kabocky

HorsehairBraider, they said the english one was "Rossely Caruso all purpose Leather English Saddle 16” seat" and the western one was "Western Rawhide 14 ½ “" thanks a lot for the tips it is very helpful, I don't have a horse of my own yet and probably won't for another 2 years or so, after hearing your remarks I shall definately hold off on the buying of a saddle until then.

thank you very much barra for the insight, I had no idea about what kind of value or quality this saddle was, maybe it is garbage then, I think I'll keep it around to try out some cleaning and finishing ideas that have been mentioned here without having to worry about damaging something valuable, I'll look into buying one second hand ready to go =) I found these in a local add, any opions? They both look like a really good deal to me. 200$ 150$

I recently started riding and am trying to get equipment together as economicaly as I can. I've got a saddle that needs some work and would like to do it on my own if possible Six years ago I was given this english saddle in what appeared to be fine condition. We thought it was worthless because it didn't have any straps... oops, I now know that this is the most expensive part of the whole works. Since getting it, it was used as a toy on a barel outside and left there in the sun and rain for about three months or more, then was placed in a shed and left there until now. Overview of the Saddle: right side under the right side close up of the big scuff on the right side flap left side under the left side close up under the left side underneath Problem Areas: the cantle is scuffed pretty bad this piping between the seat and the skirt seems to be made of a plastic and on one side it's chipping like this, where the piping is gone there is a fabric mesh showing through. the knee roll used to be smooth and a darker colour now it's dry and ripples a little. close up of the knee roll My Questions: 1: From reading posts I understand how to clean and finish the leather, but is it necessary to take the saddle apart here, or can I clean it as is? 2: I'm not sure how to go about getting moisture back into the knee roll. 3: is the chipped plastic piping cosmetic or a bigger issue? 4: is there a way to minimize the appearance of the scuffs on the side flap and cantle?