Reconditioning A Saddle

[donoe]

I hope this is the appropriated place for this question...I recently bought what looks to be an old, well made ranch type saddle. It appears it's been stored quite a few years and although the tree and main body of the saddle still appear to be in good shape, the leather on the fenders is quite hard but not cracked. Is there a way to soften them and safely use this saddle or should I replace the fenders. I'm hoping the fenders can be saved because the tooling on them is very intricate.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Without pics it is hard to give good advice, however; if I had one like you describe here to work on, the first thing I would do is give it a good going over with saddle soap and water the emphasis on water. Use a soft brush to work the soap into the nooks and crannies, and rinse thoroughly, and if you have one blow it out with a compressor and a blow off tool so you can really get all that dirt and debris out of those hard to reach places. Let dry and then begin the oiling process. Usually I take a saddle partially apart so I can get to all of it in the cleaning process. After it has dried, I mix up some oil, a cup of pure neatsfoot oil and 2 or 3 table spoons of extra virgin olive oil. I heat it on the grill, (my wife won't let me use the stove, or do it in the house because of the fumes). Once it is at a simmer, I take a piece of sheep skin fleece and dip it, being careful to not get it on my skin, (or burns will occur) and wipe it on all the parts giving extra attention to the parts that I want to soften up. Give it a few hours to soak in and repeat. Be careful not to over oil. Go slowly, one coat at a time. if the leather is going to soften up a usable amount it will happen in 2 or 3 coats in a couple of days. Be patient, it took years to get stiff, it needs some time to get pliable again, if it is going to. Good luck!

Bob

[donoe]

Thank you!!!