Tack Care - Shore Riders Pony Club

Name: __Teacher Copy________________ Tack Care Date: _____________________________
(USPC D Manual pg 271)

The FOUR Steps:

1) Preparing 2) Cleaning 3) Conditioning 4) Protecting

What Every Day Every couple of weeks / Before competitions
• large bowl & small pale with warm water
Supplies • Bowl with warm water • Dish soap
• scrubby
• Dish soap • Clean sponges and rags
• scrubby • Old toothbrush
• Clean sponge, Glycerine • Leather cleaner – ie Murphy Oil Soap
• Leather Conditioner – ie neatsfoot oil, vegetable oil, Lexol
soap, drying basket
• or leather wipes conditioner
• 1”-2” paintbrush
• Leather protector – ie glycerine saddle soap
• Saddle rack or sawhorse
• Tack hook
• Drying basket

1)Prepare – a. Remove Girth, Unbuckle a. Strip- take off the removable parts (girth, stirrup irons, stirrup
leathers, remove bit pads, leathers, etc)
get your tack
ready to clean b. Soak bit in warm, soapy b. Disassemble bridle and undo all buckles. Keep track of the
water keepers.
2)Cleaning
a. Use damp sponge or c. Soak – soak stirrup irons and bit in warm, soapy water
Getting rid of leather wipes to wipe a. Fill pale with warm (not hot), soapy water
the dirt and down saddle, leathers, b. Dip in rag/sponge, then wring out to nearly dry (if water stays on
grime girth, bridle, and reins
the surface, it is too wet)
b. Scrub off bit c. Rub over all leather (not suede) to remove dirt & dust
d. Wipe down both the outside and underside
e. Scrape off ‘jockeys’
f. Clean under/around all buckles
g. Use a toothpick to clean stitching and holes
STILL DIRTY?
a. Repeat rub down with leather cleaner, like castile soap or

Murphy Oil Soap. If it lathers, you are using too much water.
b. Rinse leather cleaner off with damp (not wet) cloth
THINK YOUR DONE?

 Leather should be clean and slightly damp.
 Stitching should stand out clean
 No jockeys or dirt

3)Conditioning a. Not needed DOES IT NEED IT?
 The leather should not be dry and stiff.
– restoring dry or  The leather should not squeak when you ride
stiff leather to it’s
original beauty HOW OFTEN
 Do NOT condition every time you clean your saddle
4)Protecting – a. Not needed  Depends on climate and the care you have given it
 Over-oiling makes the leather greasy and flabby, and can
sealing in the oils weaken the stitching.
by closing the  Condition when leather feels dry or stiff
pores of the
leather HOW
a. Apply Oil (neatsfoot oil, vegetable oil, Lexol conditioner) to the

UNDERSIDE of the leather
b. Paint a thin coat ( 1”-2” paintbrush works well)
c. Bend leather back and forth, roll it and work it gently between

your hands.
d. Can let it soak for a while
e. Wipe away excess with a rag
f. Do not get oil on the suede or cloth parts of your saddle
a. Done last, AFTER cleaning.
b. Use Glycerine saddle soap to seal the leather pores, nourishing

and protecting it.
c. Use damp sponge (not wet). Sponge should be sticky and

soapy, NOT wet or lathery.
d. Rub soap on both sides of leather. Rub the soap into the

leather.
e. Should NOT be any lather
f. If you used just the right amount of soap, should be able to see

a fingerprint after rubbing the soap in.
g. Wipe away excess soap.

Unsafe Tack Checklist

• Broken or cracked saddle tree
• Cracked or stretched out holes in leather straps
• Loose , broken, or missing stitching
• Leather showing cracks or dry rot
• Stirrup bars rusting or stuck in closed position
• Bits with rust or rough spots
• Girths with worn-out elastic
• Broken or missing runners or keepers
• Bent or broken buckles
• Stirrup pads worn smooth

Designed by Shore Riders Pony Club, Delmarva, 2012 http://www.shoreridersponyclub.org/index.html