The Cinching Stretch

After you’ve finished tightening your cinch (Make sure to read about the proper way to cinch a horse), there’s one more step to ensure your horse’s comfort and prevent saddle sores. That’s the Cinching Stretch. Lift and gradually stretch each front leg out in front as far as your horse will allow. If you’re doing [...]

Savvy On-Saddle Cinch Storage Technique

Do you ever find yourself carrying your saddle with the cinch dragging on the ground? This is a problem worth solving and, fortunately, easily solved. Many people just simply throw their latigo and cinch over the their saddle seat when unsaddling. While this is an easy technique, it’s not a very savvy one. The straps [...]

Can You Oil a Saddle Too Much?

The answer to this important question is an emphatic YES. Over time, excessive application of oil will break down the fibers in the leather and weaken it. Leather does need oil, but much less than most folks think. Applying a good coat of oil once a year will usually be sufficient. On the other hand, [...]

Mold & Mildew: Bad News For Saddles

Both mold (green and hairy) and mildew (white-ish gray and powdery) are fungi that thrive in damp, moist environments. And by “thrive,” I mean grows and spreads. It can start from a single spore and multiply like crazy. Ewww! Mold damage on leather tack can be extensive and usually irreversible. Mold penetrates the leather pores [...]

Saddle Repairs & Alterations: Saddle Specialists Only

We receive quite a few inquiries from folks looking for somewhere to have their saddle repaired or altered (i.e. their fenders shortened). The advice we always provide is to seek out a local saddlemaker. Most saddlemakers, in addition to building custom saddles, will also do repairs and alterations. It’s important to have someone very knowledgeable [...]

Cleaning Saddle Tooling

Leather carving and stamping (commonly called tooling) is one of the elements that make western saddles so unique and beautiful. But that beauty comes with a price. Keeping tooling clean can be quite a challenge. All of the nooks and crannies of the tooling catch every kind of dirt and grime that you run into. [...]

Saddle Repair Is Best Left To The Experts

Well-made saddles can take quite a bit of heavy use, but eventually you may find your saddle in need of repair. When this happens, it’s tempting to try to fix the saddle yourself. How hard could it be, right? Wrong. Saddles repaired by amateurs can often look quite amusing with their “clever” approaches to repair. [...]

Cleaning Your Saddle Pad

The end of the summer season is a good time to think about cleaning your saddle pads and blankets. Hair, dirt, sweat and assorted crud all build up over time. If it isn’t cleaned off it can cause irritation to your horse and damage to your pads and blankets. Before each use, you should always [...]

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