I love the smell and sound of leather. It evokes happy memories of rides on Amy and Cee and quiet times spent cleaning tack. Now that I have Abby, I have gotten my saddles out of the garage, had them checked for safety, and taken them out to the barn.
Today the pasture was really muddy when I went out to check on Abby, and so I decided to clean my English saddle.
It looks pretty good despite being at at least twenty five to thirty years old.
It's a German saddle made by Theo Sommer. I bought it from Linda Duesterhaus and used it for Indy.
The leather is still very supple and soft.
A little bit of history - Indy was used as a therapy horse for disabled riders. You can tell by the extra holes punched in the stirrup leathers that we had to shorten the stirrups for children who rode him!
The leather billets under the panel are in great shape.
Finished! All clean and oiled.
Next up is my western saddle. I bought it in 1970 with money I earned babysitting. Like the English saddle, I have kept it cleaned and oiled over the years. It will take a lot longer to clean, so maybe I will wait until the weekend.
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