Perpetually dry saddle

[Whistler]

I’ve had a nice Antaras for the last couple of years and I’m the second owner. It’s a beautiful saddle in more of a havana color but it’s always been incredibly dry, especially the leg flaps and the edge of the knee rolls. I always keep it covered and store it in my wood tack room/shed and occasionally wipe it after rides with a little Murphy’s oil soap and water. About once a month I’ll clean then condition it with Passier Lederbalsam or sometimes Leather Honey. Whatever I use just soaks in but it goes back to looking dried out in about a day. We live in a moderate climate near the ocean and don’t get too many temperature extremes although this summer was pretty hot…

Is there any other treatment anyone can recommend?

[Fig]

I had the same issue with my Antares. I ended up using a higher end soap that added moisture and then using a generous layer of high end conditioner that sat a bit on top and soaked in. The thing that really helped was a different soap brand that worked with me to add in moisture and suppleness. I use Moss Leather Care goat milk saddle soap in tea rose (smells amazing!) and effax leder-balsam.

[roamingnome]

I used The Herbal Horse’s Saddle Butter on my Antares once (as I sold is shortly thereafter) and that seemed to do the trick, as I too found it to be drier than my other saddles.

[Go_Fish]

Cut it out with the Murphy’s. I find that stuff incredibly drying and anything that’s also made to clean wood floors and cabinets can’t be all that good for leather.

I like the Stubben’s glycerin saddle soap and then some plain old pure neatsfoot oil, warmed a bit in the microwave. Simple as that.

[Arabiandressage]

I run an english tack store and when I used to live in Arizona we had this problem on some leathers. I would apply neatsfoot oil (careful it will stain and darken light leathers even the clear version can do this). And then let it dry for about an hour. I then take mink oil (you can find it at Walmart in the shoe section) and coat it. It will leave a sort of glossy coating on it. Let it sit overnight then wipe down again. That usually does the trick. Some leathers are very porous and don’t hold moisture well and the mink oil really helps. (FYI it is actually more of a paste but there you have it)

[Whistler]

Thank you everyone for the tips. Lots of good ideas here and good to know it’s not just me with the crackly Antares (soon to be buttery soft).

[M_O_Connor]

Oil it.

[mlfjasper]

Extra virgin olive oil. My saddle was pretty dang dry and a my friend who works for a well known hunter/jumper trainer told me about olive oil. Thats all they use…I doused mine in it and it kept soaking it in. I let it sit for a while til it wasn’t taking anymore in. I’ve tried neatsfoot oil before and to me, it just makes the leather more dry.

[Inclined]

Another vote for olive oil! It reconditioned an ancient Kloster Schonthal/ Courbette that felt like cardboard when I got it. It’s good for your hands, too.

[hunterrider23]

Oil it once, and stop using murphy’s. I know some people swear by it, but it is not meant for your tack and absolutely can strip the moisture and color out of it. Ever notice how some saddles will get that awkward yellow color with certain soaps and stuff when there’s too much water, it’s too lathered, bad soap, etc? Yeah that’s not good. Stick to castile for deep cleaning (can also dry out leather a bit) and glycerin to seal the leather, but for cleaning just wipe down with a barely damp sponge (or I love leather therapy wash or effax ledercombi) then condition with something like leather therapy restorer or effax lederbasalm/passier lederbasalm. Don’t over oil either, but a light coat of oil should help now. I always have done oil after the cleaning, but before the lederbasalm to seal it or just oil, then after it’s soaked it, use a light layer of glycerin (there should be almost zero lather) to seal it.

[M_O_Connor]

Unless you just can’t believe that something conventional and cheap will do the job in excellent fashion, there is no need to go all Whole Foods on your tack.

I have WAY better uses for extra virgin olive oil than to pour it on my saddles…

Neatsfoot oil is more than sufficient for the purpose, and a lot less expensive.

It works…and will not rot the stitching. My last saddle was over 30 years old when I finally retired it. And we are going strong with several others that have no plans to give up the ghost anytime soon.

[Whistler]

[QUOTE=M. O’Connor;8397306]
Unless you just can’t believe that something conventional and cheap will do the job in excellent fashion, there is no need to go all Whole Foods on your tack.

I have WAY better uses for extra virgin olive oil than to pour it on my saddles…

Neatsfoot oil is more than sufficient for the purpose, and a lot less expensive.

It works…and will not rot the stitching. My last saddle was over 30 years old when I finally retired it. And we are going strong with several others that have no plans to give up the ghost anytime soon.[/QUOTE]

Great! I did just yesterday buy a bottle of Neatsfoot Oil for a new bridle and was wondering if it would be okay on the saddle…the seat is fine but it’s really the flaps and edges of knee rolls. I go through a lot of olive oil in my cooking and it is expensive. but nice to know you can use that in a pinch.

I’ll give up on the Murphy’s - even though i barely use it on the saddle it is usually my go to for bridle cleaning.

[Saskatoonian]

For cleaning, castile soap is fantastic - and Kirks is dirt cheap. I admit that I use olive oil (not EV!) on my Stackhouse, but before that always used neatsfoot - get the good pure stuff - I’ve seen some cheap stuff that’s black and made tack gummy).

When my saddle’s dry, I oil it a lot more frequently than monthly - I do it weekly. Clean the saddle well then just rub a thin coating in with my hands (the bit of warmth makes it soak in better). I’ll do 2 thin coats if it soaks in immediately. Then good glycerine over the top (hydrophane or Belvoir for me). Never rotted the stitching and when I was a w/s people were always asking me how I made the tack so nice.

[hunterrider23]

I use olive oil, but I buy it at Costco in bulk and just take a bit in a separate container for my tack, otherwise I’ll buy very cheap (not EV) olive oil for it. I don’t like neatsfoot, not because of how it is for my tack, but because it’s expensive to buy at local tack stores. More expensive than olive oil at least. And also Castile soap can be gotten at the same store, no need to take a tack store run when there’s Doctor bonner’s and/or kirk’s in the store.

[comingback]

I also was the second owner of an Antares that was dry (and also too light in color for my liking). I second saskatoonian’s process. I cleaned it thoroughly with Kirks and let it dry. I then did thin coats of neatsfoot oil on the unfinished side of the leather, and wiped glycerine soap on the finished side to seal and protect. I was very concerned about over oiling, so for the first week or so, I would ride, take a damp cloth and wipe down the saddle, and then repeat the above process until I was happy with the result.

I ended up with a lovely patina on that saddle, and the dryness was resolved. I would monitor the saddle with each ride/wipe down, and repeat the oiling as needed.

[hype]

Be very careful with oiling the seat and flaps of saddles. There is a foam or wool insert underneath each and they can act like a sponge to absorb oil if you glob it on. Thin coats are best. It takes longer to get the job done but I’ve seen saddles where people have over oiled flaps and seats of saddles and when they ride, the oil comes out of those areas and stains their breeches.

[beowulf]

both Murphy’s and Leather Honey are useless for conditioning a saddle, IMHO. Passier is just barely useful and I like it more for adding “stick” on cross-country day in the rain as it’s more waterproof than conditioning.

I think you need to start with a high quality cleaner, I’d pick either Belharra’s Conditioning Soap or Higher Standards Soap. Then move onto either BELHARRA’S conditioning balm or Higher Standard’s balm. Both work very well, even together.

I find the dessicated/thirsty leather needs multiple applications over many days. I usually would clean/condition after every ride until the leather was supple again.

[SinMiedo]

I recently got an old but sturdy saddle for like, $25 on eBay that needed some serious love. It was horribly dry, but still had that delicious leather smell :-).
I gave it a thorough scrubbing with Kirk’s, then mucho Lexol conditioner, which was all I had at the time. It helped some, but I still wasn’t happy, so I went all DIY with the random oils I use for washing my face. (Oil cleansing smacks of woo, I know, but it works, y’all!) I think I ended up using jojoba, sweet almond, coconut, and a bit of EVOO; heated it on the stove and dissolved some beeswax in it.
Once it cooled it was quasi-solid, but sort of melted when you touched it. Slapped some on the saddle and it did wonderfully. I did several coats and let it sit in indirect sun, and it’s now butter soft.

[SCI]

Also, don’t just oil the top of the flap, you need to oil the underside too.

[Go_Fish]

@M. O'Connor;8397306

Neatsfoot oil is more than sufficient for the purpose, and a lot less expensive.

Not to mention it’s made from cow parts. Kinda like a saddle…also made from cow parts.