Leather for the saddle | Stübben

Our leather

Introduction

At the center of our operation, our material and supplier selection has always been of top quality and sustainability. We are confident that within the past 125 years we have managed to identify the best of the best in each discipline. Our mission in the the future is to continue to be the quality leader in equestrian sports. Our Leather: The dominating material in our workshop is leather, and by far the most important resource. You can tell by the smell of our leather the importance of maintaining the natural features of the hide. Selecting quality raw hides is the key. The following information will elaborate on the secret to finding quality leather. Hide Selection: At Stubben we only process Central European full grain leather. The majority of our leather is from the “Simmentale” cow breed. In order to maintain the functionality of the hide the top layer needs to be preserved. The natural grain can be seen as evidence that is it full grain. With general pattern inconsistencies and scars every hide tells its own story. Don't be alarmed with these small inconsistencies as these are all clear indicators of full grain leather. Nevertheless when cutting the leather we focus on using the best parts of hide. Only full grain leather features breathability, tinsel strength and wear resistance. This is very important in Equestrian sports as the material is exposed to a high degree of wear and tear. Variations of weather, contact of sweat from horse and rider, and abrasion can all challenge the material. Because full grain leather is breathable it helps to reduce the temperature which minimizes perspiration and aids in grip of the saddle for horse and rider. We ensure this with our specific tanning process where the pores of the leather are not sealed. By using all three layers of hide, the epidermis included, is what makes our leather strong and wear resistant. The alternative to full grain leather is split hides on which a plain even grain is printed. With these type of hides you cannot observe the illustrated features.

Tanning Process

The tanning process: is what converts the rawhide to leather. There are multiple tanning methods, with most falling into three categories, chrome tanning, vegetable tanning and metal fee tanning. At Stubben, we process metal free tanned leather, which can be characterized by the following attributes: Hypoallergenic. It is virtually impossible to have an allergic reaction to our leather. Weight advantage of up to 25% compared to chrome and vegetable tanned leather. Smallest environmental footprint (Co2, water consumption and waste water). High UV resiliency. Thermo neutral. The metal free tanning process is superior to chrome and vegetable tanned leather. It is from the point of craftsmanship and technical requirements, very advanced, and only a handful of the 1,700 tanneries in Europe have mastered this metal free tanning process. We developed our own olive tanning process with our partner, Wet Green, which utilizes the tanning agent, OBE. OBE is based purely on all natural recycled products. Today in Europe around 12 million tons of olives are harvested each year. Of that massive number 1.2 million tons are olive leaves. For farmers the leaves are waste and in many places burned. We use those olive leaves as our OBE tanning agent, helping the farmers and helping our climate. With full confidence we can say that you will find no better leather product in the equestrian industry than Stubben. Despite leather all our materials are being sourced and made in Europe. For example our saddle tree is made in France, our saddle nails are made in Italy and foam and webbing made in Germany.