Rider Review: Higher Standards Saddle Soap

Reaching into the review archives again this week…

Being a self proclaimed tack ho comes with some price. The more tack you have the more cleaning there is to be done. Even if you aren’t using the leather it still needs to be cared for (or so I am told by my currently very sad looking leather open fronts after their months of neglect).

I recently discovered Higher Standards Leather Care and I think that I might be hooked. I stumbled upon something genius.

When a thread popped up on the COTH Forums about a new saddle soap that worked well, conditioned while you cleaned, and (the best part) smelled like heaven I knew that I needed to give it a try. When I went searching I wasn’t particularly in love with the scents offered but then that changed with October’s Limited Edition (see below for a full list of scents offered). In the past I had tried one scented soap (MOSS Vanilla Soap) that was not a total bust but it definitely isn’t my favorite product so I was still on the hunt for a soap that I liked that smelled good too.

Down to the nitty gritty on the Higher Standards Suger & Spice Limited Edition & the Cinnamint Limited Edition Scents.

Price: $14.95 – this is pretty comparable to most jars of soap from my experience

Pros: This soap smells incredible. The scent is not over powering but rather a nice refreshing change for the tack cleaning experience. Much to my dismay my tack doesn’t seem to retain the delicious scent (don’t worry your horse won’t be tempted to nibble on your minty tack 😉 but it also isn’t left with any kind of residue like many soaps tend to cause. On top of cleaning properties this soap also seems to have some conditioning effects too. This is great because for those of us on time constraints using this soap will allow you to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Or just get a jump start in the prep for using the awesome Higher Standards Leather Balm.

Cons: Inspires thoughts of hoarding… The limited edition scents are only available for one month every year! This made me want to stock up and keep extras…

Available Scents:

Fox’s Vanilla Lavender

Buzz’s Citrus Ginger

Starla’s Sugar & Spice

Phinney’s Cinnamint

Ben’s Rosemary Mint

Plain Bay – Unscented (for those of you that just like a great cleaning product!)

Bottom Line: I will definitely be purchasing more of this soap. For myself, for gifts, for myself… The fact that this soap has a sweet story as well makes me want to use it even more.

Small excerpt from the creator of this great product on how it came to be:

“During Rolex week, I sent a care package to Kentucky for Woody and his “staff.” In that package was a container of my handmade soap. I was stunned a couple months later, when Karen’s excellent longtime groom, Max Corcoran asked for more of my soap, saying it was wonderful stuff. “

You can read the full story on how this soap came to be here.

As I am reposting this again I am sure most of you have already heard about HSLC but if you haven’t I highly encourage you to try it! 🙂

12 comments

  1. Alli & Dino says:

    THE BEST!!! I also love how it doesn’t leave a sticky or greasy residue on leather, and minimal scrubbing is involved. It melts away the dirt. It’s just amazing!!

    • Equestrian At Hart says:

      It is my favorite. I won’t use any other soap. I actually despise the soap that came with my CWD – I have enough soap to last me ages because whenever a new scent comes out I buy it… We even had a special edition soap dedicated to a fellow bloggers deceased horse. She is the best.

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