Fact: your leather tack can last years if you practice the proper methods of care and maintenance. And among the most effective ways to care for leather tack of course would be to use saddle soap.
Although technically not a soap, saddle soap works to clean leather, restore shine, and strengthen it against damage and degradation. So where can you find the best saddle soap for all of your leather horse accessories? Here's a quick guide.
The 5 Best Saddle Soaps
1. Kiwi Saddle Soap
Often mentioned as one of the best saddle soaps, the Kiwi Saddle Soap uses a combination of high quality wax and oil to achieve premier results. The formulation does away with harsh chemicals and additives, boasting a fragrance free blend that keeps your leather saddle and shoes away from potentially harmful substances.
Leaving a polished shine on your leather, this formulation from Kiwi also softens the material and removes stains and grime. With regular, routine use, the Kiwi Saddle Soap works to preserve leather and extend its lifespan for many years to come.
Developed for leather tack, shoes, handbags, and even luggage and furniture, Fiebing's saddle soap comes in three different colors. This helps to make various shades of leather look more vibrant and rich after a cleaning.
The Fiebing's saddle soap formulation works to clean and nourish every leather fiber, moisturizing the material to achieve a soft, pliable texture. Effective at removing dirt and stains, this tried and trusted choice has earned serious popularity for its ability to restore the worn, tired leather of everyday shoes.
Made from a combination of quality oils and wax, Moneysworth & Best offers their saddle soap to horse owners who want to keep leather tack clean and shiny. Their formulation removes dirt and restores natural oils to give the material a soft, smooth, professional-grade finish.
Effective at removing stains, this formulation cleans and restores saddles, leather shoes, and a variety of other leather items, leaving the leather supple and pliable for your next use.
The Farnam Leather liquid saddle soap is another contender as one of the best saddle soaps, and incorporates glycerin which works as a powerful cleaner for leather. The formulation creates a penetrative foam that reaches deep into nooks and crannies to nourish and moisturize leather fibers from deep within.
Non toxic and unscented, this Farnam Leather saddle soap preserves leather and works well as an occasional cleaning agent to prevent cracking. Its rich moisture also helps prevent brittleness, making it a suitable cleaner for leather car seats, shoes, and much more.
If you've got specialty leather on your hands that requires specific care, then Bickmore saddle soap is for you. Specially formulated for exotic leather, suede, and reptile skin, this leather cleaner removes embedded dirt and restores original shine and color.
The leather soap doesn't leave behind a tacky film, and imbues the material with sufficient moisture to keep it supple and flexible. Providing ideal care for things like snakeskin boots and belts, this leather cleaner should find a place as any horse owner's cleaning essential.
What is Saddle Soap?
Contrary to its name, traditional 'saddle soap' doesn't technically foam or lather the way that regular soap does. While some manufacturers have developed saddle soaps that behave that way, true saddle soap or leather cleaner more closely resembles wax.
Typically, saddle soaps combine beeswax and lanolin to condition and clean leather products. As you might already know, beeswax makes up part of a beehive's honeycomb. According to experts, routine application of the stuff on leather boots, saddles, and other leather horse accessories creates a waterproof barrier to protect and preserve leather and cleans leather of deep seated dirt and grime.
Lanolin on the other hand comes from sheep and other wool bearing animals. Secreted by their sebaceous glands, this waxy substance helps to condition leather material, making it stronger against wear and providing just enough moisture to make the item pliable. Lanolin also helps to keep leather soft, making it ideal for maintaining shoes and boots.
If you're in the market for liquid glycerin saddle soap, an additional ingredient you'll find on the label comes in the form of glycerin. Although long debated for maintaining leather, glycerin soap manufacturers assert that glycerin can help keep your tack nice and moisturized.
Another widely contested additive to saddle soaps is neatsfoot oil. Said to condition and protect leather products, neatsfoot oil may oxidize over time, causing leather to crack or degrade as the years roll on. Using both glycerin and neatsfoot oil leather soap blends in moderation may let you enjoy their benefits without the risks.
The Benefits of Cleaning Leather
Some people tend to think of leather as a highly resistant, durable material that lasts years against wear and tear. And in a lot of cases, that's definitely true. But good, long lasting leather doesn't just happen by accident.
Durability
Without proper cleaning and care, leather can deteriorate and crack. Straps on your tack and panels of leather shoes can lose integrity and snap during use, leading to various accidents and even injury.
The ingredients in saddle soap strengthen leather and provide a barrier against the elements, making the material more resistant to damage. Frequent, routine cleaning improves durability and even extends the lifespan of your precious leather accessories and boots.
Protection
A combination of sweat, oil, heat, and friction can easily weaken even the toughest leather material. But by cleaning leather on a routine basis, you offer to protect the tack against all of the elements, dirt, and grime it may come into contact with.
The beeswax and lanolin in saddle soaps work to create a thin film over the leather. This delicate yet rugged layer shields the leather from external forces, allowing the material to retain shine and resist damage.
Pliability
Stiff shoes and tack may feel rugged, but it's not always a joy to don. Imagine throwing unforgiving tack on your horse for hours a day. It's more than likely that your animal may start to feel straps and pads digging into its skin instead of moving with it.
Cleaning leather with saddle soap plays a major role in comfort. Routine cleaning leaves leather soft and pliable, improving usage comfort. This allows the tack to move with your horse's body instead of resisting motion and causing pressure and friction.
Aesthetic
Leather products like shoes can start to look tired and worn just after a few uses. Without proper maintenance and care, the material can start to develop discoloration, clouding, scuffing, and salt stains that take away from its natural appeal.
If you're big on appearances and aesthetics, then scheduled leather cleaning should be part of your routine. Leather soap can remove difficult salt stains and keep leather supple to avoid excessive creasing.
Use saddle soap on your riding boots, dressage boots and even barn boots to keep them looking aesthetically pleasing.
How to Use Saddle Soap
In a perfect world, cleaning leather should occur after every ride. But if you've ever been on a ranch, you probably already know how busy and demanding life can get. So if it's just not feasible to clean your saddle and shoes after every use, sticking to a schedule of two to four times a month should suffice.
Generally, you should follow the specific instructions on the product labels since every saddle soap may require unique steps. But more often than not, traditional saddle soaps may call for the following steps:
Apply the soap to a clean cloth or sponge
Saddle soap usually comes in a small tin that lets you wipe your cloth over the waxy substance to apply to your leather saddles. Although any clean cloth might do, experts recommend using microfiber cloth or a soft sponge to reduce abrasion on the leather. Some manufacturers may also require a damp cloth dipped in warm water for application.
Wipe the soap in a circular motion
Dust off or vacuum the leather to get rid of any obvious dirt and debris. Then with your rag, wipe the leather in a circular motion, making sure that all leather parts and surfaces get just the right amount of soap.
Remove the excess
After you've made sure that all surfaces have sufficient saddle soap coverage, then you can polish off the excess. The waxy substance works like a polish in this way, allowing a shinier appearance. Take a clean cloth to wipe away excess soap and buff the leather parts.
Use leather conditioners
Optionally, you can use leather conditioner after cleaning your leather tack. This substance works to bolster the effects of leather saddle soap and improves the material's resistance to dirt, grime, and stains.
If you were interested in using saddle soap in liquid form, you may have to check whether the formulation should first be diluted in water. Glycerin saddle soap - although effective at cleaning - should be used occasionally, or only when deep cleaning is required.
Again, every saddle soap formulation requires different steps. But most foaming saddle soap formulations will call for the following procedures:
Apply a generous amount to the leather
Glycerin soap liquids come in a spray bottle that allows easy application. Generously apply the formula all over your leather, making sure that every part gets sufficient coverage.
Scrub the soap
Using a damp cloth, sponge, or a soft-bristle brush, scrub the soap into the leather material. Keep scrubbing until the foam completely dissolves. This should leave the leather looking cloudy.
Polish with a clean cloth
Take a clean microfiber cloth and polish the soap residue. As you buff and wipe, the leather should start to appear shinier. Then, you have the option to add leather conditioner to reinforce the soap's effects.
The steps remain the same for glycerin bar soaps. The only difference is that the bar soap may require some warm water in order to create a foam or lather.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best saddle soaps types?
Most experts recommend using standard, traditional saddle soap that uses as few ingredients as possible. Soaps that combine lanolin and beeswax come out on top as the ideal choice for routine cleaning of horse saddles, horse accessories, and other items like leather boots.
Glycerin soaps, although able to remove dirt, may cause damage to leather material over the long haul if used too often. So restricting the use of glycerin saddle soap to once or twice a year should work in your favor.
Is saddle soap bad for leather?
No. Although named specifically for its application on horse accessories, many people use saddle soap to clean various leather products like shoes, car seats, and even suede. This includes furniture upholstery, clothing, and more.
While saddle soap itself isn't inherently bad for leather, improper use may lead to damage and degradation. For instance, using abrasive cloths or a stiff shoe brush to scrub the substance into the leather can scuff up the surface and fade its natural shine.
In the case of glycerin soaps, frequent usage can work against the lifespan of your leather goods. Spraying too much liquid soap to the point that it runs may also imbue too much moisture, creating risk for mold and other bacterial growth.
What is the best thing to clean a saddle with?
Aside from saddle soap, it's ideal that you use soft, non-abrasive materials to tackle the cleaning job. Although leather might seem durable and strong, constant friction especially from stiff, harsh tools can cause damage to the surface that can get worse with time.
Is saddle soap good for saddles?
Definitely. Saddle soap helps to remove dirt and grime that may accumulate on all of the different parts of your saddle over time. But keep in mind - saddle soap isn't the only thing you'll need to keep your tack in proper shape.
Leather conditioner can also help reinforce the benefits of cleaning. On top of that, the metal hardware will require different cleaning methods and materials all together.
All Nice and Clean
Your saddle requires unique care if you want it to last a lifetime, just like the manufacturer said. The best saddle soap for your leather tack can help soften the material, improve its appearance, and strengthen it against the many different elements that risk to damage it.
Make sure to check out our vetted choices to find the perfect soap for your saddle, and get started on proper saddle care to extend your tack's life.
