Western Saddle Blog » Saddle Types

Close Contact Saddles

Saddle Sense — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:20:10 +0000

Have you heard the term “close contact saddle” and wondered what it meant? The basic goal of a close contact saddle is to eliminate the bulk under a rider’s thighs in order to position his legs closer to the horse. This provides more feel, better leg control, and a more natural leg position. Training and reining saddles [...]

Close Contact Saddles is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Plastic Western Saddles?

Saddle Sense — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:35:35 +0000

Sound crazy? Well, it’s true. During a short period of time in the 1940’s, the All Western Plastics Company in Nebraska produced plastic saddles. It was a short-lived venture with only 65 saddles produced, but they are a highly collectible item. Wyoming rancher, Tom Harrower, owns 46 of them and is always on the hunt for [...]

Plastic Western Saddles? is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Antique Saddles & Collectible Value

Saddle Sense — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:47:32 +0000

Many, many people email us asking if we can help them identify the maker of their antique saddle and determine it’s value. Unfortunately we don’t have the resources to provide that service. What we can, and do, tell folks is that there are tons of antique saddles out there and very few have any collector [...]

Antique Saddles & Collectible Value is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Used Western Saddles: Yes, I am talking about them AGAIN

Saddle Sense — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:45:14 +0000

I’m a bit of a broken record. It seems like I’m always talking about buying used saddles, rather than new ones. But I don’t apologize and I won’t stop talking about used saddles. There’s two reasons for this. The first is that one of the wonderful things about western saddles is that, if they are [...]

Used Western Saddles: Yes, I am talking about them AGAIN is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

19th Century Miliatry Saddles

Saddle Sense — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 13:05:52 +0000

Border State’s Leather in Arkansas is a very special type of saddle shop. Owner Doug Kidd produces replicas of 19th century military saddles and also some Revolutionary War and WWI saddles. Kidd’s saddles are considered to be the most historically accurate and authentic saddles available. He uses authentic hand tools and machinery of the period to [...]

19th Century Miliatry Saddles is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Saddle Tooling Coverage

Saddle Sense — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 23:54:26 +0000

A carving and stamping design can cover any portion of a saddle. When ordering a saddle from a custom saddle maker you’ll be able to choose the tooling coverage you want. The more coverage, the higher the price. Saddles can be border stamped, full tooled, or partially tooled. Saddle makers have developed a method for describing [...]

Saddle Tooling Coverage is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

Ever Heard of a Mochilla Saddle?

Saddle Sense — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 21:15:13 +0000

A mochilla is a leather saddle tree covering with slits to allow the fork and the cantle to protrude. The leather covering extended down the sides of the horse to protect the rider’s leg from the horse’s sweat. Mochillas were removable and often had large pockets for storage. Mochilla Saddle Saddles with mochillas came out of [...]

Ever Heard of a Mochilla Saddle? is a post from: Western Saddle Blog

High Horse: Circle Y’s New Budget Saddle Brand

Saddle Sense — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:27:02 +0000

Circle Y is introducing a new budget saddle line called "High Horse" that will be a stand-alone brand featuring trail, barrel, cutting, roping ,and show saddles. They describe the saddles as "entry-level" but claim to have reduced the cost without sacrificing quality. Huh? Must be magicians. There isn’t currently a lot of information available on the [...]

High Horse: Circle Y’s New Budget Saddle Brand is a post from: Western Saddle Blog