How do I maintain my saddle?

To maintain the high quality and suppleness of the leather, it is important that you clean and care for it regularly. This applies not only to your saddle. Your other leather products will also remain in good condition and look beautiful for longer if you keep them clean and well-maintained. Think of bridles, girths, and your riding boots.

Here are the recommendations and tips from the Fryso team for keeping your leather products beautiful and supple.

Cleaning

After each use: Remove coarse dirt such as sand and mud with a soft brush and/or damp cloth from the saddle, girth, stirrup leathers and stirrups to prevent wear and drying out.

Weekly: You can clean the leather weekly with a mild cleaning agent such as saddle soap. Do not use too much. Apply it to a cloth and rub the leather clean. This prevents damage from, for example, skin oils, sweat, and horse saliva. With a liquid saddle soap this happens extra fast. Pay a little extra attention to leather that quickly comes into direct contact with sweat or dirt, such as the girth, throatlatch, and the heel of your boot.

Monthly: To keep the leather looking beautiful for as long as possible, to prevent it from drying out, and to keep it supple, you should clean the saddle once a month with leather grease to rub in. This nourishes the leather so that it does not dry out. Drying out can cause cracks and eventually tears in the leather: potentially very dangerous! Clean the saddle and then nourish the leather with suitable grease. Here too, the rule applies: not too much. Does the grease soak into the leather very quickly? Then you can apply another thin layer. Every type of leather, especially black leather, will eventually lose color through use. Proper maintenance can slow down this process.

Tip: Synthetic rigging may not require lubrication, but keeping it clean will still contribute to its lifespan. A damp cloth with a mild general cleaning agent is sufficient.

Check for wear

Regular checking of the girth straps, stirrup springs (suspension of the stirrup leather) and stitching is also very important. Our tip is to do this during the monthly greasing, then it will never be forgotten. Do you see damage? Then let the saddler repair the saddle for you. After all, it is for your own safety. Our saddlers can make such repairs during a saddle check on location, or you can bring your saddle to us for repair in the shop by our saddlers.

We advise at least annually to have a saddle check performed so that you know for sure that your saddle fits your horse properly. A poorly fitting saddle can hinder a horse's movement or even cause a lot of pain, an injury, or permanent damage to the back.