Saddle Is New....but 30 Years Old. Need Advice

[The Farmers Daughter]

Hi Folks! I had the good fortune to get my hands on a great hand made saddle. Its 30 odd years old but never been on a horse. Its been stored and while the leather is good quality, its dry. Not damaged. Just drier than I would like saddle leather to be. I wanted to ask some advice on the best way to bring it back. Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks. Edited August 13, 2011 by The Farmers Daughter

[roo4u]

what the heck is that? sorry but thats the first thing that popped into my head...just a rather odd looking thing isnt it? or is it just me?

i would just use a good quality leather conditioner on whatever that is...i think that someone else just asked about conditioning old leather so you might look at recent topics for the info you seek.

[The Farmers Daughter]

its a plantation/field trial saddle with western features. commonly used for hunting.

[alb]

Preservation Solutions saddle and tack conditioner.

Hi Folks! I had the good fortune to get my hands on a great hand made saddle. Its 30 odd years old but never been on a horse. Its been stored and while the leather is good quality, its dry. Not damaged. Just drier than I would like saddle leather to be. I wanted to ask some advice on the best way to bring it back. Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks.

[WELSHMAN]

Love those saddle, back in the 70's i spent a lot of time setting on one. Had a friend in North Florida who's father train hunting dogs on the plantation and these were some of the saddle he used. That picture of that saddle brings back some great times in my past. Thanks for posting TFD

[The Farmers Daughter]

Love those saddle, back in the 70's i spent a lot of time setting on one. Had a friend in North Florida who's father train hunting dogs on the plantation and these were some of the saddle he used. That picture of that saddle brings back some great times in my past. Thanks for posting TFD

Thanks for posting Welshman. I haven't ridden in it, but I been told they are wicked comfortable! Glad to hear from someone who has seen them before.

[WELSHMAN]

Like setting on a pillow.

[roo4u]

oh...cool...learn something new every day

[Saddlebag]

I just had one, same thing, brand new and 30 years old. It too was very dry. My first step is to saddlesoap it to help replenish moisture and remove dust that had collected in the tooling. I'll leave it a week and redo it. Then I will add warm neastfoot oil while the leather is still damp, using a paint brush I keep for applying oil. Owner was very happy with how the saddle looked and felt.

[horsewreck]

The saddle looks clean I would give it a coat or two of Pure Neatsfoot Oil, or Pure Olive Oil, and then a coat of Rudy's by Bee Natural. Great saddle...... Jeff

[mauifarrier]

what the heck is that? sorry but thats the first thing that popped into my head...just a rather odd looking thing isnt it? or is it just me?

i would just use a good quality leather conditioner on whatever that is...i think that someone else just asked about conditioning old leather so you might look at recent topics for the info you seek.

Looks like a Buena Vista style Plantation saddle, but with a western front end. Unique and very cool! Hope it fits modern horses well. It should, those trees had bars with a decent amount of rocker & flare. It will be comfortable too, even if it puts you in a bit of a "chair" seat.

Enjoy!

I vote for Bee Natural products and Pure Neatsfoot oil.