Saddle Soap & Tack Cleaners

Saddle soap cleans leather; a conditioner or balsam feeds it afterwards — and most riders need both. Our saddle soap and tack cleaner range covers glycerine bar soaps, spray and gel soaps, two-step cleaner-and-conditioner systems, leather oils and dressings, anti-fungal cleaners for mouldy tack, synthetic-tack cleaners, plus tack sponges and saddle covers. Prices start at £2.05 for a Carr & Day & Martin Tack Cleaning Sponge and £2.66 for Gold Label Glycerin Leather & Saddle Soap in a 100gm block.

Which tack cleaner is right for my leather?

The quickest way to choose is to decide what job you are doing today: lifting dirt and sweat, feeding dry leather, or rescuing tack that has been sitting in a damp tack room.

How do I clean tack properly?

Step 1 — lift the dirt

Strip the bridle or saddle down, wipe off loose mud and hair with a barely damp cloth, then work a cleaner into the leather with a well-wrung sponge. Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir Tack Cleaner Step 1 Spray 500ml (£9.59) or Hydrophane Saddlers Leather Cleaner 500ml (£6.24) both target the greasy sweat line under the girth and behind the browband. Keep water to a minimum — soaking is what cracks stitching.

Step 2 — soap the leather

Rub a damp sponge over a glycerine block such as Lincoln Classic Glycerine Bar Soap 250gm (£4.45), or use a pump for speed with Lincoln Glycerine Spray Soap 500ml (£8.39). Work it in small circles, then buff off the residue.

Step 3 — feed and protect

Finish with a conditioner so the leather stays supple: Belvoir Tack Conditioner Step 2 Bar 50gm (£5.40), Effax Leather Combi Plus 500ml (£8.63) or Renapur Leather Balsam 500ml (£20.50). Let it soak in before hanging tack up, and cover the saddle with something like the Hy Waterproof Saddle Cover (£8.70) if the tack room is damp.

What is the difference between saddle soap and leather conditioner?

Saddle soap is a cleaner. Glycerine-based soaps such as Gold Label Glycerin Leather & Saddle Soap (from £2.66) and Hydrophane Glycerine Leather & Saddle Soap 250gm (£5.45) lift sweat, grease and grime, and leave a light glycerine film behind. A conditioner, balsam or leather food goes further and replaces the oils and waxes that wash out over time — that is the job of Naf Sheer Luxe Leather Food 500ml (£11.67), Lincoln Heritage Leather Cream 400gm (£9.62) or Renapur Leather Balsam 500ml (£20.50). Cleaning alone will gradually dry leather out; conditioning alone seals dirt in. Use both, in that order.

Can I use these on synthetic tack and waterproofs?

Not with a traditional glycerine soap — it will smear rather than clean. Synthetic saddles, webbing headcollars and biothane-style bridles want a purpose-made product such as Hydrophane Synthetic Saddle Cleaner 500ml (£10.23) or Aqueos Equine Anti-Bacterial Tack Cleaner (£9.78). For waterproof rugs, jackets and technical fabrics, Nikwax Tech Wash (300ml £5.14, 1 Litre £11.70) and Nikwax Cotton Proof 1 Litre (£14.62) are the right tools, while Nikwax Waterproofing Wax Cream For Leather 100ml (£4.40) suits leather boots.

How often should tack be cleaned?

A quick wipe with a damp sponge and a spray soap after every ride takes about two minutes and prevents most problems. Give tack a full strip-down clean and condition roughly once a week if you ride most days, and always before and after a long spell in storage. Safety-critical parts — stirrup leathers, girth straps, reins and the stitching around buckles — deserve a proper look each time; if the leather is cracked, stretched or the stitching is going, retire it and have it checked by a saddler rather than trying to nurse it back.

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Last reviewed 2026-07-26 by the Just Horse Riders team.