I Can't Bring Back the Dead

In the 10 years that I've been doing tack repair, I've tackled some saddles that were pretty close to their last gasp. In a lot of those cases, the repairs have cost more than the saddles were actually worth - and I've told the owners so. But often it was a case of sentimental value: someone's first saddle, or one that they've had and ridden in for years, or one that was a gift from someone long dead. And I'm a wicked sucker for that sort of thing - I'll freely admit that I still have my first saddle and bridle (a red western pony-size set with brass tacks), as well as my old western saddle, and my mom's western tack. When it comes to horses and their paraphernalia, I'm nothing if not sentimental.


However, I know when I've met my match. I'm flabbergasted that someone thought this saddle was salvageable - though at first, it didn't look too bad:

A patch on the knee pad, and a few stitches on the flap. No biggie.

Then I looked at the front:

The panels needed to be sewn back on - again, not a huge deal. But then I saw the condition of the front of the panels:

And then I turned it over:

Yep, that's the foam inside the panels that you're seeing. Obviously, someone decided duct tape would be a good fix.

Obviously, this was one for the trash can. There's a lot I can do - but resurrection is beyond me!