Hmm, I wonder if this will work on my red County Logic girth? Tried the Walsh Darkening oil many many times and no luck. 
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;7782698]
Having seen this saddle in person (I was the one who found it at the tack store in the first place, and refused to buy it due to the color…) in real life it had a very radioactive-mac n’ cheese effect to the red-orange. It definitely looked a bit ill.[/QUOTE]
Indeed. Listen to those who have seen it’s true orange glory in person. It was alarming. :lol:
[QUOTE=Frivian;7782708]Hmmm… I’m with the others… I wouldn’t have considered your saddle “orange” and definitely not ugly! I do love the darker color, but I bought a steal of a deal Stackhouse earlier this year and it is also a non-preferable lighter shade. However, I’ve never thought of it as orange:
Now I’m going to be self-conscious! Is everyone judging my orange saddle?[/QUOTE]
Your saddle is not at all orange, it’s just a lighter brown. 
This one: http://www.cheshirehorse.com/Professional-Leather-Dye-P1069.aspx
I think your girth is likely the same color as my saddle, being from the same manufacturer. It’s very orange with very red undertones. Even now I can see some “warmness” under the dark brown, but that I can live with.
I had a county in that colour. I even picked it thinking it would mellow out with conditioning.
I was wrong.
:no:
(Mare outgrew the saddle and I sold it before I was driven to such drastic action however LOL)
I feel your pain. I did some saddle shopping last year, and was pretty sad to discover that the best fitting one for both of us was an orange-y red inexpensive random brand (St-Lourdes) saddle. I may have loved the soft dark brown leather on the Prestige, or the rich tons of one of the Crosby…but it was not meant to be. I still plan on replacing the current one, but I’m waiting until my 5 year old has finished growing/filled out OR the current saddle stops being such a good fit.
Here is a stock picture: http://www.tackshopcanada.com/files/2104075/uploaded/stlourdestango.jpg
I really dislike the colour but it was a very inexpensive saddle, and thus the leather is similarly inexpensive. I’m concerned that the leather isn’t of sufficient quality to even attempt an at-home dye process. Thoughts?
[QUOTE=Backstage;7782984]
I really dislike the colour but it was a very inexpensive saddle, and thus the leather is similarly inexpensive. I’m concerned that the leather isn’t of sufficient quality to even attempt an at-home dye process. Thoughts?[/QUOTE]
Drawing from my extensive knowledge base of one saddle: I think that you would actually need to strip the leather, instead of just giving it a good wash like I did. The calfskin on my saddle was more than happy to soak everything up evenly, but there wasn’t a large buildup of wax the way you might find on plain leather saddles.
Perhaps Ambitious Kate can chime in about cheaper leathers? I know her COTH posts were what gave me the inspiration to do it myself, and I know she mentioned doing it on some pretty low-grade pieces of tack.
[QUOTE=GoForAGallop;7782989]
Drawing from my extensive knowledge base of one saddle: I think that you would actually need to strip the leather, instead of just giving it a good wash like I did. The calfskin on my saddle was more than happy to soak everything up evenly, but there wasn’t a large buildup of wax the way you might find on plain leather saddles.
Perhaps Ambitious Kate can chime in about cheaper leathers? I know her COTH posts were what gave me the inspiration to do it myself, and I know she mentioned doing it on some pretty low-grade pieces of tack.[/QUOTE]
I think I would definitely have to strip it - but even then I wonder if it would have the ability to ‘soak’ up the dye. This actually prompted me to read my saddle’s description, and it would appear that the leather is treated to prevent mold etc. So that probably doesn’t help the situation!
I had a County Symmetry for some time that I really liked, except it was worse than yours. It had been under-conditioned for some time so while the flaps were orange, the knee rolls, seat and panels were butter yellow! It. Was. Hideous. On top of that, I’d just come off a black jumping saddle and all of my strapgoods were black (except for the brown bridle for my brown dressage saddle, but that is neither here nor there).
I tried Hydrophane darkening oil, everything that said it may darken light leather. I never did have the nerve to dye it, and honestly it never crossed my mind. But now I know! If I find that perfect saddle for my impossible horse, it won’t matter what color it is, because it will become black!
ETA: it did end up a reasonably attractive chestnut brown, but I wasn’t heartbroken to see it go when it no longer fit my horse. I still just wish I’d kept the stupid HdR Show Jumper I replaced it with!
I give benefit of the doubt to those who saw it …
But from the photos, I would have said that’s not orange, it’s “tobacco”. 
Love tobacco/havana colors on tack. But if it does go orange or yellow, ick.
Have a tobacco saddle, several years old, it is darkening in an irregular pattern. Could it be died back to the havana color? What to use, and how?
I wonder if it would work on my orange prestige breastplate… Dang, I hate that color.
An update:
I’ve ridden in this saddle several times now, and have had no dye transfer. I was a bit nervous yesterday, because there was a light drizzle, but still nothing.
Overall, definitely thrilled with the results for $4.50 and a half hour of time! :lol:
Thanks for posting - it looks great! I will potentially be looking for a new jump saddle soon and am so glad I saw this! Now I won’t automatically discount an orange saddle. :yes:
I was directed here after rantin about the futility of selling my brown dressage saddle. I can’t sell it where I work because, horrors. It’s brown. Took it to another consignment shop today. Oh, heavens! Can’t sell that! It’s brown. So close to dying it.
Amanda, I desperately wanted a brown dressage saddle! Actually prefer it to black! Sadly I’m horseless, or I would love to consider taking it off you! sigh
The dye job looks really nice!
[QUOTE=yellowbritches;7791013]
I was directed here after rantin about the futility of selling my brown dressage saddle. I can’t sell it where I work because, horrors. It’s brown. Took it to another consignment shop today. Oh, heavens! Can’t sell that! It’s brown. So close to dying it.[/QUOTE]
In case you missed this thread from Blacktree
Are you saying that you can’t have it on the floor at your shop … or it’s just not getting any action?
What happened to your OTTB girls?
(or am I confusing you with someone else :o )
PS I think you should get the saddle anyway & then find a horse to fit it :winkgrin:
[QUOTE=cuonxc;7782760]
Thank you for posting! As a horrified orange saddle owner I must know whick dye you chose? They seem to have quite a few - http://www.fiebing.com/tips/color-charts-dyes-stains-antiques-2/[/QUOTE]
OMG LOOK!!! You could have just dyed it teal, blue or green, instead of orange!!! :winkgrin::winkgrin::winkgrin:
[QUOTE=alto;7791134]
What happened to your OTTB girls?
(or am I confusing you with someone else :o )
PS I think you should get the saddle anyway & then find a horse to fit it :winkgrin:[/QUOTE]
It’s been a very sad, bad luck year for me. My sweet, sweet Agnes (the bay) got in a pasture accident in May and we lost her. I 100% blame someone for it, and I’m very, very raw about it, so I don’t speak of it. I still miss her desperately and I’m very, very sad. She was a total rockstar.
Iggy is the sweetest, most personable, quiet, lovely mare on the planet. Unfortunately, we’re still working on fixing her feet and it is a long process. She had some quarter cracks that have worsened, so we’re working on fixing the balance of her feet and growing those out at the moment. It is a very slight lameness, but I don’t want to push her, so we’re just hanging in there and making small changes. Already, we are getting a lot more growth and her hind heel pain is diminishing, so we’re on the right track, but it is still a work in progress. Her hind muscle injury is 100% healed though and on soft ground that doesn’t bother her feet she is JAW DROPPING. So I’m quite excited and looking forward to having her in the spring.
I actually have my eye on a super nice horse that is a bit trixy and has scared his owner and she is fire-saleing. But while he’s unbelievably affordable for what he is, I’m still not sure if I can put the money together in time. Fingers crossed! He would look lovely in a brown dressage saddle and I much prefer brown on chestnuts to black. 
[QUOTE=alto;7791133]
In case you missed this thread from Blacktree
Are you saying that you can’t have it on the floor at your shop … or it’s just not getting any action?[/QUOTE]
We do not take brown dressage saddles, not even mine!
While I like the new, dark brown color, when you say “orange” I keep picturing the old London Tan color from the, what, 80s and 90s?
[QUOTE=Sticky Situation;7791480]
While I like the new, dark brown color, when you say “orange” I keep picturing the old London Tan color from the, what, 80s and 90s?
Like this piece of loveliness.[/QUOTE]
That’s not far off from the color of mine, except mine had really weird red undertones to boot.
