Rope Strap: Attaching It To The Saddle

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 about 42” [...]

Blevins Buckles

The length of stirrup leathers are adjusted with the use of “quick change” buckles on most modern saddles. The old timers had to struggle with leather laces that made changing the lengths for different riders a real chore.
The most popular quick change buckle is the Blevins buckle. The Blevins buckle has a leather-covered sleeve with [...]

The Rope Strap

I recently received an email from a reader asking about a strap attached to the fork on an old saddle he recently bought. He wasn’t sure what it was and what it was used for.
This strap is a saddle rope strap. It’s a narrow strip of leather about 3/4 of an inch wide that is [...]

Cinch Connecting Strap

The cinch connecting strap (also called a cinch hobble) connects the front cinch and flank cinch together. This is a small, but important, piece of equipment on double rigged saddles. Without this piece, the flank cinch can slip backwards into the horse’s flank and convert your well-mannered horse into a bucking bronc.
You should never use [...]

Sheepskin 101

The sheepskin lining on the underside of  the saddle skirts has a dual purpose. It provides extra cushion between the saddle and the horse, and it also helps to keep the saddle blanket or pad in place.
Sheepskin first started appearing on western saddles around 1880. The extensive amount of sheep in the American west [...]

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