To oil - or not to oil tack ?!

[NeverSayNever]

Ive read a few threads with interest recently about tack cleaning.

In my old PC days, everything was wiped with a damp cloth, glycerine saddle soap applied and left to dry then it was oiled. None of my tack suffered for this.

Now I see a lot of people, including saddlers say never ever to use oil, or saddle soap, and only to use a conditioning balm, often Effax is recommended.

I've been a very lucky girl recently and had new tack and so it was with interest I read the instructions that came with it. My saddle, a Black Country, came with instructions to 'avoid oil' and to condition with a leather conditioner. My saddler gave me a cream to rub into it. My bridle, a Sabre, came with the instructions that it must be oiled before use, with neatsfoot oil. At least 2-3 coats. (It does go on to warn excessive amounts of oil can be damaging), the recommendation for cleaning is glycerine saddle soap!

So who knows Surely the leather cant be that different and they are both really lovely quality. Because I'm scared to do the wrong thing, I've followed the different instructions for each thing lol, which seems mad so yes, my bridle has just had 2 coats of Neatsfoot - I notice as well many people say this rots the stitching but was this not only the case years ago as the Carr Day & Martin tin I have says on it that it does not rot stitching.

Thoroughly confused now but I figure none of my tack suffered years ago so hope my new stuff lasts ok!

 

[Muckmeister]

I must admit, I hardly ever use any product on the saddles ... they get whiped off after every use with a microfibre cloth or a baby whipe and if they have got really dirty or wet I may apply a bit of conditioner on the inside, straps and stitching and maybe a whipe over the rest with the same sponge.

The bridles / martingales / brestplates / girths etc on the other hand are cleaned very regularly (almost daily), always with damp sponged first followed by saddle soapy one, then (if they had got really wet) a helping of conditioner.

I reallo only use oil on brand new bridles, martingales etc to get it more pliable.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

I think oil softens new leather or desparately old and neglected leather. The reason for avoiding oil otherwise, is because it rots the stitching apparently.

 

[Spring Feather]

The confusion comes from the preparations of neatsfoot oil that used to be found on the market. Some of these preparations do indeed contain ingredients which can rot some old stitching. Pure 100% neatsfoot oil will not. The material used to stitch bridles is different from what it was 'in olden days' and nowadays pure neatsfoot is readily available. I do neatsfoot oil all of my new bridles and then thereafter use Hammamol for continued upkeep. My English saddles I clean with Stubben saddle soap and then Hammamol afterwards. My western saddles are cleaned with water on the underside of the fenders and neatsfoot oil on the outer side. I do not ever clean the seats of any of my saddles with any wet product.

 

[EPRider]

A problem with oil is that it can seperate the fibres of the leather and they then never lie true again, thus weakening the leather.

 

[sbloom]

A problem with oil is that it can seperate the fibres of the leather and they then never lie true again, thus weakening the leather.

Yep, much more significant than the risk of rotting stitching, the structure of the leather is stretched and weakened. Old leather (from older cows, before BSE ensured that all leather comes from 30 month old or younger animals) was much tougher and withstood the "abuse" that we gave it.

Glycerine soap has no real use for leather - not a great cleanser (MUST be rinsed off), wrong ph for leather, and only a humectant (attracts moisture) and so not a great conditioner. It does get sticky because of this attracting moisture and then attracts dirt, eventually generating grease jockeys for those of us that don't clean our leather quite often enough

Sedgewicks, one of the top leather tanners in the UK, recommend against the use of oil on any leather. I recommend only cleaning with warm water, I do recommend a couple of cleansers for those who really want to use them, and then conditioner as and when needed. And the conditioner must be a good one - many contain petrol distillates which are very drying.

I personally follow the advice from a poster called c4 on the Ultimate Dressage Bulletin Board's Tack Trunk - he doesn't post these days but you can search back. He's the first person I've known to actually address the science of leather and not just rely on personal experience.