Cleaning horse equipment is an important part of maintenance and safety of owning and riding horses. It is important to clean your horse equipments every few weeks when using it regularly. Even if not used regularly, all your horse equipment should be cleaned at least every six months. Cleaning your horse equipment not only makes the last tack longer, but when you clean your horse equipment it is a great time to examine the equipment for damage or weakness. Noticing weaknesses before it causes a break during use can literally save your life! When cleaning your horse equipment, check the equipment for weak spots in the leather, cracking, excessive stretching, or other signs of trauma. If you see a piece of leather and that looks like it may break soon, stop using the piece of horse equipment and take it to a tack repair person as soon as possible.
There are lots of different methods for cleaning leather horse equipment, the most common being saddlesoap and water. On today's market there are lots of different types of leather cleaners and conditioners, these can be found at any tack shop or farm store.
To clean non leather horse equipment, such as synthetic saddles or metal horse bits or fabric saddles pads other methods should be used.
For equipment such as saddle pads and nylon halters you can simply wash the items in your washing machine. Wash once with regular detergent, then wash again with no soap. Some horses are sensitive to the residue of soap. Nylon items can be rejuvenated by a soak in liquid fabric softener.
For items that are metal, such as bits or english stirrup irons, the items can actually be washed in your dishwasher! Put them on the top rack and run them through a regular cycle, this is one of the best ways to get metal equipment really clean.
Synthetic saddles and other synthetic items like beta bridles can simply be hosed off. You may have to scrub with a brush if there is sweat residue or dirt on the equipment. Special synthetic saddle cleaners are now available through most mail-order tack shops, but elbow grease works just as well!
Caring for your horse equipment is important part of being a horse owner, every horse owner should know how to clean horse equipment.
