Tack and Leather Care Tack Cleaning and Leather Care
Think of your tack as an investment. You've spent time and money in selecting the best quality leather goods for you and your horse. With diligent and correct leather care, including proper tack and leather storage, you can get the maximum return on your investment through its long and safe use.
Saddles, Bridles, Martingales, Breastplates and Girths Leather is skin. Just as your skin suffers abrasions and dryness from irritants like sweat and dirt, your leather does too. The key to tack longevity is the practice of daily leather cleaning after every ride.
The traditional method of leather care is to wipe dust and sweat from your tack immediately after use with a sponge or cloth that is barely moistened with cool water. Then rub a thin layer of glycerin soap on the leather to seal the pores and keep it soft but not sticky. Newer methods involve convenient and easy-to-use leather cleaning and conditioning products, a wide array of which exists on the market today. You can choose from one-step cleaning and conditioning creams or two-step systems with a cleaning solution followed by a conditioning agent that restores moisture.
Note: Almost every saddle and tack manufacturer has a recommendation or product preference for leather cleaning and conditioning products. Some tack manufacturers produce their own products. Always follow manufacturer's guidelines when considering commercial leather cleaners and conditioners.
Be sure to clean the parts of your tack that are under pressure during use or where sweat or saliva may collect. These areas include the curves near buckles where reins and cheek pieces attach to bit rings, all parts of girths, billet straps and the creases in stirrup leathers where irons rest. The cleaning process is also a good time to check that stitching is tight and intact, and that the leather has not ripped or cracked.
For tack that has been neglected over time or that is extremely dirty, use warm water and a soft brush to remove collected grime. You may choose to use a pH-balanced cleaner, such as
Lexol Cleaner. Because warm water is extremely drying to leather, immediately follow it with a fine layer of glycerin soap or a leather conditioner, such as
Lexol Conditioner.
Very dry leather may need to be treated on its underside with a thin coat of warmed
Neatsfoot Oil, or fed with a thick saddle food such as
Effax Lederbalsam,
Passier Lederbalsam or
Stubben Hammanol.
Leather Storage Leather tack can be attractive to rodents when food sources are scarce. Try to secure your tack room from these unwanted visitors. Tack is best maintained with daily use and cleaning. However, if your tack has to be stored for an extended time, try to place it in a temperature-controlled environment. Extreme cold and heat are detrimental to leather.
Cover stored tack in fabric or newspaper so the leather can breathe rather than in plastic that does not allow air to circulate. Be sure to check your unused equipment occasionally for mildew, and remember to condition it regularly to prevent it from drying out.
Bit Care and Cleaning Rinse your bit in water or wipe it thoroughly after every use. Dried food particles on a bit are abrasive to your horse's mouth. Additionally, it is far easier to clean a bit on a regular basis rather than scrubbing off accumulated grime.
Over time, bits may become tarnished from use and storage. Products on the market, such as Herm Sprenger Diamond Paste or Nevr-Dull Wadding Polish, remove layers of tarnish. Non-toxic, non-acidic and developed for use on mouthpieces and all types of metal, HS Diamond Paste helps prevent tarnish from recurring. (You can also use it on your spurs and metal stirrup irons!) Nevr-Dull is easily used by pulling a wad of the saturated cloth from the tin and rubbing until black can no longer be seen on the cloth. Wash the mouthpiece thoroughly to remove any trace of the product after polishing.
Synthetic Saddles, Halters and Horse Boots To clean a synthetic saddle, use a mixture of gentle soap and warm water. You can soak smaller synthetic articles like nylon halters or neoprene splint boots in a gentle soap and warm water solution to loosen grime. Stuck on dirt can sometimes be removed with a soft brush while the item is still wet. Rinse or hose thoroughly, and allow the items to dry naturally in the sun.
How to Measure Half Chaps 
How to Measure for Half Chaps
Regardless of the brand you wish to buy, to determine the size half chaps to order:
1. Put on the type of breech, riding tight or jean you plan to wear with your half chaps.
2. Sit in a chair in your stocking feet with your knee bent at a 90° angle and your feet flat on the floor.
3. Have a helper measure your calf at its widest point using a cloth tape measure.
4. Measure your lower leg height from the floor to the tendon at the back of your knee.
Match your calf and height measurements to the size chart provided for your desired half chaps.
Important Notes: • You must measure your calf width over the type of pant you will ride in. A thicker or a thinner pant will change the way the half chap fits your calf.
• Try your half chaps on with the paddock boots you will ride in to ensure the chaps fit over them and are tall enough to accommodate the boots.
• When fitting your half chaps for the first time, they should feel very snug. Any elastic panel must be engaged so the leather or suede is encouraged to mold to the shape of your leg. The fit will ease over the first few days of use as the leather molds to your leg shape.
• If your half chaps are too loose at the start, they will become baggy and loose with wear.
Our Guarantee 100% Satisfaction Guarantee
The Easiest and Best Guarantee in The Business
Shop with 100% confidence at Dover Saddlery. If something doesn’t fit you or your horse, return your original purchase within a year, and we’ll make it right with a refund, exchange or replacement.
Our experience as riders and horse owners ourselves is that in most situations a year’s time is fair enough to evaluate proper fit and function. PLUS: For manufacturer’s defects, we’ll extend the manufacturer’s warranty to a maximum of 24 months, regardless of their individual policies. (AND: Manufacturer warranties longer than 24 months will be honored and supported by us as well up to the length of those warranties).
Exceptions: Safety items such as helmets and protective vests may only be returned within 30 days, with their original tags intact. Saddles and riding boots may be returned within the one year period, but are subject to a prorated refund based on usage. Used saddles may be returned for 30 days only. For everyone’s protection, treats and vet meds which have been opened are not returnable, and returned blankets must clean and free of debris. Underwear is not returnable or exchangeable.
Special Conditions
To protect all customers and ensure that every return or exchange is handled fairly, we may require a receipt or decline a return in these situations:
• Item was not purchased directly from Dover Saddlery. (It was purchased at a used tack sale or from a retailer or online seller other than Dover Saddlery.)
• Item is missing a label or has been defaced.
• No receipt and no valid identification in our stores.
• Item is wet, dirty or contaminated, or until it has been cleaned. (For health and safety reasons, we cannot accept returns on used, defective or poorly fitting blankets if they are UNWASHED.)
• Item has been lost, stolen, damaged, or misused.
• On rare occasions, based on the nature of prior transactions.
• Supplements have been opened or used.
• Multiple returns of the same item.
• Personalized items may not be returned unless defective.
Security Guarantee
Dover Saddlery understands your concerns regarding online security. We share in your concerns and therefore work hard with experts in the field to maintain a highly secure ordering environment. Along with our comment to security, we offer you a Secure Order Guarantee - this gives you 100% protection for your credit card transactions on Doversaddlery.com.
Our Secure Order Guarantee means that you will never have to pay any money related to unauthorized charges to your credit card account, as long as those charges are a direct result from a transaction on Doversaddlery.com.
How it works: If you experience credit card fraud, the Fair Credit Act specifies that your credit card company can hold you liable for no more than $50.00 in fraudulent charges to your account. Our Secure Order Guarantee will reimburse you for any amount up to $50.00 billed to you by your credit card company for unauthorized charges to your account, if those charges result from an order you placed with Doversaddlery.com. For this protection you must promptly notify your credit card company of fraudulent charges and follow their procedures as outlined in your credit card agreement.
