Is there an easier way to clean horse tack?

JadeOrchid on Fri, 18th Jul 2008 10:58 pm 



Use a liquid leather cleaner and a toothbrush instead of a rag. The tooth brush scrubs away dirt soooo effectively.

I’ve also taken a soft bristed hand brush that was too frayed to use on the horses anymore and put the bridle on a nail about a food above my head on a clean post or board, sprayed the cleaner on and worked in long strokes. I only go back to the tooth brush for the smaller areas. After that wipe it down with a cloth (or follow other directions on the cleaner if there’s more then wipe it down with a cloth). Hand the nail high enough so the reins don’t touch the ground.

On all my non leather stuff I just throw it in the wash and dry in the dryer. I do this with ropes and halters made with nylon too. Or you can hang them on the line to dry.

I wish I could help you with the Grand Prix bridle but I’ve never cleaned one…I’d assume if it was leather the methods would be the same. For sterling silver conches or other ornate items clean those last with a good silver polish. Try not to get the silver polish on the leather…

Hope this helps some…

Also, on soiled bedding what I do is rake it all to one corner then bring the wheelbarrow into the stall and fork it all in at once. Then I use a shovel to scoop the rest and then wash. It takes me about 10 minutes to do each stall. Another option is to take a trash can with a bag in it to do the job. A large trash can with a board srewed to the bottom with wheels works too. I always do my morning feeding first then I go eat breakfast…After that I do my stall cleaning and other chores. That way they finish eating and making other messes and I know the bedding stays cleaner, longer. It’s all about multitasking for me…

jazzmyn_girl on Sun, 20th Jul 2008 11:52 pm 



buy some saddle soap. it come in a tin like shoe polish. this works wonders if youre just doing like day to day cleaning, but you need to use a toothbrush for anything REALLY dirty.

take a rag, get some saddle soap on it, and rub it around all over the bridle. no need to be too careful, just use it. then, take a clean rag, and wipe it all off. this shouldnt take too long, and cleans it and adds protectant and conditioner too!

have fun

debbie on Wed, 23rd Jul 2008 1:23 pm 



I like to use Murphy’s oil soap in water to clean leather. I put enough in the water that it coats my fingers and is a little slippery. It cleans very well, doesn’t dry out the leather, and is easy on my hands. You could probably get a 5 gallon bucket with the Murphy’s mix and swish the bridles in it and then scrub them. Just make sure to dry under the keeper straps, and anywhere else that would hold the water. For cleaning large areas on saddles a sponge works much better than a rag.

whalegirl51 on Fri, 25th Jul 2008 2:19 pm 



What do you use right now?

One of my saddles(english I bought for over $600, but it was really hard. I asked around and I found most people use Horsemans One-Step. It does all the the conditioning and other nonsense all in one step.I used it every other day for two weeks, and my saddle was so soft! You can also use it before you ride. Some products you have to wait do a certain amount of days of hours before you can use the product.I also use it for my bridles. My horse has so many, so I can’t spend foreever cleaning one. For the bit I use Pepperment bit wipes. They make the bit really shiney and clean.

For stalls, I put in fresh shavings every other day. But, I take out the poop every day. It is quicker, but it is not less sanitary on more sanitary. Just be sure to get out all the poop.

tigerfairy39 on Tue, 29th Jul 2008 2:18 am 



Lexol is what I always use to clean my tack, it works well and cleans effiecntly… use both the cleaner and conditioner. One barn I’ve worked in only quickly picks out the manure and the urine cakes, and they totally clean out the stalls once a month. The forks with 9 or so tines work best with shavings as they let the clean shavings fall through the cracks.

As for the Grand Prix bridle, I assume you mean a double bridle? Clean the the same as every other bridle

horselover on Fri, 1st Aug 2008 2:40 am 



I use Horsemans one step. It cleans any kind of leather tack and leaves it supple. DO NOT immerse your leather in water. It will cause the leather to dry out, become weak and break. If you do wet your leather, use a good oil based product to rehydrate the leather. Mink oil is good because it doesn’t have petroleum distillates in it . They weaken leather too. Clean your Grand Prix bridle same as you do any other bridle. Make sure you get the underside clean, to keep equipment comfortable for your horse.

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