Well at least we all got some laughs out of it! I left it out of the box to get some air and that is helping. I turned it over and there does seem to be some "head cheese" type residue where the metal meets the leather. Probably no different than a pair of sweaty gym shoes. So I will hit the underside with something like a Desenex type spray, scrub it down with saddle soap, then treat it with one of the products mentioned in this thread.

Thanks for the advise!