INPUT ARTICLE: Article: You don’t need to oil a leather bridle as often as you clean it. New bridles or bridles with very dry leather need to be conditioned and oiled more frequently than others. Unbuckle every latch and lay all of the parts out in front of you. Inspect the leather and all of the stitching to make sure that it is all in good condition.  For an English bridle, the parts you should have are a noseband, 2 cheek pieces, a throat latch, a headstall, a browband, and reins. For a Western bridle, you should have 2 cheek pieces, a headstall, reins, and potentially a throat latch depending on the bridle. The noseband goes across the nose, the cheek pieces go down the cheeks, the throat latch goes around the throat, the browband goes just below the ears, the reins connect to the bit, and the headstall goes above the ears and holds the whole bridle together. All of the parts are connected to the headstall. Place the leather soap onto a sponge and work up a lather on every part of the bridle. Ensure that you clean all of the crevices in the bridle with the leather soap. Then use a clean cloth to remove the lather.  If you are using tinned leather soap, place the soap onto a sponge and then dip the sponge into warm water. Squeeze out the sponge so that it is only slightly damp and then create a lather with the soap. If you are using liquid leather soap, you will not need to add water. Never use products that are not specially designed for leather as a substitute for leather soap. Bleach, vinegar, vegetable oil, and motor oil are all ineffective and may damage the bridle. Use a sponge to apply the saddle soap to the bridle and to work up a lather. If it is difficult to get the saddle soap into the stitching and crevices on the bridle, apply it with a toothbrush rather than a sponge. Use a clean and slightly damp sponge to wipe every part of the bridle. Check that there is no residue remaining. Apply the neatsfoot oil to a clean sponge and rub it into all parts of the bridle. Every part of the leather should have a thin coating of neatsfoot oil. Remove any excess oil using a sponge.  The thin layer of oil that remains on the bridle will slowly soak into the leather, to keep it soft and supple. Neatsfoot oil is a type of leather polish that is made from cattle bones. Place the browband back onto the headstall and the throat latch. Then feed the noseband straps back into the headstall. Buckle the cheek pieces to the straps on the headstall and place the reins onto the bit. Gently flex the leather as you put the bridle back together to help it become more supple. After you oil a leather bridle, the oil will need time to soak into the leather and to make it soft. Wait until the bridle is completely dry and check that it doesn’t feel oily or greasy before you use it again. If the leather still feels brittle or hard after it has dried, condition and oil the bridle again.

SUMMARY: Oil the bridle once per month. Take the bridle apart fully. Use leather soap on all of the bridle parts and then wipe away the lather. Clean all of the bridle parts with saddle soap. Wipe away the excess soap and lather with a sponge. Oil all of the bridle parts with neatsfoot oil. Reassemble the bridle. Let the bridle dry for 1-2 days.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: If you notice any unwanted growth around the base of your tree, cut off the stems or leaves. Cleaning up around the base of your tree helps preserve the tree-like shape. To make a circle, trim the top of the tree so the sides are smooth and round. Then, make small cuts around the top in a circular shape to give your tree its form. Create a smooth, even shape so your tree has a full, blossoming top. To make an oval, keep the top slightly more pointed to create an elongated shape. Trim the sides so they are smooth and round, and then leave a bit more on the top and bottom to create an oval-like appearance. Your shape does not have to be completely perfect. As your roses grow, they will fill in the shape to create a natural appearance. To create your shape, take off about one-third of the total length of your canes. Leave 1-3 bud eyes on the cane when you make your cuts. This way, your tree rose has an attractive, compact shape so it can grow gorgeous flowers. A bud eye is a small bump where a leaf meets the stem, and this is where new flowers start from.

SUMMARY:
Remove any stems or leaves from the bottom of your tree. Cut your stems into a circular shape for a neatly manicured look. Go with an oval shape for a natural, tree-like look. Shorten all your canes to 3–4 in (7.6–10.2 cm) to create your shape.