How to Put English Leathers on Your English Saddle

Determine the size of the English stirrup leathers you will need. If the rider is a child, you will want to purchase stirrup leathers for a child, and if they are for an adult, you will want to get adult leathers.

Purchase English stirrup leathers at any tack store that sells English riding supplies, or through a riding catalog or the Internet. There are some resources for purchasing English stirrup leathers below.

Squeeze about a quarter-size amount of leather conditioner onto the English stirrup leathers and massage it in with the sponge to help loosen the stiff leather, as this will make it easier to attach the leathers to the saddle. You can purchase the leather conditioner with your English stirrup leathers.

Let the leather conditioner work its way into the leather for a few hours before you attach the English stirrup leathers to the saddle.

Hold the English stirrup leather with the buckle in your hand, front of the buckle facing you, and let the tail of the stirrup leather hang.

Grab the tail of the stirrup leather and pass it through the hole in the top of the stirrup iron, and then hold the end up in the same hand you have the buckle in so the stirrup iron doesn't slip off.

Lift the saddle skirt (the smaller, higher leather flap on the sides of the saddle) with your free hand and locate the stirrup bar. It will look like a metal ring, but probably has squared edge, and is attached to the saddle under the skirt.

Pass the tail of the stirrup leather up through the stirrup bar from underneath.

Bring the tail of the English stirrup leather through the buckle of the stirrup leather as if you had just looped a belt through a belt loop, and clasp the buckle to the first hole in the leather.

Measure the length to set your stirrup leathers by putting the tips of your fingers against the saddle next to the stirrup bar, and pulling the stirrup iron with your free hand to touch your side under your armpit.

Tighten the buckle as many holes as you need to remove any slack, so that when you pull the stirrup under your arm again, the stirrup leather is taut when the stirrup iron touches your side.

Pull on the back of the stirrup leather to push the buckle up under the saddle skirt. This will protect your legs from rubbing against the buckle when you ride.

Feed the tail of the stirrup leather that is hanging out of the buckle through the loop on the saddle flap (the larger leather flap on the side of saddle). It looks like a belt loop and is usually to the right and down from the stirrup bar.

Attach the second stirrup leather to the other side of the saddle in the same way you attached the first.