The Equestrian's Guide to Comprehensive Leather Care
From A to Z: The Essential Guide to Equestrian Leather By: Alicia N Martin As seasoned equestrians, we understand the significance of high-quality leather and the importance of proper care to ensure its longevity and performance. Used as an essential material in equestrian equipment, from saddles and bridles to boots and gloves, leather is an often used but often neglected product. In this guide, we'll not only cover the various aspects of leather care, we'll touch on where leather comes from and how it's made also. The Importance of Proper Care Leather is a natural, long-lasting material that requires meticulous care to maintain its suppleness, strength, and aesthetic appeal. By properly caring for your leather goods, you can extend the life of your tack and gear significantly, not only ensuring the safety and comfort of both horse and rider, but maintaining the value of your investment as well. On the other hand, neglecting your leathers can lead to dryness, cracking, and eventual breakdown of the material, compromising its functionality and appearance. Preparing New Leather for Use New leather, especially when it comes to saddles and bridles, often requires some preparation before it's ready for use. This process, known as "breaking in," helps soften the leather and ensures a comfortable fit. You first start out by thoroughly cleaning the leather. Wipe the leather with a damp cloth to remove any dust or surface dirt, and take extra care to avoid soaking the leather, as excessive moisture can damage it. Once every speck of dust and dirt is removed (we jest, but do try and get it as clean as possible!), apply a high-quality leather conditioner to soften the leather. Use a small amount and rub it in with a soft cloth, allowing it to absorb overnight. Repeat this process a few times until the leather feels supple. Once softened, lightly oiling the leather can help make it softer and more flexible. Make sure to use a leather oil recommended for equestrian equipment, but make sure not to over-oil, as this can not only weaken the fibers in the leather but make it, well, oily! Once conditioned and (preferably) oiled, you can now make use of your leather gear. As with all leather products, the more you use the item, the more it will conform its shape to suit both horse and rider. Maintaining and Cleaning Leather If you want to keep your tack and gear in peak condition, routine maintenance is the key. Just like preparing new leather, the steps to maintaining and cleaning your leathers are similar and relatively straight forward. First and foremost, clean, clean, clean! Wipe down all leather items with a damp cloth to remove sweat, dirt, and grime, whether it's after a ride or just taking a stroll through the stables. Pay special attention to areas that come into direct contact with the horse as these may need a bit more TLC. Most manufacturers of leather cleaning products recommend using a mild leather cleaner or saddle soap weekly to help maintain your items. Apply the soap with a sponge or cloth then work it into a fine lather, then wipe away with a separate damp cloth, ensuring no soap residue is left behind. Now, you don't have to condition leather constantly once it's broken into, but it is a good idea to condition it at least monthly to keep it supple. Just like with new leather, condition it well and apply it evenly, making sure to allow time for full absorption. Depending on the leather type and usage, oiling may be necessary every few months. Apply sparingly and evenly to avoid saturating the leather. Regardless of whether you've conditioned or oiled your belongings, make sure to store your leather goods in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Storing them properly will be instrumental in keeping their durability and value, and (if possible) use a breathable cover when storing to protect your items from dust and debris. Restoring Older, Dry Leather If you've inherited old, dried out leather, or you've accidentally created it yourself through no fault of your own (whoops), rest assured that you can transform your roughed up gear with some tender love and care and restore much of its former glory. The steps are largely the same as above: clean, condition, oil and repeat, only you'll have to really take time with each step before moving on to the next. First, thoroughly clean the leather with a mild cleaner to remove dirt and buildup. This may take several passes, but the more thorough you are, the better. Next, hydrate the old leather with liberal amounts of conditioner. Again, you'll probably need to repeat this process several times depending on just how old or worn out the piece is. Allow for several days to a week to complete this process for very severe cases. Next, lightly oil the leather and then buff well using a soft cloth. With a lot of patience (and elbow grease) you should see your old leather perk up quite significantly after following these steps. Grades of Leather, Methods of Tanning & more Now that we've discussed how to properly care for your leather, let's take a look at the different grades of leather, the different tanning methods, the different types of leather you can find, and which countries produce the best equestrian leather. Grades of Leather The first thing to you’ve got to know is that there are five grades of leather: full-grain, top-grain, genuine, split-grain and bonded. Full-grain Your highest quality leather is going to be full-grain. It's durable, breathable, and it's the leather type made using the majority of the animal's hide, which means it includes everything minus the hair and flesh. Because of this, it's also the thickest, most heavy duty leather there is. Saddles and bridles made from full-grain leather are the most long-lasting and can often be the most beautiful due to the leather creating a fine patina over time.
Top-grain Your next leather tier is top-grain, which is created by removing the outermost layer of the hide either by sanding or buffing. When this is done, the leather is often softer and more uniform in texture than full-grain, however the durability will suffer slightly as well. Cost-wise, it's a fine choice for tack, especially if you're trying something new and don't want to fully commit to full-grain just yet. Rest assured it will still be a durable piece of tack, just not quite to the level of full-grain. Genuine The next tier level is genuine, and that's a bit of a misnomer. Genuine leather is also known as corrected-grain, and it's named this due to it needing to be further sanded down to remove any inconsistencies in the hide. It is then either dyed or painted, which can result in a weaker material overall. It's not a leather tier often associated with the equestrian world, but it is good to know in case you do happen to stumble across it in shops or online. Split The next to last tier is split leather. Split leather only uses the corium section of the animal's hide. Now, the corium is the layer of hide that primarily consists of collagen fibers and is usually the thickest of the hide layers. Despite being the thickest layer, due to the less tightly packed nature of the fibers, it's actually the most fragile form of leather and will often be combined with an artificial layer to boost its strength. Overall it's a weaker and cheaper type of leather and would work best with items (such as chaps and gloves) that you wouldn't expect to keep around for years. Bonded Also known as composition or blended leather, bonded leather is made up of scraps of leather fibers mixed with binding agents and then embossed with texturing to give it the appearance of a certain grain type. It's a great way of recycling offcuts, but overall it's not very durable and can scratch and rip very easily, making it a poor choice for most equestrian tack. Methods of Tanning The tanning process is how you convert raw animal hide into wearable, durable leather. There are several tanning methods, each one affecting the leather's overall characteristics: vegetable, chrome, synthetic, combination and alum. Vegetable tanning uses natural tannins from plant materials such as bark, leaves and roots. It is considered the only truly environmentally friendly leather tanning method and produces firm, durable leather with a distinctive aroma, ideal for saddles and bridles. Chrome tanning is a modern, cheap method of tanning that uses chromium salts which results in softer, more pliable leather that is more water and stain resistant. It is also the most harmful to the environment and can cause toxic water pollution if released into waterways. This style of tanning is often used for making boots and gloves. Synthetic tanning is an alternative to chrome tanning, but can be equally as toxic. Technically, it's referred to as a combination tanning method as manufacturer's can use any number of combinations of chrome, vegetable or synthetic to tan their leathers. Alum tanning, or tawing, is used to produce a soft, white leather known as alum-tawed leather. Tawing is a method which uses aluminum salts (alum) and is used in specific items such as gloves and harnesses. Different Types of Equestrian Leather Equestrian leather comes in various types, each offering unique qualities suited for specific applications in riding gear and accessories. Understanding these types can help you make an informed decision when selecting leather for your specific needs. Harness Known for its strength and durability, harness leather is typically made from full-grain hides, is vegetable-tanned, and is heavily oiled and waxed to enhance its water resistance and longevity. This type of leather is ideal for harnesses, reins, and other equipment that require robustness and reliability. Pull-Up Pull-up leather (or pulled leather) is characterized by its unique finish that lightens in color when stretched or pulled, creating a distinctive aged appearance. This effect is achieved by infusing the leather with certain oils and waxes. It's popular for its aesthetic appeal and is often used in high-end boots and saddlery. Buffalo Buffalo leather, derived from the hides of buffalo, is exceptionally strong and durable. It has a more pronounced grain than cowhide and is often thicker and more resilient. Buffalo leather is favored for heavy-duty items like saddles and riding boots, where extra strength is beneficial.
Calfskin Highly prized for its softness, fine grain, and smooth texture, calfskin is more delicate than other leathers making it ideal for luxury items such as fine gloves, high-end riding boots, and certain types of saddles where comfort and suppleness are prioritized. Latigo A type of leather that is both flexible and durable, latigo leather is typically combination tanned, using both chrome and vegetable tanning processes. Made from cowhide, this leather type is often used for cinches, reins, and other strap goods where a balance of strength and suppleness is required. Fun fact: latigo is derived from the spanish word for "whip" as latigo leather was originally created to make leather whips. Pigskin Known for its unique texture and durability, pigskin is often used as a lining material in gloves and boots. It is less common in heavy-duty applications but is valued for its breathability and toughness.
Sporting brown leather riding boots with spurs[/caption] Deerskin Deerskin is exceptionally soft and flexible, owing to the unique structure of the deer's hide. Compared to cowhide, deerskin has a tighter grain pattern and a thicker covering of collagen fibers, which provides excellent longevity without stretching, cracking or becoming excessively tough. Leather Quality and Country of Origin Leather quality can vary based on its country of origin due to differences in cattle breeds, climate, and tanning practices. Italian Leather Synonymous with high quality, Italian leather is often vegetable-tanned and known for its rich color and luxurious feel. Italy's long history of leather craftsmanship ensures some of the best leather in the world. English Leather Famous for its durability and firmness, English bridle leather is often vegetable-tanned and heavily waxed, making it ideal for high-stress equestrian items like saddles and reins. American Leather The United States produces a wide variety of leathers, with top-quality hides often used for saddles and western tack. American leather is known for its robustness and versatility. Argentinian Leather Argentina is a significant producer of high-quality leather, crediting its uniquely superior product to its climate, soil, cattle breeds and native tanning practices. Argentinian leather is valued for its softness and durability, and is commonly used in a variety of equestrian goods. Beautiful, long-lasting and impressively durable, leather is the natural material that keeps on giving. Just remember that with a little hard work (and a lot of TLC), you can keep your beloved equestrian gear up in tip top shape by following the simple leather care rules we outlined for you above! Happy riding, friends!