Several months ago, I mentioned to a buddy that I needed to clean my saddle pads. He off-handedly replied that he just takes his to the car wash.

Well, I thought I’d give that a try.

When Dad and I started our Mexico-to Canada pack trip in 2015 (it remains to be seen whether I’ll ever finish the trip), I spent some pretty big money on gear, to make sure we didn’t fail on our endeavor due to cheap, ratty gear. So, I bought a pair of Five Star wool felt saddle pads for my saddle stock. They were expensive, but have a very good reputation. I have to say I have never experienced a sore-backed horse, nor a saddle sore under one of these pads.  You might recall that Dad and I had a couple horses develop saddle sores, but they were from the pack saddles using mohair pack pads, not our riding saddles.

I have used those Five Star saddle pads since 2015, but have neglected to keep them as clean as I should. I decided to rectify that yesterday, as they had become pretty stiff and dirty lately, due to the new pasture where my horses are living. I call it pasture, because it is several acres, but there is precious little grass or other vegetation and the horses absolutely love rolling in the deep dust after a nice ride under saddle.

So, I took my saddle pads down to the local car wash, where I put the wand to them. I used the soap setting at high pressure until the soap stopped looking muddy, then turned the selector to the rinse setting.

It was gratifying to watch the filthy soapy water running off my saddle pads. The car wash wand seemed to do a good job of deep cleaning the pads. They still have the discoloration from use and some imbedded horse hair, but the dirt and grime is gone. The wash cost me $7.15.

Back at the house, I hung the pads over the siderail of a trailer to dry in the sunshine, but by later that afternoon, it was looking like it was going to rain. I moved the wet pads to the garage and hung them on a rack, where they drip-dried over night.

I just went out to feel them this afternoon and they are almost dry (this is Utah, where ambient humidity is in the 20-30% range most of the time).  I am confident they’ll be completely dry before any mildew can form, which would make them start smelling sour. They are again soft and flexible, like they should be, and feeling pretty much like they felt when new. I’m quite pleased with the results.

I also cleaned a mohair girth at the same time, using the same process. It came out very nicely as well. This was an easy alternative to hand-washing my girth in a bucket of soapy water.

I think I will make this a regular part of my gear maintenance from here on out. However, next time I won’t wait three years between cleanings!