Oiling leather girth?

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Florrie

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I just ordered a used leather girth off eBay and it has arrived today, however it does feel quite stiff and I was considering oiling it with Hydrophane Leather Dressing to waterproof/sweatproof it and to also soften it.

If I was to oil it would I do it on both sides?
 
I use Horsemans One Step on stiff tack and good old neatsfoot, although I was told leather should never be oiled on a previous thread.

Sadly I am old and will carry on doing old fashioned things !
 
You CAN use oil and I do too BUT to give the hide a very light final dressing to help repel water, it's not to FEED the leather, you achieve that using hide food first which you can make yourself.It's when people use JUST oil and dunk it in it sometimes for days that drives me nuts!
If they could see what the fibres of the leather look like fter being coated in just oil they'd be shocked.I don't know what is in Horsemans one step but if it contains beeswax, lanolin or tallow then you can't go far wrong.
I have a thread in another section on how to make you own hide food.I'll find it and post it in here for you.I can also send anyone who pm's me my written instruction sheet about leather, cleaning and feeding it the traditional saddlers way which I supply with my own hide food if anyone wants to read it.

I speak from 25 years in the Saddlery trade, been professionally trained and using just oil on leather believe me, is not the old way!
Listen to others if you wish but I'm trying to give you sound basic advice but there will always be someone to shout you down!
Oz :)
 
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That is a fascinating read and I am converted. I think one step is lanolin.

I can remember a lovely old man who did a bit of showing putting a bar of saddle soap in a pan and adding milk, melting it down, pouring it back into a bowl and letting it set again before using it - what was that all about ?
 
His tack looked like patent leather after he cleaned with his mixture and it was as old as the hills.

He was a hunt servant and did all the top boots with the same mixture, you could see your reflection in the boots.
 
I imagine the glycerine in the soap made it shiny wonder if the calcium in the milk acted as a carrier as well as stopping the leather from going slimy, which often happens when using saddle soap alot, which is why I don't use it.
Might have to try that one but only got semi skimmed!
Thank you Alice, I've learned something else today I didn't know!
Oz
 
Thank you, Oz, for your recipe, I will be giving that one a go. I bet it smells great :rolleyes: I used to make the glycerine/milk one, it was a bar of soap to half a pint of full ceam milk, was pretty good.
 
AdorableAlice said:
That is a fascinating read and I am converted. I think one step is lanolin.

I can remember a lovely old man who did a bit of showing putting a bar of saddle soap in a pan and adding milk, melting it down, pouring it back into a bowl and letting it set again before using it - what was that all about ?
Click to expand...

I have to admit to doing that for years and only did a pan the other night! :D Wilf White also had his own recipe which he eventually marketed which was incredibly similar. The one thing you must remember is to not leave the tub in the sun/get warm else the milk can react although it doesn't affect it when on the tack. You can also miss out the milk, just use water and glycerine bar (which I cut into small pieces, makes it quicker to melt down) if you add too much water (you won't know until it sets but you soon get used to how much, think I do about half pint to a bar of soap) then you can just boil it up again. Watch it when it's boiling otherwise it'll cover your cooker! :eek:
 
I'm old too, well, not that old, but I was always told to use saddle soap/glycerin to soften leather girths rather than neatsfoot (which I use liberally on bridles etc) as neatsfoot does tend to make the leather stretch a bit.
 
I have always cleaned all tack the way I was first shown.

Take everything apart, then:

1. Sponge and bucket of water and with wrung out damp sponge clean the leather on both sides (read both finished (shiny)and unfinished (rough).
2. Neatsfoot oil sparing applied to both sides of the leather - maybe everyother time or if its been a while between cleaning every time
3. Solid bar of Carr, Day & Martin (or whatever brand it is these days) - oblong golden translucent saddle soap. Dipped end in that bucket of water and then the slightly damp spong rubbed on it to the point of being 'tacky' and then applied to both sides of the leather. If it 'foamed' it was too wet. I've never used any other products on my tack in 40 odd years around horses. The theory being that the leather/treatment products had sufficient time to dry/soak in if you worked each piece of leather in rotation.

Metal work in said bucket of water whilst I work, everything except the bit bar then brushed clean with a soft brush once water had softened the dirt and shone up with Duraglit wadding (or equivalent brand wadding) and a soft rag.
 
Leather has changed - old leather was from older animals and was ultimately much better. Tanning has changed, I've even heard rumours that the EU is banning certain parts of the process or ingredients, so it may get worse. Modern English leather (still the best usually) is now from younger animals, 30 months or less as per foot and mouth rules, and will not cope with the treatment we used to give it. Just because we got away with it in the past does not mean it's the right way to care for leather, it just shows hos resilient that leather was!

Oil - stretches the fibres out as cremedemonthe says, making it feel supple but ultimately weakening it. It should only be used very lightly on new leather, if you really feel the need, should never be used as part of your regular routine and is NOT the best thing for resurrecting old leather.

Glycerine - pure glycerine is an okay conditioner, saddle soap is neither a good cleanser (and do rinse it off if you use it this way) or a conditioner, and the ph in the soap part is not good for leather. I find saddle soaped tack is sticky and attracts dirt, no grease jockeys since I stopped using it about a decade ago.

Conditioner - good ones are th ebest thing you can use. Use a good gentle cleanser if you must (Effax Ledercombi is the best as well as Leather Therapy), rinse it off, then condition as much as the leather needs - more if it is very dry, but usually just enough to soak in immediately. The waxes in a good conditioner are the best thing for waterproofing and protecting your leather.

And never oil anything you don't want to stretch - girths and girth straps would be foremost in my mind!
 
Nice post sbloom, yes when we trained 25 years ago they were even telling us then that leather is not what it used to be, the cattle as you say, are not allowed to get the age where the hide is mature therefore making weaker leather.
We were taught that Aberdeen Angus is by far the best breed for leather, it tends to be grass fed and a more natural way of life,not many are intensively farmed, it is slow maturing therefore the leather will be a better substance when tanned.
 
saddle fitter martin wilkinson has just been (boss has just bought 4 saddles for 2 kids ponies at a cost of 6k-wish i had money to sped like that) he says never to use oil on any tack these days the reason as previously mentioned is it stretches and weakens the leather. we have been told lots of saddle soap to coat tack then when it gets dirty clean sponge and water and you will removed the old soap and the dirt on top of it then apply new coating.
 
Good advice about the oil, however I don't use saddlesoap on it's own as it tends to make the tack slimy or sticky depending on how much you use.
As sbloom says saddle soap can give you grease jockeys which can be hard to remove (solid lumps that appear on tack)
A good conditioner will help stop dirt and water penetrating into the hide which is my preferred method and no jockeys!
 
cremedemonthe said:
Good advice about the oil, however I don't use saddlesoap on it's own as it tends to make the tack slimy or sticky depending on how much you use.
As sbloom says saddle soap can give you grease jockeys which can be hard to remove (solid lumps that appear on tack)
A good conditioner will help stop dirt and water penetrating into the hide which is my preferred method and no jockeys!
Click to expand...

my own tack often has grease jockeys but they dont get a chance at work as each pony has 2 full sets of tack and all tack is cleaned properly at least twice a week-it looks lovely but is very tedious
 
BackRidingAgain said:
I have always cleaned all tack the way I was first shown.

Take everything apart, then:

1. Sponge and bucket of water and with wrung out damp sponge clean the leather on both sides (read both finished (shiny)and unfinished (rough).
2. Neatsfoot oil sparing applied to both sides of the leather - maybe everyother time or if its been a while between cleaning every time
3. Solid bar of Carr, Day & Martin (or whatever brand it is these days) - oblong golden translucent saddle soap. Dipped end in that bucket of water and then the slightly damp spong rubbed on it to the point of being 'tacky' and then applied to both sides of the leather. If it 'foamed' it was too wet. I've never used any other products on my tack in 40 odd years around horses. The theory being that the leather/treatment products had sufficient time to dry/soak in if you worked each piece of leather in rotation.

Metal work in said bucket of water whilst I work, everything except the bit bar then brushed clean with a soft brush once water had softened the dirt and shone up with Duraglit wadding (or equivalent brand wadding) and a soft rag.
Click to expand...

Thats how I do mine, but I use this stuff on mine after its been rained on or got sweaty & manky after a days hunting or similar

http://www.snackandtack.co.uk/eques...0ml-2244&utm_campaign=product+listing+ads#940
 
there is a certain type of saddle soap i find much easier/quicker to work with cant remember the name of it at the mo:confused: but it comes in a white pot with an orange lable on it. anyone got any ideas or i will have to get off my bed and go out to the yard at work on my day off just to find out:D
 
cremedemonthe said:
Well the tack I was cleaning must have been saddle soaped to death then
as it took me ages or I'm just slow! :)
Click to expand...

I cross posted with you, wasn't trying to be smug with you lol

jools1234 said:
there is a certain type of saddle soap i find much easier/quicker to work with cant remember the name of it at the mo:confused: but it comes in a white pot with an orange lable on it. anyone got any ideas or i will have to get off my bed and go out to the yard at work on my day off just to find out:D
Click to expand...

Step away from the saddle soap!
 
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