Saddle Question

[65frank]

My daughter just recently purchased a new (to her) saddle.  She is in the process of cleaning it since it's been stored in a barn for quite a while.  I told her to use saddle soap to clean it but she said that the dirt just keeps coming off.  She stopped cleaning since she was exhausted, oiled it and went to bed.  My question is; is there a better method of cleaning the saddle treating the leather.  She's not afraid of hard work but I thought I'd reach out and see if anyone had any suggestions.  I've attached a few pictures.

[Mulesaw]

When I clean our saddles (European style), I normally use grated soap dissolved in luke warm water. I thin that saddle soap is more aimed for general maintenance cleaning, and not something that needs to be brought back from years of storage.

I use a dish washing brush with soft bristles, and dip it into the soap water, then "scrub" the saddle in circular motions. I normally take a small area at a time say 6x6" or some natural defined small area.
When I have gone over that I take a damp cloth and wipe the soap water and dirt away. The cloth is wringed to remove the dirty water. Then I dip it into a bucket of clean water and wring it again so that it is now "clean" an damp. 

It might be necessary to go over the entire saddle a couple of times depending on the amount of grime.

When it is clean I let it dry and once dry I apply some neatsfoot oil or some other type of leather nourishing oil. 

The lambs fur underneath the saddle I would probably try to clean using a wet type vacuum cleaner. But for that I'd use either shampoo or wool washing detergent. Massage it into the fur with your hands and then remove it again with the vacuum cleaner (just like when you are cleaning a carpet with a wet vacuum cleaner)

 

[TomE]

I agree with continuing to clean with a mild soap.  Maybe the saddle is clean enough to use and she can work on it again later.  I swipe a damp sponge over a bar of glycerin saddle soap, just enough to create some suds, and rinse the sponge often in a bucket of clean water.  After cleaning, I wipe with a damp sponge to remove soap residue and let it dry as per @Mulesaw's directions.  Takes time to clean years of neglect.

[bland]

I like to start trying to blow all the dust out of all the crevices with an air compressor.  

I don't know how deep you want to go.  Cleaning and oiling is an opportunity to check critical saddle parts for safety.  

I would take the rosettes and hangers off and the screw at base of the swell.  Then you can lift the jockeys and inspect the riggings and skirt connectors (whether pockets or tuggs.  I also like to at least pull the stirrup straps out far enough to check for damage.  Also allows you to clean and oil them.  

There are some saddle cleaning videos on YouTube.  Cary Schwartz, Don Gonzalez, Dennis Moreland and many others.

[bland]

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