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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1182
  
Location: Do I hear Banjos? | What did my Nana always say? "Neither a Borrower nor a Lender be"...
I probably should have listened. I loaned a saddle to a friend a year and a half ago. It was supposed to be a loan of maybe a month so she could try out this horse that was too wide for her saddles. I got it back finally through a third party. She dodged me for a while and now I know why. She clearly did not give a rats patootie about someone else's property. (Then again...she may not take care of her own either)
So it was given to her clean, oiled, and nice. It was returned dirty, grimy, sweat marked, very dry in some places and with what looks like mildew on the off billet. And...one of the stirrup keepers is gone. I could kick myself. I'll not make this mistake again.
This saddle has sentimental value and I'd really like to know what you all would recommend to clean it and to condition the leather. It's smooth leather with some tooling (no rough out)
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 683
Location: Ohio | Fiebing's Aussie Leather Conditioner is my all time favorite. It conditions nicely without darkening leather, absorbs well and also helps prevent mold. If its incredibly dry and you need to really deep condition it, extra virgin olive oil works really well but may darken it so do a spot test first. |
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Expert
Posts: 1695
Location: Willows, CA | Second on the olive oil. |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
 
Location: In the Hills of Texas | Caldwell's saddle oil. Awesome stuff.
Mice love olive oil. |
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Sock Snob
Posts: 3021
| Imwould go,to,dollar,general get a electric toothbrush and warm water and good bodywash or,ivorysoap, used to,ride,pleasure youmhad to,clean those,saddles get some,blackrock warm in microwav. Clean with bodywash/soap and waterwipe of and put that black rock on it. If you have split leather use a wire rush and your stuff will ook like new. Blackrock will put a nice finish on your leather and if you put it on warn youmwont believe it. It will look like new.
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 683
Location: Ohio | Nevertooold - 2014-06-03 7:04 PM Caldwell's saddle oil. Awesome stuff.
Mice love olive oil.
Good to know... I had no idea! |
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 Expert
Posts: 1482
Location: on my horse | to salvage a saddle I give it a good bath and use a little soap if I have to, let it dry well then the next day do a good coat/scrub with leather new, do a thick layer of neats foot. Wait 24 hours and do another coat of leather new to remove residue and seal the leather. If it's still dry I'll go back and do a coat of mink oil paste because it's a little thicker and soaks in longer than neats foot.
I had a local saddle maker teach me this method. |
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 Certified Snake Wrangler
Posts: 1672
Location: North MS | I use MOSS saddle soap (after using basic household thick murphy's oil for really dirty items), then after it dries I apply several coats of caldwell's miracle juice. It is well worth the expense. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1182
Location: Do I hear Banjos? | Thanks for the tips guys. Look like there are lots of things/methods to choose from !
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 Ima Fickle Fan
Posts: 3547
Location: Texas | When I worked for APHA, I did a story on saddle care and talked to the saddle guy at Luskey's in Fort Worth. This was what he suggested:
1. Get a soft rag and wipe off all excess dust.
2. Fill a bucket with warm water and dish soap (cuts the oils).
3. Using a soft rag, gently cleanse the saddle.
4. For extra grimey spots, use a SOFT bristled toothbrush. (I learned from experience, do NOT use a new one that is stiff and do NOT scrub hard. That will strip the finish off the leather.)
5. Using another rag and a clean bucket of water, rinse of the saddle by squeezing the water out of the rag. You don't want to drench the saddle with water.
6. Let the saddle dry until it's cool to the touch.
7. Using another soft rag, apply a light coat of 100% Neatsfeet oil.
8. Let it dry. You can repeat the oil step if needed.
He cautioned against the leather conditioners because they contain an ingredient that will later gum up when it comes in contact with dirt. The Neatsfeet oil is made from boiling down cattle hooves and is better suited for leather given its source.
You can use olive oil or a similar one. However, he didn't suggest those for two reasons. 1) The particle size is much smaller and people have a tendency to oversaturate the saddle, which will make the leather mushy. 2) Rodents LOVE cooking oils.
It doesn't sound like the saddle has dry rot, so you should be ok with a good cleaning and oiling. Oh, the guy also warned against using a hose, because you don't want to destroy the leather fibers with excess water. |
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 Ima Cool Kid
Posts: 3496
Location: TN | What is black rock?
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Folks on-line