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Tips to break in a new saddle

Hey! I’m pretty close to receiving my custom CWD saddle in the mail.

Any tips and tricks to help break it in (other than just riding in it) would be great! :smiley:

Ride in it. Check with CWD for their recommendation on what you should with the leather - oiling, conditioning, etc. Different companies have different recommendations. My saddle (not a CWD, but a French saddle) came oiled, but my rep had me oil it again after it came, really working on getting the oil into the tack and also rolling/manipulating the flaps while oiling it.

This topic has been discussed a lot before, if you do a search I’m sure you’ll find plenty of threads with advice.

Didn’t YOU already ask this question once?

Try perusing this thread:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?431772-How-to-properly-break-in-a-new-saddle

And don’t count your chickens before they hatch. “New” and “Custom” don’t necessarily guarantee a perfect fit.

Just ride in it, wipe it clean after every ride, and condition as necessary. Newer saddles do NOT need straight oil - just proper use of a balanced conditioner.

Just ride. When I broke in my CWDs I took them out of the box and sat infront of the fire and applied a liberal layer of the CWD conditioner and let it soak up. I did that probably the first week and it’s been so nice ever since. Re-apply conditioner as needed.

You people with the “as needed” advice!

Look, the “as needed” is the big question. For some folks who are noobs to great leather care, or the care of leather that’s really different than what they’ve had before, it may be hard to know what it needs.

It takes some time to explain, but y’all need to explain how you know when to start- and stop with oil or conditioner (or really, any other food group in the leather care buffet).