Hundred year old saddle and cleaning!

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Meadon

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I've recently had my great-grandmothers side saddle restored. Still needs loads of work doing but all in working order and fits my horse
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It's roughly about a hundred years old, quite amazing really that it's stayed in reasonably good condition. Only prob I have is it being really dry. I've been using Oakwood conditioner on it and decided today to put some Neatsfoot Oil on. Just put the Neatsfoot on and it's now made it sparkle and look glittery.

Does this normally happen with the oil? Dumb question I know. It's not often I use Neatsfoot. Or is it just absorbing the oil and the glitter affect will go??? I'm very sentimental over my saddle!!

Here's the saddle. Needs a new seat but need to marry a millionaire!

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Fantastic saddle, lucky girl!

Don't worry about the glitter, it always does that with old tack (don't know the reason, bet Yorkshire Lass or Cotswold will!) You could try Koachaline now it's had the initial first treatments, that once rubbed in well will really nourish the leather that it will need. Although Neatsfoot is good for the leather, I've always been told it does rot stitching if used too often which you wouldn't need to happen to that gorgeous saddle!

You realise we'll want pic's of you using it don't you, LOL?!
 
phew...I was worrying I had done something drastic to it! I'm extremely protective of the saddle lol!

This was our first ever side saddle lesson. Excuse the really uptight and chicken arm position I have. Syb was doing her best slowest waddle ever that day. Not my saddle in the photo! I've hoped we've improved since then!

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And this photo just generally sums us up...Syb with her eyes closed and me trying to egg her on
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I need to get some better photos really
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!

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Ooooh, I am jealous!

Gorgeous saddle & lucky you having it in the family. Ko-cho line is really good for nourishing leather. I'd advise that now you've used the Neatsfoot. Make sure you rub the ko-cho line in well though, it will stain clothing so rub it in well & then leave it for 24/48 hours before riding in.

Beautiful saddle though
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Thanks! I think it's lovely too! It's really strange though because I have a picture of my great-gran on her horse. Both her horse and mine look identical (even down to the blaze) and I look so much like my great-gran. It's a bit strange to look at...I don't have the riding habit though. I'm tempted to go back up into the attic and see if I can find that. I never know the saddle was up there till last year!
 
We use kao-cho-line on our harness when its got back out after its winter holiday and its great, can be hard work rubbing it all in on a bit peice of harness/tack tho. Definatly find an old cloth for it tho becuase it dyes EVERYTHING (other than leather) red! Effax leather balsam is also great for a regular good nourish when leather is back in working order as i've found with our older sets of harness (about 25years old) they can dry out a little quicker.
 
LOVELY saddle but...

DON'T USE NEATSFOOT OIL!!!! I had Leo Wright out the other week to reflock my side saddle and I asked him about neatsfoot as I've heard bad things about it (both compound and pure) and he said not to use it as it's stretches out the leather amongst other destructive things. He did recommend a leather creme (which I forget it's name, will have to find out this week when I go to collect my side saddle from him) but bascially, it's similar to hand creme. Thinking back now, I think it was Effax. The oakwood is good too, that is what Laura Dempsey recommends too.

I don't like the kocholine stuff as I find it makes the leather too sticky, it's too heavy and the left over bits dry hard. I used it yonks ago on an old 1930's astride saddle I had and on my bridle but stopped using it. It may be fine for harness where it needs more heavy duty care but for riding tack, I wouldn't use it again.

My side saddle is from the late 1910's- early 1920's and was dry when I got it too. I find saddle soaping it and using Jeffries leather conditioner (expensive yet excellent!) on it EVERYTIME after I use it, has softened it and made the leather supple ten fold. Leo Wright said that the Jeffries is ok too.

The doeskin on your saddle looks fine, never put oil on that though or saddle soap it. Your doeskin doesn't look like it needs replacing though, it just has normal dirt and shiny bits fom 100 years of storage and from when your great grandmother used it.
My saddle has the same thing and what I learned from one of my side saddle books, is to VERY VERY VERY carefully, take the edge of a butter knife or a suede brush and just gently scrape it it over the dirty shiny bits to roughen up the doeskin to it's original "stickyness". Do this very softly and gently though and not too often.
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What a beautiful saddle, you lucky thing!

I also don't like ko'chiline, Stubben Hamanol is brilliant as is the Kieffer one (can't rememberthe name of it
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but it comes in a silver pot and smells of beeswax). Also don't think the seat needs replacing, it's supposed to look like that.

I love the history behind this saddle and if I were you I would be back up in that attic searching for the habit
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Thanks everyone! Laura Demspey has seen the saddle Sidesaddlegirl and recommended the Oakwood liquid saddle soap and conditioner. She told me not to put the conditioner on till all the dirt has come off the saddle. Only prob is it's getting very dry and needs something to make it supple.

I'm not going to oil it again I've decided. Do you think it's best just to keep using the Oakwood conditioner? Laura didn't restore my saddle, couldn't afford her price! Never heard of Leo Wright. I did look at Rob Jenkins too. I've just had the holes on the seat stitched, it's more cosmetic really than anything.
 
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