How to Clean Your Saddle Pad
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Keeping your saddle pad clean is a regular chore that need not be too time-consuming or tedious. Here are some simple ways you can keep it clean without spending a lot of money or time on the chore.
Laundering dressage and English saddle pads in cold water using a washing machine is usually perfectly fine. Most of the time it's safe to dry them with the dryer on a low heat setting, but be sure to skip the fabric softener sheet because it will leave a film on the pad that can make it slip when you go to use it next!
Always double-check with the manufacturer first for cleaning instructions, as some of the high-end saddle pads made with newer materials can't be laundered. Specifically, if the fabric is designed to wick sweat off your horse, then it should not go into the dryer or it might not work anymore. Wash and then line-dry away from sunlight.
Hand-washing a dressage pad is easy too. Just let it soak in a container of cold water with a little bit of soap, then rinse until all the soap is sure to be gone. Line dry and you're all set!
The easiest way to get a western saddle pad clean is at a do-it-yourself car wash. The pressure washer there is perfect if you use the rinse setting (not the spot-free rinse, just regular rinse). Avoid any of the soap or wax cycles though and just use the rinse cycle to power-wash the underside of the saddle pad. When finished, drape the saddle pad fleece side up over something in the sun and leave it to dry for a day or so. I have successfully dried many saddle pads by tossing them up on top of the trailer!
Heavy wool saddle pads are usually best cleaned simply by brushing daily once the sweat has dried. You only need to remove loose dirt and salt from sweat. If necessary, you can hose it off, but I don't recommend using soap. It seems to be impossible to completely rinse soap out of wool pads, so just rinsing in cold water is best. Line-dry away from sunlight for best results.
Using a shop vac on your saddle pad also works well to remove hair, dirt and dried salt. Any kind of vacuum will work though, if it has a hose attachment and good suction. You'll find that the vacuum gets the debris that has worked down into the fibers, so it's especially nice for fleece saddle pads.
Taking proper care of equestrian equipment is the way to keep it in prime condition, so tend to this little chore often using these easy methods and you will be rewarded with a saddle pad that lasts a long time.
