Thursday, September 3, 2009

Dog days of summer, saddle cleaning....

Beautiful day, check....
Dirty saddle, check....


Saddle stand, check....
We bought these saddle stands at a garage sale for $20 each, they are heavy aluminum and wont bend and fall apart like the cheap colored ones.


Saddle on stand, check....


Cold beverage, check....




Murphys oil soap, check....
This is my favorite cleaner, used to use the old fashioned cakes of saddle soap, but this is a lot easier and you dont get chunks of soap on the leather, a little in some warm water and your ready to go.


Rag and warm soapy water (Murphys), check....







Yeck, other tack that needs a gooooood cleaning! check....






Take saddle apart,


Stirrups and stirrup keepers,



Love blevins buckles! When we were kids we had a saddle we actually had to lace up to change the length of the stirrups! I think mom still has that saddle. It was a pain to change the stirrup length.

Old toothbrushes for cleaning the detail, check....

Leather new for some finishing up, I dont like to just use it, except for light cleaning, because it has conditioners and polishs in it, and can make things sticky.

Nice pretty clean breastcollar!
It looks sooooo much better!

Wipe down the cinch too, actually I took it apart and hosed of the neoprene, I love these cinchas, I havnt had them gall a horse since I started useing them. The neoprene velcros to the body of the cinch. Sadly its time to replace the neoprene, its cracking a little bit, but still soft and supple.


Putting the stirrups back together, the old saddles I used to ride in as a kid had the extra leather wrap up inside the flap, this is one of my pet peeves, when did saddle makers decide to put it on the outside? I was always going to take my saddles to a saddle maker and have them turn around the straps so that is goes on the inside. Still havnt done it, LOL obviously.

See how the slack has to wrap around the outside, when it comes out of the keeper, its really a pain.


All clean.


I love this saddle. Its simple with just a few pieces of silver.

Modest basket weave tooling. NO suede.


All ready to ride....wheres my horse!

6 comments:

  1. Looks beautiful! I use the leather New, and was thinking my stuff felt sticky. Thanks for this post, I am changing what I use!!!

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  2. What a pretty saddle! Much more tasteful than many Western saddles I see. ;o)

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  3. looks good!are you coming here to do mine or should ?I send them?lol

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  4. Dusty, yeah I dont mind it for bridles sometimes and fenders and pommels on my saddle, after clening, but not to much.

    Katharine, thank you, I love this saddle.

    Fernvalley, bring them on girl! LOL as long as you come and we have some beverage, LOL then I wont promise they get put back togther right LOL

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  5. When I was growing up I had a saddle that you had to lace the stirrups on. What A job! Boy is that the truth!

    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

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  6. yikes, all this and housekeeping too....maybe I'm glad I don't still have a horse. Enjoyed the pix

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