English or Indian Leather

95% of mass produced Equestrian leather products are made in India. It is important to understand what the difference between  Indian and English leather actually is.

Indian leather doesn't refer to leather made in India.(as almost all mass produced equestrian leather is) Indian leather refers to the origin of the hide used to produce the leather. Indian leather is generally sourced from local hides from across Asia. Many of us may recall the Indian leather that was made approx 10 to 15+ years ago, back then the "Indian" leather was very poor quality and the tannery process was also very primitive.  The hides came from animals that were generally ‘undernourished;’ so the hides were thinner and lower quality.

English leather is from higher quality hides that are imported from Europe, US or Australia.  The hides were thicker and would be classed as a better quality. However, so called Indian leather, is now farmed in Asia and the quality of the hides are not much different from the' English' hides. A lot has changed in the past few years in the world of leather.

The quality of leather from India has greatly improved and if you stick to reputable companies, you will get high quality leather products. But do keep in mind, like any industry, there are still substandard tanneries producing low quality leather.

English leather is generally still tanned in Indian Tanneries.  India is now the leading manufacturer for leather products and has some of the most sophisticated tanneries in the world.. Leather is given different grades (A, B, C, D  etc) and if you were to compare India and English leather in the same grade, only an expert would detect a difference these days. Most of us are more familiar with C and D grade leathers India has produced in the past, rather than some of the excellent A and B grade leathers now available.

You will be very hard pushed to find a big brand name bridle in your local Saddlery store that isn't’t made in India.