Child's leather saddle literally falling to pieces.

[SUP]

I found an old children's wooden horse with a leather saddle. I cleaned the horse and the saddle but the saddle is riddled with mold. I am in the process of cleaning it. Wipe and vinegar wash to start. The straps and seat seem okay but one of the sections under the back of the seat, no idea what it is called, is 2 pieces stitched together and pieces came off it as I tried to  open it gently and spray inside. I literally have pieces of it. It seems to be veg-tanned leather and it is not peeling. I have pieces of it like one takes off pieces off a side of cake or cookie!

How and why does that happen? Is the mold causing it? or lack of conditioning? Poor care? Probably all of these.

More important, can it be saved?

I have no idea of the age of the thing.

I would  appreciate any help here.

[Mulesaw]

@SUP Sounds like an interesting project. 

Do you have any pictures? 
Without having seen it, my first guess is that the threads might be rotten. That would make the entire thing come apart at the seams. 

Brgds Jonas

[SUP]

@Mulesaw I will put up pics but it will have to be tomorrow. 

I need to find a place far away from everything else so that the mold spores do not get around and damage anything else. As it is, it is very humid where I live these days so there is little needed to encourage mold.

[Mulesaw]

8 hours ago, SUP said:

@Mulesaw I will put up pics but it will have to be tomorrow. 

I need to find a place far away from everything else so that the mold spores do not get around and damage anything else. As it is, it is very humid where I live these days so there is little needed to encourage mold.

Good idea, mold is a pest if it spreads.

It seems as you already have taken the upper hand by spraying with vinegar. 

Looking forward to the picture :-) 

[SUP]

Here are the pics. Frankly, it is so crumbly, I wonder if I can restore it or should just write it off. It is so lovingly made, I hate to do that though. 

[Mulesaw]

@SUP What a beautiful piece of work :-) I can understand that you feel inclined to restore it.

But it sure looks like a lost cause.. I think that the leather itself has started to rot, and I am afraid that there isn't much to do about that (I hope that someone more knowledgeable than me can give some better advice).

An option would be to use the old saddle as pattern and make a copy of it. The problem here is that it looks so well made that it is going to be kind of a big project. I can only speculate in how expensive a toy horse this must have been back when it was new. The issue with spending lets say 25 hours on a project, it had better be something that either I could use or some grandchildren could use or it could be sold for something that would justify spending the time to do it. But on the other hand it could also be a fun project that one could be proud of afterwards. And a hobby should be about doing something that we find fun, challenging and rewarding :-)

Regarding the age of the saddle, I would guess sometimes in the 50'ies based on the branded longhorn stamp. Back when every kid wanted to grow up and be a cowboy like in the movies.

Just curious, but is the horse a rocking horse or something from a carrousel? Cause if it was from a carrousel then maybe it would could give some hints to the age of it, and it could explain why it was so well made in the first place. 

Brgds

Jonas

[SUP]

@Mulesaw yes I thought it needs to be written off. Such a pity really. I don't know a thing about making saddles, so I don't know how I can make a new one. I am perfectly willing to try but not knowing the a b c of saddle making, my trying would be like I am suddenly trying to write a play!  And since it is so moldy, I cannot bring it into my work area either.

About the horse, I have no idea what it is. it is not a rocking horse. It is in my storage at the moment. I will go there on the week-end and get some pics.

 

 

[Littlef]

Mold is really hard to get rid of.  It grows roots/tendrils that grow and extend throughout an area.  you can try vinegar. bleach can help, but then you are bleaching the leather.  There are anti mold products at the hardware store that you could try, but they might also discolor the leather.  That leather also looks like is rotting (from what I can see in the photo.)   I think the damage is done, and at this point, I don't think there's a way to return the leather to an acceptable state.  It would probably have to be rebuilt from new leather.

[SUP]

@Littlef I know. I know I have to write it off. And I know nothing about making saddles. So I cannot make a new one from the pattern either. I feel rather sad about it.

 

[Littlef]

24 minutes ago, SUP said:

@Littlef I know. I know I have to write it off. And I know nothing about making saddles. So I cannot make a new one from the pattern either. I feel rather sad about it.

 

since its basically trash, as-is, you could always cut  the seams and see if you could take it apart.  once you got it apart you could determine if its worth even attempting to replicate.  It doesn't look like a real saddle for use on a horse. If its just going to be more of a  decoration type piece, it wouldn't have to be 100% structural.     - Or you could just trash it, and move on with life.

[SUP]

@Littlef it is an old toy saddle for a toy wooden horse. It is very charming and well made. The reason I'm not sure about taking it apart is because of the mold. I will have to work outside far away from my work area to prevent it spreading. Here it is rainy and humid now so it will be a while before i can do that.

Let's see if I can find anything to completely get rid of the mold. If I do, then that is an option.  If not. it will have to be trashed.

Right now, I plan to douse it periodically with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and vinegar for a few days. That will either completely break it down or get rid of the mold. If the latter, I might be able to get the pattern. 

Edited March 5 by SUP