How To Clean The Fleece Of A Western Saddle

This blog is reader supported. Nosotros may earn a commission when you buy through our links.
Every bit an amazon acquaintance, we earn from qualifying purchases.

While washing English language saddle pads is usually straightforward, cleaning western saddle pads is trickier. These thick, dumbo pads can be upwardly to ane½ inches thick, frequently featuring difficult to clean materials like wool, leather, cream layers. In this article, we'll hash out tips, tricks, and best practices for cleaning both English and western saddle pads – helping you lot to proceed your horse's saddle pads looking newer, longer.

Why Clean Saddle Pads Matter

Some styles of horse saddle pads can be really difficult to clean and wash, and then it'due south oft easy to justify skipping the cleaning process and re-using dirty pads. Subsequently all, you might think, they aren't meant to exist clean afterwards every ride. But here's the matter: over fourth dimension, clay, sweat, and matted fur build up on the bottom of a saddle pad, creating harbors for bacteria. As the debris deposits build upwardly, they tin abrasion your horse nether the saddle, causing saddle sores that may be worsened by the bacteria on a muddy saddle pad. By regularly cleaning your western and English language saddle pads you can prevent saddle sores and avert being sidelined waiting for them to heal.

[toc]

How to clean a thick western saddle pad

1. Back-scratch off hair and debris

Utilise a back-scratch comb – preferably with nubby "fingers" that grip and remove pilus to get rid of matted hair and dirt buildup on the underside of your saddle pad. Follow the curry comb with a stiff brush to lift fifty-fifty more dirt off the surface of the Western pad. This alone can be an effective way to clean western saddle pads without washing and extend the fourth dimension between washes.

2. Use touch to remove dirt and debris from the pad.

Before attempting to wash your western saddle pad, you'll demand to remove every bit much dirt as possible. If yous don't spend time removing surface clay first, your wash h2o is likely to turn into a muddy sludge that will only embed dirt deeper into the fibers of your western saddle pad. For another cleaning footstep before washing, smack your saddle pad confronting a debate or post repeatedly.

On impact, you should run across dust rising from the saddle pad (and you may even need to wear a mask to keep from inhaling it!). Once you stop seeing debris shake off the pad with each impact, it'due south time to wash your saddle pad.

Washing saddle pads: two options

Depending on the blazon of Western saddle pad you accept, you may or may non be able to launder your Western pad in a regular washing machine. Thick wool felt, memory foam, or gel-core western saddle pads cannot exist machine done, but woven Mexican-style blanket Western saddle pads can frequently be washed in a washing automobile.

Washing Mexican-way Western saddle pads in a washing machine

With surface dirt dislodged, it'south time to place your blanket way Western pad in a washing machine. If your blanket is made from constructed fibers, you can launder the pad with warm water. If your pad is made from natural fibers similar wool you should simply use cold water to wash your pad. If you aren't sure whether your pad is natural or synthetic fiber, apply cold h2o just in case (wool is a more common material, and if you paid more than than $40 for your blanket fashion Western saddle pad, information technology's probably made from wool)

Washing thick felt, stitched, or layered Western saddle pads

If your saddle pad doesn't bend easily, y'all shouldn't wash it in a washing machine. Only don't worry, you can nonetheless get it actually clean with i tip: accept it to the car wash!

Nigh self-serve carwashes have clamps on the wall designed to hold flooring mats, but these clamps work perfectly for holding big Western saddle pads up on the wall and so yous can wash the pad using the loftier-pressure spray of the car wash'south wand. When washing Western saddle pads at a car launder, avoid using any of the provided detergents – these are way besides harsh for fabrics and may leave a residue that could irritate your horse'south skin. Instead, wash with plain h2o or apply an unscented laundry detergent diluted in water and scrubbed in past paw using a stiff-bristled brush.

Be careful not to permit a loftier pressure jet get too close to wool-felt pads. Felt is formed by pressure level and agitation- and the pressure level and agitation of a high-pressure water jet can deform a pad. If you are washing a wool felt saddle pad, continue a prophylactic distance while spraying and sentry for whatever signs of changes to the felt'due south surface.

Spray the saddle pad with a strong jet of h2o working from pinnacle to bottom so mud and debris flow down and wash away. With this method, you can remove years of builtup gunk on the bottom of your Western saddle pad. It can be very satisfying to lookout the dirt wash away!

PRO TIP:If you don't have a pickup truck with a water-safe bed, be sure to bring a large bucket or thick plastic bag with you to the car wash so y'all can transfer the wet and heavy saddle pad home to dry out.

Dry the Western Saddle Pad

Whether you use a washing machine or a high-pressure jet to launder your Western saddle pad, yous'll demand to let the pad air dry in a sunny, breezy location. Never machine dry wool or synthetic Western blankets, as the rut tin can harm both types of fibers. Y'all'll need to be sure that the western saddle pad is completely, 100% dry before using it on your horse again. Speed the drying process by aiming a fan at the pad and make certain the pad has ventilation from both the acme and the bottom and then it dries evenly.

Condition leather guards.

While blanket style Western saddle pads typically don't take leather reinforced pieces, about felt or shaped Western saddle pads will have a patch of leather stitched on at the front center of the pad – where the horses withers are – and the bottom, sides where the girth and stirrup leathers can rub against the pad.

To finish cleaning your Western saddle pad, you'll need to requite a little bit of TLC to these portions of the pad. After washing the saddle pad with water, permit the leather patches to dry fully. Once dry you'll need to apply conditioner to restore some of the natural oil to the leather that was lost in the procedure of washing. A elementary leather conditioner similar Mink oil makes reconditioning these leather patches like shooting fish in a barrel. If you don't have a specific leather conditioner on hand, olive oil is sufficient for small patches of leather such every bit those on a western saddle pad.

make this section #english

How to wash an English saddle pad

You may think that y'all know how to launder an English saddle pad. English saddle pads, after all, are designed to fit in a washing machine and be easy to make clean regularly.

In this article, however, I'll show you how to actually clean your English language saddle pads then they are sparkling clean and restored to nigh new condition.

How to wash an English language horse saddle pad

one. Brush off clay and debris.

Flip your saddle pad upside down on a apartment surface and use a clean horse brush to dislodge loose hair, clay, and droppings. Taking a few minutes for this extra step- which removes dirt before washing- can help get your pad cleaner, since your first wash of h2o won't exist a sludge of a muddy mess.

2. Make a paste of Tide liquid laundry detergent and Borax

While many brands attempt to convince u.s.a. that their laundry detergent is the well-nigh effective, Consumer Reports however ranks TIDE equally the most effective laundry detergent at removing dirt and stains from textiles. I recommend using Tide Costless & Gentle unscented laundry detergent for washing all of your equus caballus-related laundry – if your horse has sensitive peel information technology may react to scented detergent's residue left in the saddle pad after washing. BORAX: Borax Washing Soda is an inexpensive and easy-to-find cleaner that can boost the effectiveness of any detergent.

Combine the Borax and Tide in a wide shallow basin, diluted with a little water.

3. Pretreat the underside of your saddle pad

To get your saddle pads sparkling white, utilise this pretreatment mixture nearly an hour before washing your saddle pad. Utilise a clean synthetic bristle horse brush or a scrub brush to apply the full-bodied detergent mixture to the underside of your saddle pad as well equally whatever spot on the meridian side of the saddle pad that is discolored from clay or saddle leathers. Use the scrub brush to agitate the surface, scrubbing the soapy mixture into the fabric.

4. Wash in a washing machine with special settings.

If you are washing a white English language saddle pad, set your washing automobile to fill and wash with hot h2o. Manually override your washing auto'south settings to make the washing machine fill the drum with the highest level of water possible (many modern washing machines are ultra-efficient and wash with simply a pocket-size amount of h2o. For very dirty items similar English horse saddle pads, all the same, this washer setting is less effective at cleaning. Finally, ready the washing machine to run an extra rinse cycle ensuring that all detergent volition be removed from the English saddle pad.

5. Inspect and rewash equally needed

When your wash cycle has finished, examine your saddle pad. Has all the discoloration been removed, is information technology muddy or yellowed?

If your saddle pad is less than sparkling after the outset launder, run information technology once more. This time you can use a cap-total of bleach to burnish or a few drops of Mrs. Stewart's laundry bluing to right yellowed tones and restore white pads to brilliantly bright white.

After the 2nd launder cycle, you'll be fix to dry out your English saddle pad. Dry your English language saddle pad in a breezy location until completely dry. Never use a wet saddle pad on a horse, since this tin can cause saddle sores that could sideline your riding for weeks.

Storing Saddle Pads

Barns are dirty places. Information technology's hard to keep things clean in an surround then filled with grit, mud, and droppings. The all-time way to keep your saddle pads fresh betwixt uses is to use a storage purse or bin. If you expect to non need to utilise your saddle pad regularly (for example like a show pad only used for equus caballus shows, you can seal them in enormous goose egg-tiptop bags or even space-saving vacuum-seal bags (I like these infinite saver bags, because they come with a manus-pump and arrive like shooting fish in a barrel to apply them without a vacuum).

When storing English horse saddle pads in closed storage, information technology's best to include a few silica packets in the handbag or bin – these moisture-absorbing, non-toxic packets assistance reduce humidity in the container and forbid mold or mildew from growing on your tack and equipment. Using closed storage like thick plastic bags, storage bins, or even zip-way mattress bags, not only protects your horse saddle pads from dirt and droppings, but also keeps them clean, safe, and away from a barn by similar mice, rats, and cats.

Keeping Saddle pads clean Between Washes

To keep your saddle pads sparkling between washes, be mindful of where you put your saddle pads. Always make sure your horse is groomed before tacking up and avert setting your saddle pads on debate posts, tack trunks, or other areas that could be grit-covered. Go on your saddle pad stored in a clean tack room or bins. (Never store a wet sweaty horse saddle pad in a sealed container though, moisture equus caballus saddle pads need to exist fully dried before their next use.)

To help your newly cleaned saddle pad resist stains and dirt, you tin can apply a cloth protectant spray designed for outdoor products similar Scotchgard. This is surface handling helps create a barrier that prevents dirt and debris from discoloring or embedding in the fabric of your saddle pad.

How ofttimes should y'all clean your horse'southward saddle pads?

The frequency with which you should wash your horse saddle pads can vary from season to flavor. In the spring and summer, when your horse is likely to sweat and shed hair liberally onto the underside of the saddle pad, your saddle pad should be done every few rides. However, in the fall or wintertime or whenever you lot're riding a generally make clean equus caballus that isn't in the process of shedding its coat or heavily sweating during the ride, yous may not need to wash your saddle pads very often. Grooming your horse well before riding is a dandy fashion to extend the amount of time between saddle pad cleaning.

Using a thin baby pad underneath your English saddle pad can be one manner to extend the time between washings, specially in the summer. The sparse additional pad provides sweat absorption and protects the underside of your saddle pad from dirt and debris.

tl;dr

In this guide to cleaning horse saddle pads, nosotros've discussed the various steps to cleaning a dirty western or English saddle pad and restoring it to a clean and bully-looking saddle pad ready for many more than rides. This saddle pad cleaning tutorial is designed for textile, cotton, flannel, fleece, felt, and synthetic English and Western saddle pads. For cleaning saddle pads fabricated of memory foam, shearling fleece, wool, or sheepskin, you should refer to the manufacturers cleaning instructions for your specific brand of saddle pad.

Keeping your pads make clean is a critical part of horse tack maintenance and equus caballus management. Cleaning pads tin can be an opportunity to inspect your equipment for damaged or worn pieces.

For cleaning shaped fleece saddle pads – the type required for many English horse shows – check out our tutorial on cleaning and restoring a matted fleece saddle pad to like-new condition.