Tack cleaning

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Scribbles

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Wondering how other people clean their tack. I'm having a problem in that the second I go to use my (new, sabre) bridle, it gets horrible grubby, sticky and has a funny grey-like coating on it. All my tack has done this, and everyone else's in the tack room is lovely looking (including people who never ever clean tack!)

I clean every 2 weeks (so every 4 rides) and wipe my stuff over with a damp cloth, then go over with saddle soap, then use Kocholine
 
Tack Cleaning?? Whats that!?!
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Oh no? Is you tack stored near a damp patch? If not, maybe use somehting different to clean it with as a greasy horse won't leave grey gunk on the outside of your bridle. Personally I don't like the kocholine. Also I was told not to use carr & days saddle soap recently as apparently it strips oil from tack. Not sure how true this is.

In use warm water and a sponge to wash the grease off. For bad grease I use a sponge for pots to get the jockeys off. Once its dried I use effax (in a brown tub) which smells gorgeous. Different leather likes different tack cleaner as almost everything seems to like the effax apart from my new saddle which doesn't look as nice with it. Strange
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Sorry... didnt read anywhere that the grey stuff is on the outside of the bridle
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Assumed it is on the inside where it sits on the horse..... My tack gets grey grease on the inside.

If its on the outside, then maybe mould??
 
I assumed it was on the outside and inside - maybe its not and your right merlinsquest. I have a very greasy horse and I get a little on the inside but not much and just the way OP said everyones elses is clean and hers is manky made me think it was on the outside too
 
i get it on my bridle to
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its on the outside even in random places liek the front of teh browband where no skin of fluff touches it , it looks like sweat ? and usually appears after riding so i dont think its the storage of it? although my tack room is quite damp
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i use saddle soap and conditioner my saddle manm gave me which he said was good? hmm
 
It's on the outside. I don't think it's grease, as it comes on pretty much as soon as the tack is touched after cleaning.

It was my saddler who advised kocholine, but I've bought some neatsfoot, so I'll see how that goes....!
 
It sounds like a funny whitish film that I get on my stubben bridle!! Never understood why as I have other cheap tack that never has the problem. Could it just be on expensive leather??!! STRANGE..... I thought that I was probably overdoing the cleaning/conditioner. Maybe the lesson is never to clean your tack......
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Don't use neatsfoot either. Get a good leather conditioner, such as Effax, it's not at all expensive and will look after your leather. try to keep it in a dry place too.
 
It's kept in a bridle bag in a tack locker in my stable (which is very dry as I am a fan of my horse swimming in shavings!). But it was in with all the other tack in tack room, so it really is just *my* care skills...

Oh bugger I've just gone and bought some neatsfoot too. Neatsfoot is what the Sabre care instructions said.

Could it be that I am simply using too much saddle soap? It is the sticky-ness which I thought might be makiing dirt stick...
 
I use either colecroft (the cleaner and then the conditioner) or oakwood (again the cleaner and the conditioner) and never had that problem. It could be that you need to use a cleaner first. Saddle soap is more of a conditioner than a cleaner. I wouldn't ever use neatsfoot oil on tack, unless it was really old and bone dry. Also, the saddle soap may well be preventing the kocholine being absorbed. I'd go for a decent 2 step product.
 
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