How To Revitalise Dry Tack

When buying new leatherwork, it is best (having first satisfied yourself that it all fits and you are not going to want to return it) to treat it with a good leather dressing advises Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow.

We do not recommend using oil now- neatsfoot was the favourite when I was younger, followed rapidly by Mars oil, but many of the dressings available now are far superior . I use Oakwood leather dressing on my own tack. Rapide is another good one, but there are many more on the market, most of which do a good job.

Take the leatherwork apart if it is a bridle or accessories and go over all of the leather with a LIGHT covering of dressing. Leave to soak in, preferably over- night, then put the items back together. Saddles, likewise give a light covering, and don’t forget to treat up under the skirts of the saddle (the flaps of leather that cover the stirrup bars) and get the dressing into all nooks and crevices. BE CAREFUL if the seat and knee pads are of suede or nubuck. You do not want to get leather dressing onto these.

Remember, a LIGHT covering, don’t smother the leather as the dressing will not soak in and the leather will become sticky and dull. A little two or three times over the space of a couple of weeks is  better than three times as much in one go.

Sometimes, your tack may have become very hard and dry. What to do?

First of all, some leather used is of very poor quality. This tends to be hard and inflexible when you buy it and stays that way no matter what you treat it with. It can be rather brittle and can break in use. Best get rid of it before you or your horse gets injured by it.

Sometimes, leatherwork of a good quality may go hard or brittle in use. This can be due to neglect- leather needs a bit of help to stay supple and if you don’t treat it occasionally with a good leather dressing it will become very hard. That means taking bridles apart, cleaning the leather thoroughly with a damp cloth or sponge and allowing to dry afterwards (best left overnight in somewhere warm, not somewhere cold and damp) and then making sure the dressing gets into all the turns, under keepers and the like. The turn on the body of a martingale for instance (the bit that the girth goes through) gets very wet and muddy, plus sweat from the horse gets into the leather here. Make sure that the dressing gets to the inside edge of all the leather, as well as the outside. 

Another reason for hard leatherwork can be if it has been soaked, say a day out in heavy rain, and then dried too rapidly, possibly with heat being used to help dry it out. NEVER USE HEAT TO DRY TACK. It will go very brittle and could be dangerous. Keep the leatherwork in a warm room until it is dry, then put on a light covering of leather dressing. Do not put dressing on until the leather is totally dry, as that would seal any remaining damp into the leather.

The best way to care for your tack is to treat it with a good leather dressing when you first get it, wipe the leatherwork with a damp cloth or sponge after use and add more dressing when it starts to look a little dry. Rarely more than once a month once the leather is worn in, unless it has been soaked or heavily used (think endurance). I still use glycerine saddle soap to ‘finish’ a bridle when we are going somewhere. It gives a nice finish if used sparingly, but apparently this is no longer considered the right thing to do. Hey Ho. Some of my bridles are over 30 years old, so perhaps it’s not too bad!

For more information on this and other subjects concerning your saddle please visit www.khsaddlery.co.uk/educational.html and join in the conversation on facebook.

Ignorance is Bliss

I have just been scrolling through a web site that advertises all things equestrian, from actual horses to lorries, services, saddlery and odds and ends. It really is fascinating and more than a little frightening says Master Saddler and Master Saddle Fitter Kay Hastilow.

Within the adverts I see many for saddles, all in ‘excellent condition and little used’, many with someone holding a tape measure across the front of the pommel. Err…. If this was done from the same place each side, it still wouldn’t tell you anything of use. In many cases the measure is from above the fixed D on one side to below it on the other. It also doesn’t show if they are intending the measurement to be the overall width of the saddle here, or to the panel or the actual tree width. Whatever, none of this will be of any help to you in any way.

Also seen in my trawl was a saddle sat squarely on a saddle horse, with the ubiquitous tape measure in place, but where the front of the panel was sewn in so unevenly that on one side the tape was above the stitch line whilst on the other, it was well below it, although the tape was horizontal.

Most frightening of all was someone who stated that whilst they were not a saddle fitter, nor a trader, they had several of their own saddles for sale and would bring them out for you to try on and ride in. For this, they would make a small charge. Firstly, although stating that they were not trading, they were prepared to consider taking your saddle in part exchange, which sounds as if they really are trading.To me though, the most awful thing was the photos of the saddles, at least 2 of which were Asian. Where the quality, symmetry and design of these is notoriously unreliable, if not downright dangerous, and of the others, the designs, make and condition looked to be very poor. I would swear that at least one of them was older than me, and that’s saying something!

Now, I know that it can be really difficult to get hold of a good saddle fitter. Some of them could, in all honesty, be better at getting back to their clients and many, certainly the good ones will be booked up for between 2 and 6 weeks, so that you might have to wait for a visit, but really, why would you even consider buying such an important item without professional help? It can take just 20 minutes to damage a horse’s back so badly that they can’t be ridden for some time, or you can totally destroy a horse’s (or rider’s) confidence if a saddle that is, not straight, badly flocked, badly designed or broken in the tree or if the saddle really doesn’t fit well, causing the horse to object in the only way that he knows by bucking, rearing or bolting.

In my many years of fitting saddles I have been called out to horses with behavioural problems and in some cases, it is nothing to do with the saddle.Sadly though, it quite often is the cause of the problem.  Some horses just don’t go as well as the rider thinks they should, or they might be really naughty, and I have derived enormous pleasure from changing a horse that has been branded as ‘bad’ into one who is happy and working well for the owner.  Often, the owner will be upset or embarrassed that they have been inflicting pain on their horse, all be it unintentionally. One must wonder though if this could have been avoided by using a good saddle fitter. 

Now I just know that someone is going to say, ‘I had a fitter out and it was never right/ the horse wasn’t happy and they wouldn’t listen,’ and they might be right. Whilst the majority of qualified fitters, especially those qualified with the Society of Master Saddlers, are thorough and conscientious, there will always be the odd visit that didn’t go as well as the fitter might have hoped, or perhaps they made an error in this case. No one is perfect after all, and if they have got it wrong they should be willing to return quickly and correct things. However, many of these cases that I have seen, the fault is that the owner hasn’t followed the advice given. ‘A return visit is recommended in 6 weeks’ means 6 weeks, not 6 months and things can really go wrong in this time. If the fitter has recommended that you use just a thin saddle cloth and you have put wadges of pads and sheepskin under the saddle, then don’t be surprised if he doesn’t go as well as he did when the saddle fitter was there. If a specific girth has been recommended and you elected to source one yourself, did you do so and quickly? Is it the right size? If it’s too small or too large, it won’t work as expected.Whilst saddle fitters are not perfect, we do need you to work with us on these matters.

Our biggest problem is that these days, with the research and design work that has been undertaken ,leading to a greater understanding on the saddle fitter’s part, is that many riders and owners are unaware that they really don’t know just how much they don’t know.

Find out more from Kay Hastilow’s series of expert videos at www.khsaddlery.co.uk/educational.html