I saw my old saddle in action today as the gal who bought it was at the show. It’s still very, VERY burnt orange. :eek: And I know this is someone who would have conditioned it appropriately so it would have darkened gracefully had it any capability to do so…
Okay…you have given me hope with this thread. I own a County Innovation that has flawed leather…that’s a whole other story…anyway, it is blond. Seriously, parts are pale tan, parts are chestnut. No joy from County, no solutions ( oils, stripping, reoiling, darkening oil…you name it). So…I think I’m going to follow your example!
Update?
Hoping maybe the OP will see this bumped up and give an update on how the dye job has endured. Or if anyone else has tried it, how did it go?
I have an older Amerigo in that ugly two tone they used to do and thinking about giving it the treatment as I despise the lighter parts – downright yellow. I won’t despair too much if it turns out ugly as it can’t be uglier than it is now, but I also fear going for a ride and getting caught in a rainstorm and seeing dye seep out (or some other equally bad scenario)…so hoping for an update after a few months of use.
It’s totally fine! 
A little wear under the stirrup leathers, but nothing particularly noticeable. Seat and the untouched areas on the flaps are all fine.
I did get caught in the rain with it, and had no ill effects. I’ve also cleaned it a few times (I am not a good saddle owner :lol:) and it’s been fine too. Apart from the first cleaning right after dyeing it, I have never gotten any dye on my hands, pants, saddle pads, etc.
Don’t regret it for a second!
Very good update - thank you!
I thought I would come back to report that I DID dye the Amerigo and it looks like I took 10 years off its age! Well, maybe not that much, but it does make it look a lot more “current” and I much prefer it to the old two tone with yellow. I’ll try to get some photos to post now that it has cured a bit. I did have some dye come up off it for the first couple of times I rode and cleaned it, but not much. It seem to be set now as I got caught in some drizzle, saddle got pretty damp, and I didn’t have any dye come off on me riding or later when I wiped it down. I did the medium brown for most of it, but was displeased with the color on the seat (which was yellow to start) so I did a mix of dark and medium there (just added a tiny bit of the dark to some medium and then applied).
I’m now eyeing my County and thinking about doing it as well, since it is pretty red and looks silly on all my bays…but then again, I almost bought a chestnut a few weeks ago (didn’t vet), so maybe I better keep it this color just in case…
Oooh! Yay for the update OP, and Horsepoor! I am about to take the plunge with my County. I am boarding at the barn where the County rep works, so I’m going to consult one more time, but my blonde saddle is about to go dark!
Horsepoor–what dye did you use?
I would like to see pics! I’ve been thinking of dyeing my Pessoa.
[QUOTE=whbar158;7782667]
I hate orange tack too and no offense to people who like it but when people buy orange bridles/martingales etc to match their orange saddle on their bay I die a little (ok I am being a little dramatic!)[/QUOTE]
You mean… LIKE THIS?? :eek::lol:
Seriously, I hate this look. Horse pictured has grown into a different (darker) saddle and I’m going to try the dye experiment on my bridle and martingale. OP, the “after” pics in your original post aren’t working for me. Do you have an updated link?
My premium membership was supposed to auto renew, but I see it didn’t, so I can’t post the pics here. I’ll have to put them on Photobucket and do a link. But the dye that I used was same as OP - Fiebings, and I used the Medium Brown on most of it with a bit of Dark Brown mixed in on the seat.
I did use a deglazer as well. I know the OP did not, but I read that you won’t know if you need to deglaze or not until you dye, and if you don’t deglaze and you should have, it will be blotchy.
Now, don’t blame OP or me if you try to dye and it turns out badly – I went in to mine knowing that if the Amerigo (which was OLD) turned out funky, it was my own fault, and I took the risk fully prepared for failure. And time will tell how it wears. But I’m happy with it.
Off to try to update my premium membership and post pics on photo bucket…
Pictures:
Left Side Before
Right Side Before
Left Side After
Right Side After
Unfortunately, there is a big difference in lighting (sunny before, cloudy and gray after), but I think they still tell the tale. The before actually isn’t as bad looking as I think it looked in person – those light areas were quite yellow, especially when on my dark bay horses.
[QUOTE=horsepoor;7956483]
Pictures:
Left Side Before
Right Side Before
Left Side After
Right Side After
Unfortunately, there is a big difference in lighting (sunny before, cloudy and gray after), but I think they still tell the tale. The before actually isn’t as bad looking as I think it looked in person – those light areas were quite yellow, especially when on my dark bay horses.[/QUOTE]
Wow, that looks really nice!
[QUOTE=Duckz;7956389]
OP, the “after” pics in your original post aren’t working for me. Do you have an updated link?[/QUOTE]
Oops, sorry, I will put them in albums I won’t delete this time.
Before on a grey (Excuse his pot belly, he was a very good sport to come out of two years of trail horse retirement to haul my butt over some tiny jumps)
In both photos, you can see the rest of my tack collection is lovely dark chocolatey brown.
After, on nothing but a kitchen chair and still looking so much better Any weird lighter patches are a function of my crappy kitchen lighting and cheap cell phone, it’s all even in person, and the stirrup leather depressions are much less noticeable.
flexion–my County Innovation is that yellow-blond color ALL OVER! So, yes, Horsepoor has inspired me to give it a whirl, too.
Is the deglazer found where you bought your dye? What does it do?
Fiebing’s Deglazer (don’t have to buy from Amazon, of course, but this description seems pretty good).
Thanks! I’m going shopping ;)! I figure dyeing it can only improve the situation.
[QUOTE=Duckz;7957350]
Has anyone tried this stuff?[/QUOTE]
Yes. My ugly orange saddle soaked it up and laughed in my face.
[QUOTE=Duckz;7957350]
Has anyone tried this stuff?[/QUOTE]
Not that one (Hydrophane Darkening Oil) but did try the one from another brand (Walsh? I can’t remember and it is in the barn right now – brown bottle). It did help on a Prestige that I had that was kind of a medium color and the darkening oil helped it look a bit deeper and richer. But wasn’t enough to cover the yellow Amerigo or make the County I have much darker than it already was.
