Re: saddles & rain

[K S Swigart <katswig@deltanet.com>]

On Sat, 10 Jan 1998, Susan Evans Garlinghouse wrote:

> Chris, maybe someone else has a trickier solution, but I've always just
> kept my saddle really well oiled, and just gone ahead and ridden in the
> rain and never had a problem.  Granted, it's a working saddle, not a
> show saddle, but nevertheless, it didn't do anything weird to it.
...
> And, again, keep it really well oiled and cleaned.

Assuming that this is a smooth leather saddle (not suede) cleaned and well
oiled work just fine; however, a couple of additional tips:

After going out in the rain, if the saddle is not completely soaked (i.e.
it has rain drops on it rather than being totally wet), clean it BEFORE it
dries.  Any good saddle soap will work, but just water will also work.
Otherwise, you could end up with a spotted saddle :).

And then oil it BEFORE it dries (both neatsfoot oil and mink oil work
nicely, but don't overdo it on the neatsfoot oil around the stitching).

Also, Whitman makes a product call Lederpflegecreme which containes both
leather conditioners and beeswax.  The beeswax serves very well as a
"waterproofer."  This stuff saw my boots through a whole Russian winter.
A quick wipe down after every day kept them waterproof and looking like
new.

For those of you who live in areas where there is high humidity and mold
(not particularly common here in Southern California), the product of my
choice (although not designed for this) is Corona ointment.  It is, in
essence lanolin (what my saddler calls "saddle food") and an antiseptic,
which kills mold, fungus, bacteria, etc.  Use sparingly.

kat
Orange County, Calif.

p.s.  Good leather will last forever if you clean and oil it regularly,
and BTW the sweat on the underside will do more damage than rain on the
top side.  If the saddle has leather panels, then washing the sweat off
the underside is far more important than a little exposure to rain.