Jessica Jahiel's HORSE-SENSE Newsletter Archives

Neatsfoot oil

From: Scott

Dear Jessica, My grandfather has been around horses and harness for many years (he is 77) and I tend to give him some credibility when he tells me something. I just bought a set of used harness from a fellow who was about nine years older than my grandfather. He told me never to use anything but pure neatsfoot oil on the harness and it would last forever. That was what he had always used on it. When I got it home, I went down to the farm store for some neatsfoot oil, didn't find any there and ended up at the tack shop instead, and ended up with a little bottle that cost a lot of money. I usually buy another product (don't know if it's okay to use the name here) buy the gallon. Anyway there I was with my little bottle of oil trying to make it do for the whole entire harneess. I was using it when my grandfather walked in, and he had kittens! He looked at the bottle and shook it and smelled it, and put some oil on his hands, and told me to get rid of it, it was no d**m good and wasn't neatsfoot oil. He said it was cr*p and would wreck my harness.

Like I said I give him lots of credibility, but I have to believe that the fellow who sold me the harness knew what he was talking about. It was an old harness and he was up front about that, but it was in good shape he said because he always used neatsfoot oil. I can't get hold of the old fellow now because he was leaving his farm and this was a sale I just happened to go to because my wife noticed the signboard when we were out for a drive. Right now I'm afraid to touch that harness. I don't want to mess it up by changing to something else, but what if my grandfather is right about the oil? He is usually right, and he knows it. Can you help here? I'm not sure what I need except to know which advice is best. I'd like to finish that harness up and try it out on my Percheron mare. Thank you.

Scott

Hi Scott! You're getting good advice from everyone - but some of it is a little bit out of date, that's all. Your grandfather is young enough to remember when old-style, pure neatsfoot oil started to be very hard to find. The fellow who sold you the harness may have bought - and kept - a lifetime supply of neatsfoot oil back when it was possible to buy the real thing. These days, what you see in almost all containers labeled "neatsfoot oil" is NOT pure neatsfoot oil at all, but a compound full of oils and solvents and perfumes... all additives that damage leather.

I know several riders who truly believe that they use neatsfoot oil on their tack, but I've seen the products they use, and it isn't what they believe it to be. It's a fairly thin, oily liquid with a strong but not horribly unpleasant smell - nice to use, but not at all like genuine neatsfoot oil. One fellow uses it on his boots, and is in the habit of oiling his boots and bridles in the kitchen. He wouldn't be able to do this with the real product.

Real neatsfoot oil is something that you couldn't use in your house unless everyone there had a wicked bad head cold. Real, pure, un-messed-with neatsfoot oil stinks. It's also very thick - technically it's a liquid, but if you're holding a jar upside down waiting for the last little bit of real neatsfoot oil to crawl out of it, you can wait a long time before anything happens...

I think you should listen to your grandfather. If he remembers real neatsfoot oil, he's in a good position to tell you that the product in your bottle is something else. Here's a suggestion: Forget the whole idea of neatsfoot oil, buy a big bottle of Leather Therapy cleaner and another bottle of Leather Therapy conditioner, and use those products instead. They do a wonderful job and are actually good for your leather.

Have fun reconditioning your leather - I'm sure that your Percheron mare will look very fine in her new harness.

Jessica

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