Harness Cleaning and Maintenance

  Regular cleaning and maintenance is integral to the safety of you and your horse.  Your harness will last much longer and look great! 

 

    

Springtime is a great time to dismantle your horse’s harness and examine it for signs of wear or deterioration and give it a thorough cleaning.  Dismantle one side at a time or keep a pen and paper handy to mark down what hole each piece is set to.  Start by unbuckling all the buckles and examining them closely to ensure they are in good condition.  Look for bent tongs, cracks in buckles or leather as well as broken keepers. Examine all the leather parts for signs of wear or cracking, as well as stitching that has signs of wear. Stress points such as reins and billets wear faster, as well as areas that are in contact with sweat or saliva.  Take any pieces in need of repair to your harness maker to be repaired before using it on your horse again. 

   

  There are many commercial leather cleaners available, Mr Clean diluted three parts water to one part cleaner works very well. Remove the bit from the bridle,  soak it in the sink with dish soap while cleaning the rest of the bridle.   Rinse and wipe dry with a soft rag. Nylon and synthetic harnesses can be cleaned in this manner as well, and left out of the sun to dry, no need for any conditioning.

  Leather should be conditioned after cleaning. It is important to use a product that allows the leather to breathe, such as  Lexol.   Neatsfoot or linseed oil may rot the stitching. Leather needs to be conditioned to keep it moist and to avoid cracking.   leather that is in good condition is supple.  Apply the conditioner when the harness is slightly damp, as the pores are open and the conditioner can be absorbed fully.  Generally a harness should be conditioned at least once a year, although I do mine spring and fall.  If the harness is used in the rain, it should be conditioned as soon as possible after use as water will dry out the leather.  If you have conditioned your harness, you should wait for the conditioner to penetrate before you can go on to the next step of polishing the leather. 

  

  When I  polish harness leather I typically use Kiwi shoe polish paste in the color of  the harness. Use a small brush or rag, dip it into the shoe polish sparingly and then dip the brush/rag and the polish into cold water before applying it to the leather.  Allow the paste to dry.  Using a soft rag or a shoeshine brush, buff the leather until it shines. 

  

  To clean patent leather I generally use Pledge or on a cloth, or Pledge wipes.  Do not use Armor All or Vaseline on patent. Spray the dusting spray on the cloth and immediately apply it to the patent leather. Buff until it is shiny and streak free.

  To polish the harness hardware I use either Flitz, or Simichrome. There are many good polishes, and it is a personal preference.  I'm careful to avoid getting the polish on the leather.  Well polished brass should look bright, and have more gleam than gold tones.  Plan on taking some time to do this step, because it takes time to do well!  Brass will tarnish again within twelve hours, so it needs to be polished again (at least gone over with a cloth) before classes to look its very best.  Stainless or chrome-plated harness can be polished with a silver or metal polish.   

  

  There can come a time with an older harness that you may need to do a bit of re-dying. Fiebing’s Leather Dye in the color of the harness can be used for this. Do this only if your harness has areas that are faded and will not hold the color from  following the polishing step.  Follow the directions on the leather dye and be careful as it does not come off if you dribble in unwanted places!