Care cost. Silicone costs €0/year in maintenance. Leather costs €80-150/year. Over a 10-year tack lifetime, silicone saves €800-1,500 per girth. Horse welfare. Silicone's food-grade purity and seamless construction reduce gall risk dramatically, especially for sensitive horses. Wet weather. Leather suffers in rain; silicone is waterproof by nature. Cold climate. Silicone stays supple at -30℃; leather gets brittle below 0℃ without warm conditioning oil.

Traditional aesthetic. The smell, patina and handwork of quality leather is irreplaceable for riders who value craftsmanship heritage. Auction-value preservation. Traditional discipline (high-level dressage, specific Western classes) may favour leather for presentation. Custom shape sculpting. Leather can be hand-shaped to an individual horse's conformation in ways silicone moulding doesn't yet match at economical MOQs.

Most serious riders who have tried both settle on a hybrid kit: silicone for daily-use, girth, saddle pads and bit guards; leather bridles and saddles (where presentation matters most). This balances welfare and economics with heritage and craftsmanship. Our recommendation: start by replacing your most-gall-prone item (usually the girth), and expand from there based on what you notice.