Western Saddle Blog » Saddle Tips

What Your Stirrup Length Might Be Saying About You

Saddle Sense — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:11:13 +0000

Personal preference and riding activity both definitely have an impact on stirrup length. But so does horsemanship skill. In general, you’ll see better horsemen ride with longer stirrups. Why is that? The better the horseman you are, the better your balance in the saddle. You’ll ride the horse more than the saddle, following his movement [...]

What Your Stirrup Length Might Be Saying About You is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Leather Dry Rot Blues

Saddle Sense — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 13:40:54 +0000

I get quite a few questions about how to reclaim leather that is in sad shape. Unfortunately, it’s often just not reclaimable. The tell tale sign of leather that is all used up is dry rot. Dry rot was originally defined as a type of decay in timber, but it is also used to describe [...]

Leather Dry Rot Blues is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Saddle Pad Storage: The Right Way

Saddle Sense — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 03:22:42 +0000

Does this sound familiar? You come in from a ride and unsaddle your horse. Your saddle pad is wet with your horse’s sweat, so you flip it upside down and place it on top of your saddle to dry out. That’s what I used to do. That is, until I got a good talking to [...]

Saddle Pad Storage: The Right Way is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Know Your Silver

Saddle Sense — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:15:06 +0000

Silver is the metal of tradition and choice for saddle decoration and to draw the judge’s attention to you and your horse in the competition ring. However, just because your saddle has silvery metal on the skirt or horn doesn’t mean that it’s really silver. Before you buy a saddle with “silver,” make sure you [...]

Know Your Silver is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

A Buyer Beware Tip for Used Saddles

Saddle Sense — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:18:20 +0000

After a very long absence – over a year! – we are oh, so happy to be back. I thought I’d start out with a quick “buyer beware” post of something I just saw on ebay.. Someone is selling a vintage Billy Cook trail saddle with a cracked tree. Now, to give them credit, they [...]

A Buyer Beware Tip for Used Saddles is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

My Best Best For Sore Riding Knees

Saddle Sense — Sat, 08 May 2010 20:21:37 +0000

Achy, breaky knees. If you spend any amount of time in the saddle, you know what pain I’m talking about. The human knee wasn’t really designed for the stress that riding a horse puts on this key joint. There are many gadgets out there designed to take some of the pressure off the rider’s knees. [...]

My Best Best For Sore Riding Knees is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Rope Strap: Attaching It To The Saddle

Saddle Sense — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:47:40 +0000

I’ve had a few questions about the rope strap and how it attaches to the saddle. So I asked my friend and Dillon, Montana-based saddle maker, Ross Miller, to provide some more in-depth information. From Ross: A typical cross-over rope strap is between 36″ and 48″ long, based on riders preference. A good standard is [...]

Rope Strap: Attaching It To The Saddle is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

How To Carry a Western Saddle

Saddle Sense — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:51:09 +0000

Western saddles can be quite heavy and a challenge to manage for the shorter and less strong among us. But, before you give up and turn to one of the really light weight saddles that won’t last as long and won’t be nearly as comfortable as a traditional western saddle, let me give you a [...]

How To Carry a Western Saddle is a post from: Western Saddle Blog