Speaking of Tack

This is turning out to be tack week ...

I've had a lot on my mind lately, damn you, middle age, so I spent a lot of time with my tack over the weekend. Cleaning tack is one way for me to organize my thoughts and process "stuff." Vacuuming does the same thing.

After installing a new saddle cover and padding my saddle rack, I realized my saddle was looking a bit dusty and grimy. Saturday was warm and sunny, so I hauled my saddle outside and set to work. With a funky playlist setting the mood, I worked on removing the gunk from my saddle and clearing away some mental cobwebs.

Clean enough.

A clean saddle wasn't enough though; middle age gives you a lot to analyze, so I pulled out Speedy's double bridle. Even though I've had it for nearly two months, I hadn't yet given it an initial conditioning. It took so long to get it to fit correctly that I was reluctant to take it apart to clean it. Knowing how long it took to put together, I realized that unless I wrote down each buckle's placement, it was safer to clean it without taking it completely apart.

One buckle at a time.

First, I dropped both bits with their reins. The curb bit has beta reins, so that whole section went straight into a bucket to soak. The snaffle has Thinline reins, so I only soaked the bit, and later wiped down the Thinline portion with a damp cloth. Then I took all of the buckles out of their keepers. I unbuckled one buckle at a time to clean it, but then I re-buckled it immediately. It's a much longer process than than just laying everything out, but this bridle has too many parts for me to remember on what hole everything goes.

I wish my camera could capture the sparkle of those Swarovski crystals.

When I was finished, I stepped back to admire how pretty this bridle really is. It's not a fancy pants bridle, but it sure looks nice when it's all cleaned up. Even after unbuckling and re-buckling 400 straps, my mental housekeeping still wasn't done, so I dragged out Izzy's bridle.

That browband sure does make this bridle look fancier.

I will never again complain about cleaning a snaffle bridle. After tackling Speedy's double, this thing was a breeze to clean. In fact, it was so quick that the next day I did my other two bridles - Speedy's snaffle bridle and Izzy's bridle with the correction bit. 

4 bridles in 2 days.

My tack certainly looks better, and I felt better for all the work, but damn, middle age is a real pain in the butt.