New saddle, what to treat with?

[CobSunshine]

Evening all

Got my new saddle today, cleaned with leather wipes, then applied this

http://brand.fouganza.com/EN/leather-cream-52650213/


Left for a few hours then buffed off with microfibre cloth.

Is it safe to do the actual seat itself with leather grease, from a riding safely perspective? also how about the part which touches the horses back?

I did the sides and under the flaps but that was it.

The saddler mentioned using an oil too?


would this be better to use instead?

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/500ml-plant-based-leather-oil-id_8006048.html#more_infos

 

[sbloom]

Don't use oil!

Oill gets in between the fibres and tsretches them out, not the best way to make your tack feel supple so you did the right thing by not using it. I have no idea of the quality of the Decathlon products but I suspect they're not the best - I recommend cleaning with an old fashioned dishcloth, the white woven kind (a bit of texture helps with shifting dirt), warm water and elbow grease. Wipes have a cleansing checmical in them that should be rinsed off. Glycerine soap is not great for leather - wrong ph, not a great cleanser, should be rinsed off, and used as a conditioner it simply attracts moisture, becomes sticky, then attracts dirt!

I do recommend using a condititioner - I like the following, though there may be others that also have great ingredients: Effax Lederbalsam, Stubben Hamanol, Oakwood conditioner, and the Leather Therapy range. Clean often, condition only when needed, and it is better little and slightly more often than coating the leather in tons of it.