Two levels of clean, two different jobs
The after-ride wipe and the weekly clean do different work. The wipe, done while the tack is still warm from the horse, lifts off the sweat, saliva and arena dust that will otherwise dry into the leather and start to stiffen and crack it; a cloth wrung out in plain warm water is enough, with a pass over the bit under the tap. The weekly clean is slower and takes the bridle and girth fully apart, because dirt hides in the folds around buckles and keepers where a surface wipe never reaches. Skipping the wipe makes the weekly clean harder; skipping the weekly clean makes the leather old before its time.
Strip it down and wash in order
Undo every buckle and lay the pieces out in order so reassembly is not a puzzle. Wash the bit properly in hot water, since a bit carrying dried saliva and feed is unkind in the mouth and the crust defeats a quick rinse. Sponge the leather with saddle soap worked to a light lather, keeping the sponge damp rather than dripping; leather soaked through repeatedly loses its structure. Wipe the lather and lifted dirt away with a clean cloth, then look at what the cleaning has revealed: soap and grime are excellent camouflage for wear, and clean leather shows its true condition. Dry everything away from radiators and direct heat, which bake leather brittle, and never store tack away damp in a sealed box.
Feed the leather where it works hardest
Once the leather is clean and barely dry, work conditioner into the places that flex and carry load: stirrup leathers, reins where your hands live, girth straps and the bends of the bridle around the bit and browband. Supple leather distributes strain across its fibres; starved, dry leather concentrates it at the holes and edges, which is where tears start. Do not drown the saddle seat in conditioner before a ride, because a greasy seat helps nobody stay in it, and avoid oil on the stitching threads themselves, which some products soften over time.
The inspection is the safety half
While each strap is in your hands, bend it gently and look at the holes: leather beginning to crack around a stirrup leather hole or a girth billet is leather at the end of its safe life, whatever it looks like flat. Run your eye and thumb along stitching rows, especially where the stirrup leathers pass over the bars and where girth straps are sewn; loose, frayed or missing stitches mean the piece goes to a saddler, not back on the horse. Check buckles for bent tongues, the bit for sharp edges or worn joints, and girth straps for stretching that has made the holes uneven. Any strap you would not trust at a gallop comes off the tack today, not after the ride.
Store it like you want it to last
Hang cleaned tack in a dry, airy tack room, saddle on a rack that supports the panels rather than a narrow pole that dents them, bridle on a rounded hook that keeps the headpiece's curve. A breathable cover keeps dust off without sealing moisture in. Damp tack rooms grow mould on leather in days in warm weather, so deal with the damp rather than repeatedly treating the mould. Setting the strip-clean and inspection as a named KinsLe Care Teams task each week means the job belongs to someone specific, worn parts get flagged in the log the moment they are spotted, and the whole set is safer for it.