How to Properly Care for Your Horses Saddle

As you may already know, the horse`s saddle is the most expensive bit of equipment that you can if you are a keen horse rider. Elaborating on this fact, it is extremely important that you care for your saddles as they can become worn and damaged. By appropriately caring for your saddle then you are lengthening its life-span, keeping it more comfortable for you and also allowing yourself to take pride over your equestrian supplies.

Whether a horse saddle is a 2nd hand, a £250 saddle or a brand new £2,500 western show saddle the tips still remain the same and if you stick to them you will not be forking out for a new one anytime soon. There are some secrets to saddle care they you may not be aware of:

Refrain from using waxes, silicone or any other types of leather preparations as they will not give the leather the ability to `breathe` and that is an important factor.
Using mink oil or any other animal fats to polish or clean your saddle could cause the stitching to rot and also darkens the leather.
Avoid all contact with leather and alcohol, turpentine and mineral spirits and never used any kind of caustic household chemicals.
Do not store the saddle in plastic covers as it could potentially damage it and keep it from living up to its original life-span.

Continuous moisture is very harmful to leather and it is important that you keep it as dry as possible; especially in the colder and wetter climates as they are more prone to cracks. Whenever the saddle that you have gets exposed to moist or wet weather then you need to allow it to air-dry on its own and keep it away from other sources of heat.

Whenever your horse`s saddle gets dirty you need to make sure that you clean it thoroughly with a stiff bristle brush and some other cleaning products that are saddle safe. Regularly check your saddle for any signs of wear or cracks so that you know when it is damaged and you can take more care.

When storing your saddle you need to make sure that it is covered with a blanket or something similar so it does not come into contact with any excess dust or other dirt. Do not be fooled by the many equestrian products out there that claim they are the best saddle equipment and stand by these tips and your saddle should be around for many years.