Tack Cleaning Checklist
What gets wiped after every ride, washed every week, and taken apart once a month, on a yard where sweat salt and dust do more damage than rain.
Leather on Mallorca fails from the inside: sweat salt dries into it every day from March to November, dust works into the stitching, and the wet weeks arrive on leather that has already gone stiff. The routine below is short because it is meant to be kept. Print it for the tack room.
The after-ride wipe is the one that matters; a saddle wiped every day needs the monthly strip-down less.
Bits, girths and saddle pads are washed, not oiled. Leather is cleaned, then conditioned, in that order, and never soaked.
After Every Ride
- ✓Bit rinsed in water before the saliva dries, every single time
- ✓Girth and saddle pad hung to dry, not left folded under the saddle
- ✓Sweat wiped off the saddle flaps, girth straps and bridle cheekpieces with a damp cloth
- ✓Stirrup leathers run back to their length so the buckles do not sit on the same hole
- ✓Saddle on its rack, bridle on its hook, cover over the saddle in the dusty months
Every Week
- ✓Saddle pads and girth sleeves machine washed, air dried, never on a radiator
- ✓Neoprene and synthetic girths hosed and hung
- ✓Bit and stirrup irons scrubbed; check the bit rings and joints for rough edges
- ✓Leather cleaned with a damp sponge and glycerine soap, sweat salt lifted from the underside of the flaps
- ✓Reins checked at the buckle end where the rubber grip wears through
Every Month
- ✓Bridle stripped: every buckle undone, every strap cleaned on both sides, keepers checked
- ✓Stitching inspected on stirrup leathers, girth straps and rein ends; a loose stitch is a lost stirrup
- ✓Leather conditioned lightly after cleaning; a thin coat, never a soaking
- ✓Saddle tree checked for creaks, panels for lumps, girth straps for cracks at the holes
- ✓Bits and stirrups for a second horse stored labelled, not in a heap
The Wet Weeks
- ✓Leather conditioned in the week before the October rain, when it is still dry and warm
- ✓Wet tack dried slowly at room temperature, stuffed with paper if soaked, never on a heater
- ✓Mud brushed off dry rather than washed off wet, then cleaned as normal
- ✓Mould wiped off with a barely damp cloth as soon as it appears, then the tack room aired
- ✓Rugs, boots and pads dried before they are stored, however tired you are
The Kit
- ✓Two sponges, one for cleaning and one for conditioning, and a soft cloth
- ✓Glycerine saddle soap and a leather conditioner the saddler is happy with
- ✓A small stiff brush for stitching and a toothbrush for buckles
- ✓Metal polish for stirrups and buckles, kept off the leather
- ✓A hook by the door for the girth and pad that come off wet
Wipe it every ride, wash it every week, strip it every month. Leather on the island fails from sweat and dust before it fails from rain.
The after-ride wipe and the rinsed bit are the two minutes that save the leather.
Wash pads, girths and bits; clean then condition leather, thin, never soaked, never dried on a heater.
Strip the bridle once a month and look at every stitch: a loose one on a stirrup leather is a fall waiting to happen.
General guidance for tack care. Any doubt about a saddle’s tree, fit or safety is a question for a saddler, not a checklist.
