MareK

Thanks, Wenny! When I get a chance, I'll do what you suggested. I'm currently pursuing a degree, so I won't have too much time to work on this saddle alongside work and my other skin-tanning projects. I'll be sure to post pictures of the saddle (once I figure out how!), before as well as after shots.

I recovered this old saddle from my great-aunt's shed. She told me that her father (my great-grandfather) used to ride this saddle whenever he went out for a date! I figured it must have been very nice in its day, so I wanted to fix it (any tips on fixing bent/cracked leather, please share! I'm currently using Leather New and probably some saddle oil, but advice about other chemicals/techniques that would be better would be most welcome). It was kept on a shelf in a shed that was poorly-protected against the Mississippi elements (well, it survived a tornado that took down a bunch of massive pines, so it must be sturdier than it looks), and there were plenty of spiders living in the resulting folds of the leather. The leather has a lot of those webbing cracks in it, especially where it's been unnaturally folded from sitting on a flat surface. It's not so dry that it cracks at the touch, and for having sat on that shelf for God-knows-how-long, I'm surprised it's in such relatively excellent shape. There is a defined cut in the cantle, and the seat looks to have been scraped away a bit in one area. The stirrup buckles are very rusty, and the strap that connects the girth to the saddle (it's not like any saddle I've seen; it's kind of Y shaped, with the girth attachment at the cross-section of the Y and making the tail) has broken off in transport, although I still have what remains of it. I'm not sure if it will ever be like new again, but I'd like to get it as close as I can. Furthermore, I have no idea what type of saddle it is. I can't find a maker's mark anywhere, but I haven't looked too thoroughly for fear of cracking the dry leather any further. Online, I've found some types of saddles that are similar, but I'm not certain they're a perfect match. I'm not sure about the year, but I figured it must have been made around late 1800s or early 1900s (and if my great-grandfather got it from HIS father, even older? His father, my great-great-grandfather, owned a slave plantation, to give a bit of perspective, although I've no idea if that's where the saddle came from). If anyone knows what kind of saddle this is, or where I can go to find out, please let me know. (P.S. I've never posted to a forum before, so I honestly don't know how to attach the picture files. The file uploader keeps telling me the picture is too big, and I had 6 pictures total to get every angle; I can add the pictures later when I figure out how. Until then, I apologize. Please share information on leather restoration, at the very least!!)

Hi! Guess I gotta ask somewhere. I have never been on a forum before, so I don't know how to start a thread, or how to post pictures. But I have an old saddle that my great-grandfather used to always use. It's been sitting in a run-down old shed (probably exposed to elements and definitely exposed to critters) in Mississippi, and I would also like to fix it up, if I can, and I'm very curious what type of saddle it is, as I have never seen one of this design. It's kind of like an English saddle, but with Western stirrups (that are plain old wood). The seat is beautifully embroidered, with a fairly broad/high pommel and what looks to be a separated roll of leather/stuffing to make up the cantle. If I could figure out how to post pictures, I'd do so, and I'm sorry to steal your thread, but I also don't know how to start my own.