Belvoir Tack Cleaner and Conditioner 3-Minute Boot “Makeover”

Are you like me and see boot cleaning as an exercise in futility? Here in SoCal, the minute my tall boots are clean, they immediately recruit dust and grime back onto themselves again. When I clean my tack after a ride, I rarely pause to clean my boots because in the last few minutes of walking around the farm before I hop in my car, the boots look as though they haven’t been cleaned in eons again! I’ve felt guilty about my boots for a while, but recently came up with a plan and tried a new product–Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir Tack Cleaner and Conditioner–and it’s been a game changer.

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Discovering Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir Tack Cleaner and Conditioner

After a lesson a few months ago I noticed a friend cleaning her boots with some kind of spray bottle and I was immediately intrigued. She showed me the Belvoir Tack Cleaner Step 1 and I watched as her boots went from dirty to clean in the span of less than a minute. In that moment I knew I had to give it a shot (or spray actually) and see if this was the magical tack cleaning product I have been missing all my life.

I purchased both the Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir Tack Cleaner and Tack Conditioner Step 2, and then realized the product has a graphic on it with the following words: “By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, suppliers of saddlery care products, Carr & Day & Martin Ltd. Lytham.”

Then I thought,“If this product is used for the Queen’s tack, it must be not just good, but exceptional.” 

I keep both of the Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir products by my front door and use them at home so my boots will at least look clean when I arrive at the horse farm.

The Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir Tack Cleaner and Conditioner Experiment

It occurred to me I should time how quickly my just-home-from-the-barn boots can go from drab to fab using the cleaner and conditioner and so I decided to time myself for the purposes of research and this blog post.

I estimated I could get a nice clean pair of boots in 5 minutes, but to my surprise it only took 3 minutes!

Got new boots? Read How to Break In New Boots the Easy Way.

Here’s how you do a dusty boot makeover in 3 minutes:

1. First I took a damp cloth to my boots and got the big hunks of dirt and top layer of dust off.

2. Then, with the boot zipped, my hand and arm in it like a puppet I sprayed Belvoir Tack Cleaner up and down and did an extra douse into the crevices where the laces are. I repeated the process on boot number two.

3. With a rag that was once a towel (so a bit of texture and fluff) I wiped off and simultaneously rubbed in the cleaner. According to the instructions, if you have a “heavily soiled area” you can leave the cleaner on for up to five minutes before you wipe off the area.

4. Next, I sprayed the Belvoir Tack Conditioner all over my boot, just like in Step 2.

5. I waited a few seconds and then with a thin rag (old T-shirt material) I rubbed the conditioner into the boot.

6. I took the damp towel from Step 1 and with my fingernail inserted, I went along where the leather meets the sole of the boot, to try to get out the last little bits of dust that get wedged in between that space.

According to the packaging, the Step 1 Tack Cleaner can be used on all leather and synthetic tack. It has an antifugal property that will prevent mold and mildew. That’s not really a problem for me here in California because it’s so dry, but I have seen mildewy tack when I lived in the Midwest. If you are in a region where it’s frequently damp or humid, you will probably enjoy this feature of the Carr & Day & Martin Belvoir tack product line.

Another note on the bottle says that the Belvoir formulas are pH neutral and will not rot stitching or dry out leather.

There is also a cautionary message that you should not use these products on suede, nubuck, aniline or untreated leather. I don’t have anything like that requiring cleaning, so it’s all good.

To Sum It All Up

I have really enjoyed using the carr & Day & Martin Belvoir Tack Cleaner and Conditioner on my tall boots. It’s quick, convenient, smells good and makes my trusty field boots look good. And if HRH’s stable hands use it for the royal tack, you know it’s a quality product. I urge you to give these products a try–I think you will also be impressed with the time-saving and results.

Thanks for reading and tally ho!

Leave a Comment: How do you keep your boots cleaned and conditioned and looking good? How frequently do you clean them?

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