Saddle Styles

[Marshal Will Wingam]

A thread just popped up from Hans asking for a pattern for an 1870 vintage Drover saddle. I don't know much about the old saddles and I'm sure there are others with the same perfume bottle of knowledge as me. Maybe we could get a collection of styles with photos, much like the holster style thread. Anyone wanting to post pics of saddles along with what they are would be held in high esteem. Well, maybe that's too much to ask but we'd all benefit. ANYWAY, who knows about them, who's made them and what do they look like? Thanks for any posts on this, pards.

[HorsePen Henry]

Marshall, I have not built any saddles but I have restored and repaired some from the tree out. Here are a few sites that I enjoy looking at that have some saddle pix from the 1800's.

http://www.legacysaddles.com/catalog/productpage.asp?cat=1

http://www.saddlemaker.com/    ;when you go here and you get a pop up, just poke "Do not accept" and go on and look at the saddles. The next one is our own pard, Will Ghormley's site:

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/saddles.html

Here is a thread from another uk site. This young fella builds one and shows ya how he does it:

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/shootists/vpost?id=2231386

I have no interest or stock invested in these guys. Just like lookin' at there old saddles. So this ain't intended to be a commercial or an advertisement for any a these saddlemakers. If yer as crazy as me and like lookin' at trees go here:

http://www.saddletree.com/saddletree1.html

I am gearing up to make a saddle on this old time slick fork tree. It's a while out though. Still making and collecting tools.

Cheers,

X Horse Pen

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Those were great links, X=Pen. Thanks for posting them.

[Don101]

Marshall, I have not built any saddles but I have restored and repaired some from the tree out. Here are a few sites that I enjoy looking at that have some saddle pix from the 1800's.

http://www.legacysaddles.com/catalog/productpage.asp?cat=1

http://www.saddlemaker.com/    ;when you go here and you get a pop up, just poke "Do not accept" and go on and look at the saddles. The next one is our own pard, Will Ghormley's site:

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/saddles.html

Here is a thread from another uk site. This young fella builds one and shows ya how he does it:

http://www.websitetoolbox.com/tool/post/shootists/vpost?id=2231386

I have no interest or stock invested in these guys. Just like lookin' at there old saddles. So this ain't intended to be a commercial or an advertisement for any a these saddlemakers. If yer as crazy as me and like lookin' at trees go here:

http://www.saddletree.com/saddletree1.html

I am gearing up to make a saddle on this old time slick fork tree. It's a while out though. Still making and collecting tools.

Cheers,

X Horse Pen

thanks Henry for the young fella coment and posting the link to my post i also put up a clip in youtube so you can see the progress faster rather than having to read all the posts ...
  i am a novice at the saddle making game but i always wanted to give it a go so i thought i would document it so others could maybe benifit from my project, if i can help out in any way with the little knowledge i have i would be glad to, Don

[HorsePen Henry]

Don 101,

It sure is a small world, ain't it? I never posted on the other site but kept up on yer progress and found it real helpful in my understanding of how the old riggin' was done up.

Many thanks,
X Horse Pen

[Johnny Dingus]

Would like to also jump in here and comment on the saddle you made Don101.  You did a great job of step by step for us novice leather workers. 
Had a few saddles and still did not understand how to build them.

Wonderful work tooling and the saddle came out great!

Now if you could put a few more pounds on that equine it would have fit a lot better.

Thanks for the posting.

Thank you to Horsepen.  It was really nice to check out other sites.

Johnny

[Hans]

Great links and that youtube was very informative! Thanks to all. A big help to me.
Wild Horse Hans SASS #76932

[will ghormley]

About seven or eight years ago, I sketched a series of saddle styles, grouped by decades, as a visual aid for a seminar I was giving about how the "Great Cattle Drive" era, shaped developments in saddle technology and styles.  Since I have limited luck posting photos on this site, (no fault of this site, I'm just a computer dunce), I posted those sketches on a webpage with minimal explanations.

The photos aren't that good, but I think you will be able to see and read most of the information I wanted to convey.

http://www.willghormley-maker.com/saddlesbydecade.html

There ya' have it.
Will

[HorsePen Henry]

Thanks for the drawings and the info, Will.

Good on ya,

X Horse Pen

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Those drawings really show the differences nicely. Great information, Will. Thanks.

['Monterrey' Jack Brass]

All,

The following are a few examples of saddles appropriate to this thread from an 1876 catalog - I believe a reprint of this catalog is available from Buffalo Arms.



YMH&OS,
Brass

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Thanks, Jack. The end ones are most interesting. The one on the left is rather abbreviated and the one on the right looks much like a modern English saddle. Thanks for the pic.

[HorsePen Henry]

The third one looks like a Aussie stock saddle. That second one is my favorite of the four. I like the loop saddle of the 1890's that Will posted above, too.

X Horse Pen

[Don101]

My full seat

[Don101]

And here is my loop seat saddle, Don

[HorsePen Henry]

Don, I sure like the looks of those saddles. Not just the pattern but the color, too. They look like old originals that I have seen in flavor. I would be hard pressed to pick one of them over the other. Real nice work and many thanks for sharing them here. 

Got any more of 'em? 

X Horse Pen

[litl rooster]

There is some fine work there...

Don, I also enjoyed following the link thank you for sharing

WG I ride in the 1890 styled the (round skirt) saddle when I moved here from Montana, I sure got some funny looks for using it.   Mine was built around the 20's-30's
  I have a couple newer saddles but never liked sitting in them, all day.


Do any of you know when Bucking rolls come in to play on saddle?  Personally don't like them
How about breast collars?  Not Martingales

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Those are some fine saddles, Don. I would be hard pressed to choose one over the other. Thanks for the photos.

[Don101]

OPS sorry if you missunderstood my post those are old ones i didnt make them, i did restore the loop seat one and striped it compleetly down and put it back togeter again which made me think about building one, Don

[HorsePen Henry]

No wonder they look like old originals!!!