Hi! Long-time reader, first-time poster. 
I have a newbie tack question.
I was trying a few nice saddles at a good consignment place in town and we came across one that had been ridden in but never “darkened”, probably from not being oiled enough by the previous owner. It’s much lighter than any saddle I’ve seen. It looks and feels good otherwise.
My question is: would a used saddle darken properly with good care? Would this affect the saddle’s durability or value over time?
I have some light leather that I specifically do not want darkened. I oil it with Neatsfoot formula, opposed to any other oil or conditioner. Neatsfoot formula (opposed to Neatsfoot oil or any other product I have seen) does NOT darken leather.
I have some very old leather that I have used Neatsfoot formula on and it has remained as nice and supple as anything else in the tack room.
Tough question without knowing more about the saddle. Do you have a picture?
What color is it now? Leather colors go in and out of fashion. Lighter colors, like London Tan, can be a tough resell these days (at least for English saddles. Western folks seem perpetually fond of London Tan.)
What brand/model is it? Some saddles are just “like this.” For example, certain vintages of Beval saddles have very light-beige-y seats.
How old is it, and is it broken in/ridden in? If it’s really old and hasn’t been ridden in much, I’d be worried about the leather taking oil poorly. If in doubt, I might ask the tack store if they’d agree to let me spot-oil the saddle in an inconspicuous location.
That said, if I wanted to darken a saddle, mink oil is the stuff I’d use. There’s other good darkening products on the market, like Hydrophane Darkening Oil, but that’s made mostly with petroleum distillates. I have no theoretical beef with petroleum distillates and have used Hydrophane Darkening Oil myself, but for an older piece of tack that has a history of not taking oil well, I’d be leaning toward a natural product.
It’s a CWD in calf leather, a few years old and broken-in. Here’s essentially the same saddle looking dark (http://www.dfwtackexchange.com/#!product/prd14/4268573885/17%22-cwd). The one I saw is closer to this tan color (not this saddle): http://www.ebay.com/itm/CWD-SE02-17-2L-2014-Full-Calf-medium-tree-Close-Contact-English-Saddle-/191669935525?hash=item2ca06b1da5
It’s possible the previous owner didn’t want it to darken. Just wondering if this was normal.
Welcome to the forums!
After years of riding in saddles the colors of which I was not always thrilled with (ask me about that blue-green dressage saddle, go ahead), I am DELIGHTED to say that dying a saddle is not nearly as daunting a task as it seems.
I have tried with only minimal success various darkening oils/products, they all help re-saturate the color, but I don’t find they’ll really take a say, fairly orange saddle, to anything other than a somewhat darker fairly orange saddle.
Fiebings makes a great leather dye, very affordable (amazon, your local tack shop, craft store), and even their little wand applicator thing works great. I usually use a bottle a saddle for a couple coats (start light), but pick up an extra for touch ups or if I spill the first one 
. I usually deglaze with some denatured alcohol (also super cheap, at Lowes or wherever), but have not had any problems the times I’ve forgotten. I was honestly amazed how easy it was- somewhat awkward balancing the saddle and trying to not get dye on the entirety of everything, but despite having no idea what I’m really doing they’ve all come out looking nice.
I would suggest wearing dark breeches/full seats for the first couple of rides/couple of rides in the rain. I had minimal transfer, and I know nobody really sees your bum but that would ruin so many nice over fence photos 
I would love a blue-green dressage saddle. I’m pretty sure my trainer would send me home though :P.
Okay, figured it out! Apparently this kind of saddle comes in light and dark leather. Like I said, newbie question :).
Okay, adapt+overcome… I’ll ask about the blue green saddle. Mine is fading a bit and looks blueish
Feibings makes a black leather dye which is endorsed by the USMC (somehow, apparently, unofficially), and I would definitely suggest that. Probably more important to deglaze the actual black saddles, but otherwise just proceed with caution and dye away!
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