blazing saddles

 It's hot as blazes here, so what better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than baking on the front porch with a bottle of foaming saddle soap in one hand and a polishing cloth in the other? (p.s. I love this Leather New Foam stuff - wax on, wax off & ta daa!)

I will be the first to admit that I rarely (read: never) clean my saddle, besides the occasional dust off after a particularly dusty arena. The truth is it's probably better for it if you don't deep clean unless a) you're showing  b) it's filthy, or  c) it got wet in the rain because that hag of a lead mare wouldn't come home.

 Conditioning on the other hand can be very important, if, for example, your saddle got scuffed up by a cinderblock. (please don't ask. I'm an ambitious multitasking idiot, is all. shame.)

I had to condition the raw leather that had been scuffed, and that was all I was planning to do, but... once I got started and saw that cow hide start to gleam in this mid summer sun, I kinda couldn't stop... 

Foaming leather conditioner for the win!

 Scratches and scuff marks all resealed & taken care of.
 My saddle horn once had a medallion where you see that patch of hardened glue atop it, but I never saw it. It was long gone before I ever sat behind it, and when I think about it, that uneven patch of yellow amber stuff annoys the heck out of me. I really should find a concho to go over top of it and save myself some unconscious frustration...

I ride a Barrel Racer style saddle, designed with a deep seat and small horn made for hangin' on and sticking with your horse in those tight turns. Or if you're me, sticking with your less-than mentally balanced critter in the presence of a rogue plastic bag.

all photos are straight out of camera (SOOC) taken by my Canon Rebel T3, 18 - 55mm lens, f4.5 - 8, CPR filter