RIDER Saddle Fit & Technology: it – and that is simply wrong.


Proper Use of Soap and Water Those soaps containing glycerines or built-in


moisturizers are beneficial only in that they serve to remove somewhat less of the natural lubricants of the leather during washing. But think of your- selves - after you wash your hair you rinse out the shampoo when it has done its job, and after you wash your hands, you rinse off the soap. More often than not, either a conditioner or a hand lotion is applied to return some of the moisture to the skin that the soap has removed. Soap will eat away at the tan. Today’s leathers will get destroyed by un- removed soap faster because there are more chem- icals in the soap. Leather is essentially just skin which has been


By Jochen Schleese, CMS, CSFT, CSE www.sad- dlesforwomen.com ©2017 Saddlefit 4 Life® All Rights Reserved


You are making an investment in the health,


comfort and well-being in your horse – and helping your own ability to ride when you purchase a sad- dle and all of the necessary accoutrements in this sport. Maintenance refers not only to the obvious visual upkeep of repairing stitches, replacing bil- lets, and addressing fit issues. One of the greatest misconceptions has been


with the correct use of saddle soaps. Saddle soaps are basically exactly what their names imply: soaps, and as such are to be used for cleansing only. In fact, soap - which is basic, and sweat - which is acidic, are the two greatest enemies of leather if they are not removed. The reason that saddle soap is used is to rid the leather of accumu- lated sweat and grime which, if left on, will result in the leather becoming brittle and cracking. It is important to keep your saddle clean so that it does- n’t irritate your horse’s hide. Sometimes people don’t take the soap off the saddle once they clean


The Proper Care and Maintenance of Your (New) Saddle and Accessories


treated (“tanned”), and skin is made of 70-80% water. Even after the skin has been tanned into leather, a moisture content of about 25% is re- tained. In the past, leather was tanned over a 6- month period and was more durable, but nowadays the tanning process takes only about six weeks. Every time you wash or clean your saddle, you need to rinse the leather off and then apply your moisturizer. Cow hide is much like our skin, except that it cannot replenish its moisture content itself and needs you to do it.


Restoring Suppleness to your Leather After the soap has been rinsed off (even those


containing glycerine) the leather should have some sort of moisturizer applied to it to return some of the natural lubricants, since it is no longer a “liv- ing” system, able to replenish itself. We highly recommend a leather cream without any cleaning ingredients (soaps) which can effectively be used an all leather items you may have. Leather oil can be used as a one-time application over the entire saddle or other tack if you wish to darken the orig- inal colour. On the saddle it should only be used thereafter on the panel as a lubricant, since the wool will soak up any excess. Used on the seat, it will soak through and onto the laminated and glued layers of the tree, possibly resulting in the eventual breakage of the tree, should you have an English spring tree. Even with saddles built on other trees, we don’t recommend you apply oil more often. As a rule, oil should not be used anywhere the leather comes into contact with your person (breeches, gloves) as it tends to discolour these materials. In addition, oil on the flaps leads to such a softening of the leather as to make them too flexible to fulfil their purpose. Make sure you use products that are meant for leather. Olive oil belongs in salads, baby oil belongs on babies - not on leather! Ideally, saddles and tack should be cleaned


after every use. At the least, they should be given a quick cleaning (wipe over) after each use, with a thorough cleaning once a week. If you are going


Photo credit: Shutterstock


to store your saddle or tack over a longer period of time, keep it in a place preferably at room temper- ature, but never cooler than 5 degrees Celsius, and at a humidity of 30-40% to retain the suppleness of the leather. Do not worry if it appears mildewy when you take it out - this is merely an indication that the leather is still alive, and still has enough moisture content to be attractive to mildew! Giv- ing it a good wash and applying a leather moistur- izer will soon restore the original looks. As with anything, taking proper care of your


leather goods will greatly enhance their appearance and lifespan. This is true no matter what brand of saddle or accessories you are using. Nowadays, saddles are definitely considered investments, and with the proper ‘tune ups’ should last 15-20 years (for a good quality, adjustable saddle that fits the rider and can be re-fitted to the horse as necessary).


Passier Sattelseife (Soap) and Lederbalsam


(Conditioner) and Fiebing’s Pure Neatsfoot Oil. Photo: Schleese Saddlery Service


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52