Imported Leather

S

shandy84

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Oct 10, 2003
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Having two younsters as their backing bridles I cannot affor to buy nice english leather bridles so purchased imported leather bridles.

They have lasted quite well, but are becoming very stiff and cardboard like rather than supple. How can I make them softer?

I have been told straight oil can make them more nourished what do I do................
 
i realy would get the bridles checked first by someone as i have had several bad experiance with imported leather, normaly stuff that looks good and then the minute i use it snaps (lovely when your stirup goes whislt jumping for no apparent reason and half way down the leather not in the normal stress areas!)
ive found that flexolan works wonders it is like neatsfoot oil but more effective and can be bought at most saddlers
 
Flyte wears an imported leather for hacking just so we can keep the best for best and mines realy nice and supple and looks really smart. I used tonnes of oil on it when I first got it and then will oil it if it starts to get a little dry and I saddle soap it every time I ride. I just paint the under side of all the leather in oil using a paint brush and keep re-appyling until its not soaking it up any more and then wipe it over with a cloth and soap it.

Torx
 
I have had one of the horses get tangled silly accident but the bridle didn't break so i am happy with the strength of them just don't like the feel of them at the moment.

Brailliant Tor I will give that a go because it really is dry.
 
Nasty leather cannot be made nice or better, it isn't curried like proper English tanned and curried equestrian leather. Equestrian leather made for the equestrian trade should be of a certain standard. Imported stuff isn't.

It becomes like hardboard and rubs and becomes weak and useless.

Oil it all you like, I doubt it will get any better.
 
well said wally but i must say german leather is very good.
 
I've used imported leather bridles as everyday bridles for years and never had a problem with their quality.
I've got one I've had for 3 years and its still in very good condition.
The only thing that becomes weak in about a year of use is the reins but when their only £10 what does it matter, and I check my tack so regually I'd never have the risk of it becoming weak without me knowing.
I have no problem with them when your only paying about £25.
I refuse to pay £100+ for a bridle I'm going to use every single day. I'd love to have an english leather bridle for my everyday riding but its never going to happen at the price they are.
If you oil and clean and look after the imported leather one well they are lovely.
 
tor&warrior that is false economy i paid £22 for one set of reins but they have lasted well over 6 years now.
not all english bridles cost that mush i paid £40 for a bridle that is english leather and it is lovely and has lasted for 6 yaers of daily abuse (ponies rubbing it on stables, horse boxes and anything solid!!)
when my stirup went it did not show any signs of weakness, i was jumping with them as my other pair had a few loose stiches, halfway over a jump they gave and i fell so hard i was in hospital. it was very hard to tell the difference between them and an english set and i had regularly used them in showing an WHP classes. normaly stirups give at the top or at the bottom, but these gave in the middle with no warning or obvious reason!
i have a show bridle that i paid well over £200 for and an english every day bridle for each horse (i have 4) for the every day bridles i paid no more then £40 and most of them are well ove 5-6 years old now and still going strong.
 
I was just saying I have never had any problems with my imported leather bridles and do not find them hard or of not acceptable quality. I know there is cheaper english leather around but I still wouldn't pay that if I could get a bridle that does the job just as well for half the price. I paid £40 for a pair of English leather show reins last year had them less than a month and while going XC, galloping along, they snapped right in the middle so I think price and quality aren't always a guarantee. My reins would probably last alot longer but I always change them atleast once a year so theres no chance of them wearing and snapping as well as my stirrup leathers.
 
they snaped because they were show reins and not designed to take the pressure of xcountry show reins are designed for flat work on well schoolede horses where not alot of pressure is used.
 
I'd love to buy an english bridle but as they outgrow them in under a year I see it as a real waste to have to keep replacing them especially as Bramble's trick is rubbing her head on everything when bridled.

Unfortunatly it is my fault they got in that state as they were allowed to get damp and this has spoiled them, I will give the oiling a go Tor and see what happens if it gets no better I will have to replace it, but I wouldn't like to say mine is an true example of what happends to imported bridles as I really havent treated them with the care they need.
 
Try looking around for second hand English leather too - I got a brand new Sabre English leather bridle for Gelfy on ebay for £22 (including postage!!). Buying it new I'd have paid nearly £100. I also bought a beautiful English bridle for Lili at Beeston tack sales for £12 and another at a farm dispersal sale for £15. The bargains are out there... and I don't have a problem with using them daily either - they've been out in the rain and the mud and all sorts - as long as they're cleaned and oiled and looked after they last for years.

Best advice I can give for trying to rescue the ones you have is to put them in a plastic bag with some oil and leave them somewhere warm (like an airing cupboard) for the night. Just be very careful that they don't break on you - remembering that imported leather headcollars are recommended for turnout since they break easily... :eek:
 
they snaped because they were show reins and not designed to take the pressure of xcountry show reins are designed for flat work on well schoolede horses where not alot of pressure is used.
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I think thats unlikely. They were just plain leather reins. If they are that dangerous and take such little presure they are not safe to sell, I didn't see any warning when I bought them. The pony I was going XC was a perfectly schooled novice ride so I think it was high unlikely we were over using them. They were under less presure than they would be when I was showing my idiot welsh cob who'd be pulling like a steam train. And he was a well schooled show pony.

Shandy I left one of mine in the lorry over the winter and it came out awful and brittle, dry and very mouldy. I did like Chev said and covered it in oil put it in a plastic bag and put it in the airing cupboard over night. That bought it back to a useable state and then I just oiled it regually for the next few weeks and cleaned it everyday and it came back to normal. This is good for really badly tried up and desperate leather but you want to be careful as the oil and the warmth can cause the leather to get to soft.

Torx
 
Reins is reins, doesn't matter if you intend to do dressage in them or wage war in them, they have to be made strong.

There should be no difference in quality.

I'm used to working with top quality English Leather, I have trouble coming to terms with cheap smelly Eastern made leather. It does not have the same properties as equestrian leather and IMHO shoyuld not be used for tack as it just is not up to the breaking strains encountered in horse work.

Kvikur's bridle was given to me by a dear old lady whom I used to help out. She purchased the bridle in 1969, yes 1969, it has been used for her horses since then , When her horse died in 1989 she gave the bridle to me, I used it on my horse and now it belongs to Kvikur. Now THAT'S how long a good leather bridle should last.
 
I'm still getting round to buying Ferdie a nice bridle!

I started with a bridle which came with him, brand new but imported leather. It lasted well for 6months, but I didn't really like the full rubber reins, so I bought some english leather one-side rubber reins. Then after a year, the cheekpiece on one side managed to get chewed, and I thought I saw the first signs of some wear.. so I replaced them with english leather ones. SO right now I have a half-english half-imported leather bridle.

To be honest, english leather bridles aren't neccessarily all that expensive, it's just that I'm saving up for a REALLY nice one :D

I also like Ko Cho Line.

Rachel xx
 
Kvikur's bridle was given to me by a dear old lady whom I used to help out. She purchased the bridle in 1969, yes 1969, it has been used for her horses since then , When her horse died in 1989 she gave the bridle to me, I used it on my horse and now it belongs to Kvikur. Now THAT'S how long a good leather bridle should last.
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You can't really ask for better quality than that!

To be honest, english leather bridles aren't neccessarily all that expensive, it's just that I'm saving up for a REALLY nice one
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Thats true. The dressage bridle I'm saving up for is over £200 so I'm saving all my pennys! So I don't really want to spend loads on a bidle Vinnys gonna chew or flytes going to rub against the stabe wall!
 
Kvikur's bridle was given to me by a dear old lady whom I used to help out. She purchased the bridle in 1969, yes 1969, it has been used for her horses since then , When her horse died in 1989 she gave the bridle to me, I used it on my horse and now it belongs to Kvikur. Now THAT'S how long a good leather bridle should last.
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Wow! That bridle will probably be around longer than any of us! What a gift! :eek:
 
Some imported leathers are really nasty but then there's the ones that are ok. In the shops you can tell the english section to the imported section, they all smell different. Tor's idea with the oil sounds like it would work, it would just become saturated with the oil and would 'have' to go limp (it has no choice, hehe ;))

Mysy has one in-hand bridle and one 'normal' bridle (of which never is used :rolleyes: ), both are english leather. Her normal one has lasted well and still all soft and supple, her inhand one however, she is still 'breaking in' - its only been used twice. Timmy's bridle was imported but cheap imported leather - really nasty stuff. It was always stiff and horrible to handle.

Like chev siad, you can pick them up cheap. My 'normal' one (that just sits doing nothing) was 12 at a horse auction and my inhand one was 31. Timmy's was 22 - twice the price and half the quality!!!
 
Originally posted by Wally


I'm used to working with top quality English Leather, I have trouble coming to terms with cheap smelly Eastern made leather. It does not have the same properties as equestrian leather and IMHO shoyuld not be used for tack as it just is not up to the breaking strains encountered in horse work.
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so what's the difference between the making of the bridles that causes them to come out so different? you mentioned curing differences?? I would like to know the differences if you could explain to me, sounds interesting...:)

I bought a nice bridle so i could have something supple to ride in and beautiful to show in. I've oiled it twice since i got it and its just about loosened up to just where I like it, it is definately good quality leather! :p
 
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