To oil or not to oil???

[Tnavas]

Soap was used in tanning, my information all comes from reliable sources and funny how the two saddle fitters on here (one of whom is also a saddle maker) agree that conditioner is really the only valid product to use. I dont' dispute your experience but....

Glycerine is a humectant, it attracts water. We don't need much water in our leather in the UK with our damp climate and propensity to mould in most tackrooms, we need proper moisturising, just like our skin does, and something to seal out sweat, salts, mud. Conditioner is much better at that than oil, oil gets in between the fibres and stretches them out, it really is not much of a waterproofer. The wax in conditioners IS.

Grease jockeys are formed when the leather is slightly sticky and dust and grease stick to it. If your leather has no glycerine on it it will not be sticky and will not get grease jockeys. So no, saddle soap does not, on its own, cause them, but it sure as hell contributes to them. I just dont' see the point in making life harder than it needs to be, so why use something that ultimately makes your tack dirtier? Even if you are cleaning it so often so as to prevent actualy grease jockeys...

I did my all my training in the UK and my early training with a Master Saddler (the owner of the yard)! The yard was supplied with Glycerine for cleaning all the tack. My very early training (teens) was with an ex Mounted Cavalry officer who used Ko-cho-line and Glycerine. Ko-cho-line is made from vegetable oils same as Flexilan and Hydrophane and Neatsfoot.

Leather MUST HAVE water in it to maintain its integrity - mould on a bridle actually shows that the leather has moisture in it - dry leather out completely, remove all its water and it will crack.

My experience is gained over 45 years where I have been responsible for the care of hundreds of horses and their tack, some of the yards I've worked in had more than 100 actually on the property at all times. I've cleaned a one hell of a lot of tack!

A friend uses just a conditioner and I itch to oil and glycerine her tack as it is horrible! Much of the tack I have in my tack room is well into it's 20's and looks and feels awesome - it's only ever had Glycerine and Hydrophane used on it - can't get Flexalan here and some of it did not start out it's life as the best quality. When I had my riding school I used to melt down the glycerine with milk to make it last longer. Tack always felt and looked awesome and much of it was 'recovered' tack - previous owner had not cared for the gear properly.

If you want to spent an exhorbitant amount of money on a commercial product in a pretty tub or tube plastered with pretty pictures - that does nothing better than oil and glycerine that's your choice!

 

[dominobrown]

TBH I think its depends on whether you bridle has been vegetable tanned (traditional way) (expensive bridles normally), or chemically tanned (cheap leather, normally from the east).
No matter what you do to chemically tanned bridles they will never last as long, crack quicker, and the leather isn't as strong (damaged by the tanning process, unlike traditional vegetable tanning which conditions the leather).

Also to be honest (sorry I am in a blunt mood tonight), according to this thread, is it seems that the most expensive tack conditioner works best, and what has worked for certain posters over that last 20+ years is in fact an illusion, and their cheap as chips glycerine soap and oil is actually manufactered by satan himself!

 

[Tnavas]

TBH I think its depends on whether you bridle has been vegetable tanned (traditional way) (expensive bridles normally), or chemically tanned (cheap leather, normally from the east).
No matter what you do to chemically tanned bridles they will never last as long, crack quicker, and the leather isn't as strong (damaged by the tanning process, unlike traditional vegetable tanning which conditions the leather).

Also to be honest (sorry I am in a blunt mood tonight), according to this thread, is it seems that the most expensive tack conditioner works best, and what has worked for certain posters over that last 20+ years is in fact an illusion, and their cheap as chips glycerine soap and oil is actually manufactered by satan himself!