Saturday, May 22, 2010
I have a old saddle. it is in ok shape. Can i make leather soft again?
Answers:
Yes, most likely. You should use a oil!! You should give it a few good coats! Do one good one %26 let it sit a good 5 hours, then do it again. Then the next day do it again. Then see from there. If it feels dry do it again. You can put a broom stick through the stir ups to help turn them in for your feet. You can leave the broom stick until they stay turned in. Hope this helps.
Yes.There are several oils %26 soaps for this purpose.
Go to a feed store or leather shop.They should have what you need in stock.
If it isn't moldy then you could probably clean it with saddle soap. Scrub it in well, go over it with a tiny bit of water, then make sure it is dry.
yes. go to a store that sales horse tack. they have conditioner for leather.
Yes, saddle soap works well.
The answer to your question is - maybe.
If the leather is just slightly dry but not abused, you can greatly improve it's flexibility and softnesss. But if it has been soaked in water until it's hard, if it has mold growing all over it, if it has alot of deep cracks, then you are not ever going to get it anywhere near to new. Some of the problems with old leather are strickly cosmetic, but some will make the leather weak and prone to breakage, so you need to be very careful that the saddle will be safe when you are finished treating it.
I would haul the saddle to a local saddlemaker. Many will examine a saddle for free, but even if they charge you a few dollars you can get alot of advice. They will tell you if the leather is repairable, and they can suggest good products to use. (Many oils if used in excess can actually weaken the leather) They can also check to see if the tree is intact, or if it's cracked, and they can look at all the fittings to make sure they are secure. I would worry more about the internal parts of the saddle then I would the leather, so this is where an expert's advice is really worth something. I have heard about saddles actually breaking when used - having the stirrup leathers coming right off, or worse yet, the latigo parting from the saddle leaving you without a cinch, which would not be funny. And from personal experience I had an older saddle that had been fine, and suddenly my horses started acting goosey and cranky when they wore it. My local saddlemaker checked the saddle and found a small tack that had worked its way lose and was now poking the horse right in the shoulder when they moved. I hadn't seen it under the fleece lining, but the saddle maker knew where to look and found it. It could have been a recipe for disaster, causing a real rodeo! So I would take a few minutes and check the saddle before spending more time and money on trying to repair the exterior leather.
Good luck. Hopefully it will work well for you.
peanut oil
just use a new paintbrush or something to put it on there let it soak and then rub it in.
It will take work but it is possible. Leather Therapy is what I use, my saddle was drier than a rasin and after using it a few times I noticed improvement in the condition of the leather. It resists mold and mildew, and doesn't change the color of the leather. You can find it at any tack store, or at least I haven't found one that doesn't carry it. You can also check out this website that sells it. Hope it helped =)((http://www.sstack.com/shopping/product/d...
I just got a new saddle and bridle and its very stiff, i used an oil... it softed the leather
or you can buy soap
heres a website
http://www.ssaddle.com/saddle_soap.htm...
Clean with saddle soap or leather cleaner it it mold or dirt on it. Now here is the real trick - Buy a QUART of light harness oil or neetsfoot oil and a paintbrush. Pour the oil into a bowl spread out some old towels under your working area and have a rag handy. If you can work with the saddle on a stand it makes it easier. Take off the stirrups and girths, etc. Paint away. Slop as much oil on both sides of every piece of leather you can get to except the seat and tree. (You should use at least half of the quart or more.) Make sure you move the stirrup leathers up and down so you get to the parts that are hidden by the tree. Spin those leather rosettes. When you are done and if the oil has soaked in - repeat the process. You want to walk away with oil laying on the surface. Wait 24 hours and wipe any excess oil off with a clean rag. The next few rides wear old jeans, not your show clothes. This should protect the saddle from the elements for about a year. If the saddle still creaks when you ride give it a week or so and do it again. I do this with every new "working" saddle we buy - yes it does darken the leather - but so does riding for 2 days in the rain. It won't bring dead leather back to life but it does supple it better than any thing else. For those of you that own a lesser expensive saddle made from leather imported from India - sorry that stuff is pressed fibers held together with glue and won't soak in the oil. We've brought back a harness that was in a barn for about 22 years. Jessie
Soak it in linseed oil and leave overnight and then soap really well the next day.
It depends on the shape of the leather. Deep cracks in the leather will make the leather weak at those parts. but if it is just dry, then oil will help. I personally have had this same problem. The leather most likely was exposed to some very wet conditions or very dry conditions.
When i do my own saddles i use Lexol.
First i take saddle soap and wash my saddle down nicely with the soap and then let it dry.
I then take some lexol leather oil and get a spray bottle to spray on the oil. i find it helps the most so i can work the oil into the leather rather than wiping it on. dont soak the leather because it will make the leather to weak. Just personal preference.
Then i let the saddle dry, and i put on a leather conditioner. it helps to soften it up a lot. also if you want, once everything has dried, take a dry cotton cloth and rub it all over the saddle to buff the leather. it shines it up a bit.
So i hope that will help you.
peanut oil - and I thought it could only be used to make pad thai and really unhealthy fried foods, something new everyday on yahoo!
This is how I care for old leather:
1. Clean with saddle soap which will soften and start to condition $3
2. Neatsfoot oil until pliable (specifically for leather, not for cooking) $5-10 depending on the size of bottle you buy
Keep applying/rubbing it in until it fails to soak in anymore.
3. Neutral polish to shine and protect $2, apply with damp rag and rub in, let dry and use slightly damp rag (spit shine) to rub excess off
4. Just for a nice touch, I use a little metal polish for $3 to get the stirrups and other metal bits really shining as well.
I do things the old fashioned way (read - elbow grease) and don't buy those overpriced things at the tack store. They may work but I figure my way has worked for hundreds of years, it should at least get my saddle through the next twenty.
If you are planning to use it, then I would advise taking it to a professional saddler for a "check up." I don't know if old is 10 years or 100 years, but if the leather is dry it can be rotten. That is not a huge deal for the parts you can see, but for everything going on internally that helps hold the saddle on the horse, it can be really dangerous. I knew someone that replaced all the rigging of a 75 old western saddle - all except one piece that was hard to get to. It seemed sound until he was riding it one day - the one piece had dry rot under the tree and it broke. There went the front cinch, and the mare bucked off across the pasture carrying the saddle under her belly by the back cinch. It was totally destroyed. Soft is not always sound, so please take it to be checked. Most of those guys will clean and recondition the leather for about $50 or so, and check for the safety of the rigging.
Sorry, paintgirl - I wrote this before I realized you'd pretty much said it all already!
yes! there are many saddle conditioners/soaps and oils you can use to supplement the leather... You can try neatsfoot oil.
Heres a good link that shows how to clean up a saddle =)
http://horses.about.com/od/choosingandus...
Lexol Conditioner!! Also, try lightly oiling it..
Saddle soap to clean it and Mink oil to condition it. There are other good conditioners out there also but having the saddle checked out first is a great idea.
leather soap works the best!! I have had the same problem! I just pulled out my mothers saddle from highschool! It needed a little help!
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