Old Saddle Restoration

[barebackmule]

Hi there,

I have this old slick seat saddle, there's a blank triangular area on the fenders which looks like the shape of a Tex Tan logo, but there's nothing stamped into it, maybe an unmarked Tex Tan? this probably belongs to the first generation of western saddles to be imported in Italy in the 50s-60s and has MANY miles on it.

The horn is a bit off to the left but it probably left the factory this way as the horn base itself is off center on the fork, and the tree is apparently solid and straight, the original sheepskin fleece is still in decent conditions, but, as you can see in the attached pics, the leather has a rotten and cracked spot on the front jockey, the bottom ends of the fenders near the hobble straps are in the same condition.

The leather seems to be still soft, strong and pliable on most of the saddle but is really stiff and brittle in those confined spots, maybe it's dry rotten? also the whole saddle has an old, nasty, tacky coat of gunky hardened grease/conditioner, how can i safely remove it from the saddle? and what's the best way to soften and repair the rotten and cracked spots?

Also the rear right tree pocket has become unstitched, is it safe to ride the saddle this way with just the string holding it together? also is it possible to restitch it without damaging the original fleece lining?

This saddle seems to fit my mule decently so i'd like to restore it to rideable conditions.

Edited July 19, 2010 by barebackmule

[horsewreck]

It looks like your old saddle has seen better days. In saddle repair or restoration we have to ask what is the goal? Is it to ride the saddle, or simply display it in our home? Your saddle seems as though it might be best for the latter.

If the goal is to ride the saddle there appears to be a lot of things to do to this saddle. The cost of doing these repairs would make the price of a newer saddle seem reasonable. In general for a saddle to be considered safe to ride, it must attach well to the horse and provide a safe platform for the rider to sit. Comfort and safety of the horse (mule) and the rider are a must. First the tree would be checked by a qualified saddler to make sure the wood, rawhide and lacing are in good repair and also the fit of the tree on the horse should be verified. If the tree checked out then the saddle would require new riggings, and new stirrup leathers/buckles. The fenders would likely need to be doubled (add a layer of leather on the back side) or replaced. As you can see the cost of such repairs would be maddening. Then you are still faced with the old dry rot leather on the seat jockey, skirts and so on. Once leather is dry rotted there is no way to bring it back to life! We can only slow down the advance of the problem but it "cannot" be reversed! I hope this is of some help to you...... Jeff

[barebackmule]

Well, at this point i'm going to take your advice and keep this saddle as a display piece... i got this saddle for free (it came out of a friend's barn cleanup and was about to become landfill) and since i'm a long-distance bareback rider i don't really need to ride it...

I still need some advice to clean the old smelly gunk off of it and try to improve the appearance of the rotten areas and possibly prevent them from decomposing any further while on display.

Also i need to glue back a small piece of leather that's about to fall off a fender, is flexible cyanoacrylate based superglue OK for leather? i have already tried it on a piece of torn scrap leather and it seems to hold it together pretty well but i don't know how long it's going to last.

[horsewreck]

Well, at this point i'm going to take your advice and keep this saddle as a display piece... i got this saddle for free (it came out of a friend's barn cleanup and was about to become landfill) and since i'm a long-distance bareback rider i don't really need to ride it...

I still need some advice to clean the old smelly gunk off of it and try to improve the appearance of the rotten areas and possibly prevent them from decomposing any further while on display.

Also i need to glue back a small piece of leather that's about to fall off a fender, is flexible cyanoacrylate based superglue OK for leather? i have already tried it on a piece of torn scrap leather and it seems to hold it together pretty well but i don't know how long it's going to last.

As far as cleaning the saddle up first try regular liquid saddle soap, and warm (not hot) water. If that doesn't do the trick use mild liquid dish soap such as Ivory and warm water. When it is clean give it a light oiling with saddlers oil or olive oil, but keep the coat thin not heavy. It should be oiled a little each year. On glueing back the loose pieces of leather try a water based leather glue and put a thin leather backer on such places as the fenders, on the skirts you may have to glue the cracked pieces back to the woolskin. I don't think I would use the super glue.... Jeff

[akakesler]

If you are just going to use the saddle for display, Yes use saddle soap and a mild brush and hot water on a rag for cleaning ,then let it dry overnight at least. Then I would reccomend Barge rubber cement for attaching pieces back together. Barge should be able to handle any glueing that needs to be done and still stay flexable. (Weaver leather should have barge cement) Then use a good harness or Neatsfoot oil warmed up to 100 - 120 degrees (just like hot dish water) then put on not too much but it will penetrate the leather better with a rag or soft paint brush then take a dry rag and remove excess. Good luck. I have done this with old military saddles and old barn finds before and it will produce good results!!

akakesler- Stitches of Old Tymes

Edited July 25, 2010 by akakesler