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Cleaning horse tack used to be somewhat onerous, requiring two or three products, and your leather item had to be wetted down with water. TackMaster™ promises to clean, condition, and preserve leather tack such as halters, bridles and saddles in a simple process, eliminating the need to use saddle or glycerine soap, and then apply leather conditioners such as neatsfoot, lanolin or other oils and waxes, many of which tend to leave a greasy or waxy finish that simply attracts more dust.

  Removing this dust, including the grit that can be picked up from arenas and trail riding is important as it tends to 'sand down' the finish of your leather over time, and accelerate the wear of the stitching in the leather. A quick wipe with a damp cloth is enough for daily maintenance, but sometimes you want to do a deeper cleaning and restore the finish of your leather. This all-in-one product is one-step and makes cleaning leather items faster and easier.

Product Description

TackMaster™ Leather Care is made by the makers of Bag Balm. TackMaster™ is a blend of cleaners, conditioners and protectants that make it easy to clean your leather tack in one step. Simply apply the product to a soft cloth, and then rub into the leather. Leather with a smooth finish can be buffed with a dry soft cloth, like flannelette, to bring out the shine. It will not put a high gloss on an item, and is not made to be used on suede, such as is often seen on the knee rolls of English saddles, or seats of some western saddles.

TackMaster™ is available in 32 oz., 16 0z., 8 oz., and 4 oz. sized bottles. The 4 oz. size is great for on-the-go touch-ups.

My Impressions

My first impression on removing the seal under the cap was the fragrance. It's very clean and 'leathery' smelling. Because I am afraid of puddle marks on my saddles, I applied the thick lotion-like liquid to a piece of clean flannelette and buffed it in. My saddle was cleaned a short time ago, and I keep in wiped and covered between uses, but TackMaster™ still picked up some residual dirt. I also tried it on my jodphur boots. These are always a challenge to keep clean because they tend to come in contact with a lot of dirt and manure. The product picked up a lot of dirt and left a nice sheen. Because there was no residual stickiness, the boots stayed cleaner a bit longer than they would with a waxier conditioner. Boots do take more punishment than saddles or bridles, but the shine was nice while it lasted.

Using the product on smaller items, such as bridles and halters was handy, as it was much faster than using saddle soap, and there was less chance of soaking the leather with water or saturating it with too much oil. On the underside of English saddles, there is little worry of the product soaking through the thinner leather and into the flocking, where over-oiling can cause the wool to break down and become compacted. Often oils or waxy conditioners leave a residue that doesn't feel nice in hand and holds dirt to the surface of the item. TackMaster™r leaves a nice finish, with no tacky residue. That's particularly nice on saddle seats and reins where hands and fabric come in contact with the leather.

Overall, I really liked this product. It's very easy to work with, picks up the surface dirt and leaves the leather with a nice no-stick feel.  The four ounce bottle costs less than $5, and is handy to cart along for quick touch-ups. The thirty two ounce size will go a long way, yet only costs less than $15.

Manufacturer's Site

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.