Saddle Q

I have a Kincade all-purpose english saddle and the sturrups have rubbed the color from it. My friend has the Kincade close contact saddle and has the same problem. Has anyonen else had this problem with this particular brand? 1st- is there any way to replace the color and get it to stay and 2nd- how much is a reasonable asking price for a saddle like this.. besides the rub marks its been ridden in for about 3 years but is in really good condition.

The leather used to make Kincade saddles (and most other cheap saddles) is dyed using a faster and cheaper method which basically doesn't go all the way through the leather. Sometimes the color is simply painted onto the outside of the leather. That is why the color has been rubbed off by your stirrup leathers.

There really isn't a way to replace the color. You possibly could cover it a little with brown boot polish, but that will most likely come off the first time you ride in it again.

A reasonable asking price...maybe $100-150? They're going new on eBay for $200-300 (some even including fittings).

I'm not sure if this would work, just a thought but you might try some leather die. You would have to get it at a leather dealer like Tandy. I'm not sure where you are but check leather craft places for it.

Kincade saddles are cr@p. You get what you pay for. You can try to have the whole saddle dyed at a saddle shop, but there's no guarantees that will work, or if it does, the dye could rub of on your clothes when you ride in it.

You can buy Kincades new for right at $305, so a used one with bad color rubbing I would price at $100 or $125. You'll be lucky to get that for it.

Would a magic/permenent marker work? Might look like crap though

Unfortunately there is no way to re-dye a saddle...I actually did some research into this years ago because I had a tan saddle I wanted to dye black. Coloring the leather is actually a middle-of-the-process step: other things are added once the leather is colored to seal it, thus you can't put new dye on and have it "stick". Admittedly, if the dye is coming off yours, it doesn't sound like it was well-cured, but I can't imagine you would end up with anything other than an uneven blotchy mess.

When I got my first english saddle I absolutely loved it, and I clean and oiled it so much that I actually scrubbed some of the dye out of the skirt :roll:. All I did was match the color and use a little bottle of rub-on shoe dye, and it worked perfect. It held up too- even on such a high-contact area.

Good Luck!