Protect Your Assets: The Latest How-To Guide For The Care Of Your Show Tack
Click here to read the complete article
390 – May/June, 2024
By Holly Swofford
The western performance world is known for the most drop-dead gorgeous and shimmering show saddles. What else would they put on a meticulously groomed and blindingly shiny show horse to lope around the show pen? And everyone knows these show saddles can cost a small fortune. How can this valuable investment be properly protected? Keeping show tack looking clean and pristine is easier than you might think.
The Equine Chronicle spoke with Stanton and Preston Harris of Harris Leather & Silverworks and Kaylee Hamm of Blue Ribbon Custom Tack to find out all the latest professional guidelines for the care of western show tack.
Tips and Tricks of the Trade
Stanton and Preston Harris have been cleaning and caring for high quality tack since they were kids, and they share that the easiest and best thing you can do to ensure your show saddle enjoys a long and lucrative show career involves early and frequent maintenance.
Storage
They recommend storing show saddles in a climate-controlled area. The horse trailer might be convenient but less than desirable for several reasons. Leather does not fare well in severe heat or cold and those extremes will cause the silver to tarnish very quickly. Damp and humid environments are also bad and can cause mold to grow.
Keeping the saddle in a Harris anti-tarnish case is a great idea, they add, but be sure to open the case and look at it every couple of weeks to make sure it’s clean, dry, and free of foreign objects, like bugs.
“We just saw the wool destroyed by moths on a customer’s saddle,” Stanton Harris shares. “Poor saddle storage is probably the biggest culprit of major damage.”
Another reason a horse trailer tack compartment is not the best place is due to the design of the saddle racks. They’re not designed for long-term storage. You’ve seen those saddles with the skirts all folded under? The triangle shaped saddle racks found in most horse trailers do not support the skirt. The lack of support causes the skirts to curl when left for an extended period of time. Be sure to store your saddle on a rack that supports the body of your saddle to keep the integrity and shape.
Regular Upkeep
Click here to read the complete article
390 – May/June, 2024
