Cleaning And Minor Repairs Of Saddles

[srbonner]

I have got some guys in town that keep hitting me up to work on their saddles and give a good cleaning and oiling. I kind of thinking that it would give me a good chance to learn some about saddle construction and get me on their good side and hopefully they woould want some of the other stuff I make. They are gonna want a quick turn around on their saddles which I donr have a problem with. The only question I have is what to charge for a good cleaning and minor repairs. Theses guys dont have much monet but what they have they will spend on their horses and saddles. Any advice yall could offer of pricing would sure be appreciated. Thanks>

[GrampaJoel]

I offer a spring cleaning and safety inspection. My range of price, (minus any repairs) are $85- $135.00 a saddle.

I am in Southern California. A lot of folks in other states think that life is good here and every thing is clean and shiny always.

Just look at a typical saddle that came into my shop this spring. I always take before, during and after photos.

This is typical for my area. Sometimes lots of wind and fine dust. This saddle only needed a good brushing and saddle soap scrubbing and oiling to go back out. All the leather but the latago was fine. He declined my offer to sell him a new latago. No big deal, he said the feed store sell them cheaper than I do. Not the same quality of leather, but cheaper in price. His choice.

My charge for cleaning this saddle was only $90.00. It took about 1 1/2 hrs to do.

Now to tell the truth I personally think that anyone who will pay someone else to clean their saddle is lazy and in lack of a little education. But I do a close to complete tear down on upper leathers, and I do look pretty close to see what shape the leather is in. So,, I (in my mind) am actually doing a spring safety inspection for someone, and cleaning the saddle is just a matter of pride to having something leaving my shop in good condition

Joel.

[Billy H]

Hey Joel,You cleaned that saddle up real nice.

Looks like that saddle was sitting in a barn for some time. I beat it was a little dry!

[CWR]

I charge about the same as Joel. That's just for the cleaning and oiling. If there are any repairs that's extra. I don't get alot in just for cleaning but if I do I take the jockeys off, pull the stirrup leathers out and take off all the conchos, latigo hangers and such as that off. That's probably to cheap but it gets them in the shop and I'm hungry. Sounds like you are working for cowboys, if you are and you do them a good job and treat them right they'll be back. In my little shop if you make a living with a saddle you go to the front of the line.

Hope this helps a little,

CW

[srbonner]

I charge about the same as Joel. That's just for the cleaning and oiling. If there are any repairs that's extra. I don't get alot in just for cleaning but if I do I take the jockeys off, pull the stirrup leathers out and take off all the conchos, latigo hangers and such as that off. That's probably to cheap but it gets them in the shop and I'm hungry. Sounds like you are working for cowboys, if you are and you do them a good job and treat them right they'll be back. In my little shop if you make a living with a saddle you go to the front of the line.

Hope this helps a little,

CW

Thanks for all ya'lls advice it helps A LOT! @ CWR - You are right. The saddles do belong to some day cowboys and feedlot guys. I mostly just wanted to do it to help me learn about saddle construction and to get in good with them for down the road when they need something. Trust me I think I could find plenty to do in my shop other than scrub on a saddle (thats why all mine need some attention) but sometimes you gotta do whatever to get them in and see what kind of work you do.

[CWR]

SR,

I think you are on the right track. I have worked on everything from a Bob Marrs to a corriente. I learned something on everyone or them. Cleaning and oiling s not very romantic but it is money and you make contacts. The cowboy world is pretty small and word will get out in a hurry.

Good luck to you,

CW

[Matt Alsaker]

Joel,

My wife and I never let our personal saddles get to this point, so I've never had to clean one up like this. Did you just use saddle soap and a light coat of oil? Did you have to dye that saddle to get it back into that condition? What is your procedure for cleaning a saddle like this and what cleaners / conditions do you use?

Thanks

I offer a spring cleaning and safety inspection. My range of price, (minus any repairs) are $85- $135.00 a saddle.

I am in Southern California. A lot of folks in other states think that life is good here and every thing is clean and shiny always.

Just look at a typical saddle that came into my shop this spring. I always take before, during and after photos.

This is typical for my area. Sometimes lots of wind and fine dust. This saddle only needed a good brushing and saddle soap scrubbing and oiling to go back out. All the leather but the latago was fine. He declined my offer to sell him a new latago. No big deal, he said the feed store sell them cheaper than I do. Not the same quality of leather, but cheaper in price. His choice.

My charge for cleaning this saddle was only $90.00. It took about 1 1/2 hrs to do.

Now to tell the truth I personally think that anyone who will pay someone else to clean their saddle is lazy and in lack of a little education. But I do a close to complete tear down on upper leathers, and I do look pretty close to see what shape the leather is in. So,, I (in my mind) am actually doing a spring safety inspection for someone, and cleaning the saddle is just a matter of pride to having something leaving my shop in good condition

Joel.

[GrampaJoel]

First I strip off the conchos, and fenders. I then lift the seat front and brace it up. then I brush off all the dust and dirt. I use various brushes to do this from a wisk broom to a shoe brush to a tooth brush. I even vacume if needed.

Then I saddle soap it real good and rinse being very careful of any rawhide parts. I start oiling as it is drying. I don't use a lot of oil at this point. I use pure neatsfoot oil(feiibings brand).

When dry(naturally not forced) I start looking for weak leather. I do repaires if needed and requested by the customer.

I use a variety of sealers depending on what type of saddle it is, and what it needs. Bee natural products is an expensive favorite of mine. I also use the feibings brands of coatings. These go on after a final oiling. If the saddle is black and needs some touch up I use what matches best. I even use shoe polish sometimes. The black saddle in the picture was touched up a little. But mostly just cleaned up.

I hope this helps.

Joel

[Saddlebag]

I have done enough that the very worst cleaning job is done in an hour. When I first started cleaning my own western saddle it took at least 3 hours. In order to keep the price attractive I rethought how I did it and was able to shave off a lot of time.

[dbusarow]

Got any hints for us on those time saving measures?

Thanks,

Dan

[oltoot]

I have a little different take on it. I get very few clean only and usually try on those to set the people up to save their money and do it themselves. On most repairs, I tell folks I don't like to wrestle with dirty old saddles so they must be cleaned and oiled as part of the deal and I tend to add around $50 for that. More if edges are wrinkled or curled and it takes extra attention to return the thing to well kept appearance. I don't like to see dirty, ugly stuff go out the door and back into the community. When a saddle leaves, I will encourage the owner to keep it up on their own.

[peterson73]

I have a saddle that i let my brother keep for some time and just got it back. it is covered in mildew ! you guys or girls know what would be best for me to stop it and clean it up good with? thanks for any help on this..

[oltoot]

First remove all the mold, mildew surface growth, spores, etc with a damp rag or sheepskin which you should be sure to throw away after just one use then wet it down all over with plain water and when still a little moist on the surface go over it (the whole surface, not just the stained parts) with Oxalic Acid and let dry. Dont reuse any of the rags, sheepskin etc used for the job.