I noticed a couple weeks ago that the fleece on my old Utahn Saddlery ranch saddle is worn out. I bought that saddle well-used in the spring of 2015 and have put a lot of miles on it since then. I’ve replaced all the saddle strings and many of the conchos, but now the fleece needs to be replaced. That got me to considering that I should build myself a new saddle.
Over the past 10 years or so, I have accrued the necessary basic tools for saddle making and have done minor and major repairs to a number of saddles. I have learned all of the various skills necessary to complete a saddle, but just haven’t yet made one from start to finish. That’s something I have aspired to and I think it’s time.
So, the first step is to decide what kind of saddle I want to build. It seems to be something deeply rooted in my soul to have a love of traditional…even old…ways and things. I absolutely love the 1870s style western stock saddles. The half-seats in particular. So, my first saddle will be a half-seat, similar to this one, built by Kevin Sonmor.
He has a wonderful video of him building this beautiful saddle on his YouTube channel, Agar France:
I plan to use a tree from Timberline Saddle Trees, their Old Style Visalia model, with a 15-1/2″ seat length.
I doubt I’ll make it as beautifully carved as Kevin’s saddle, because my leather carving skills aren’t quite as well developed as his, but I’m going to make it a very nice saddle, one I can be proud of.
Recently, I have had a lot of association with horse folks in my own age group and older. I have found that many of them struggle to lift the traditionally heavy saddles onto the backs of their horses. My own Utahn saddle weighs in at around 45 pounds. It seems to be quite common for us older folks to have trouble with our shoulders and I am no exception. Some people have had to resort to some of the very low-end saddles on the market, which are made with plastic trees and inferior materials in order to find a saddle they can comfortably lift. These saddles might be comfortable for short rides, but over the duration of a long, strenuous trail ride, they can not only become uncomfortable for the rider, but also for the horse. And, due to the inferior quality of the materials from which they are made, they don’t last very long, either.
It occurred to me that I might be able to design a saddle that was light, yet built on a high-quality tree, with just enough leather to make it comfortable for both horse and rider, and useful for trail riding.
This would be a saddle that would be durable, comfortable to ride on long trail rides, and be comfortable and safe for the horse, while being light enough for anyone to lift onto the back of their horse. My goal would be to make this saddle come in under 30 pounds, hopefully in the 22-25 pound range.
It might look something like an 1830s Santa Fe style saddle, such as the one below.
Or, it might be a little more elaborate, yet simple, such as this one by Out West Saddlery (I’m leaning more toward this design).
The goal, again, being to build a comfortable, durable, yet light saddle, made of high-quality materials.
The tree I have been considering for this lightweight saddle build, is another one from Timberline. It is the Timberline Wade, again in 15-1/2″ seat length.
Both of the trees I am considering are bullhide-covered wood trees, built to my specifications, very strong and very high quality.
I will be ordering leather and other supplies from Montana Leather, from whom I have bought leather in the past. I have been very satisfied with their leather, their prices, and their service. Other parts and hardware will come from various other places. The total price tag for the supplies alone for the saddle to be built on the Visalia-style tree will be over $1,000. The cost for the lightweight saddle will be a little less, as there is less leather involved.
Once I get these saddles built, I plan to allow some of my riding friends to use them for a ride or two to let me know how they ride and make suggestions for improvements. That’s one of the benefits of making my own saddles: I can rework the design to suit my needs and desires perfectly.
And who knows? I might just find a niche market for the lightweight saddles! We’ll see what happens.
TH
P.S.
Don’t worry, I plan to re-fleece my old Utahn saddle and it will continue to get a lot of miles put on it. It’s a very well-built and comfortable saddle.
Hi Tony! I’ve made 4 saddles scratch. The first one weighed 50 lbs, the last one weighed 32 lbs. I’m proud of all of them, but the last one particularly. I’m also looking to build another lighter one also. I like the two designs you are considering. I got the tree for the last one from Timberline. I call and talked to them about what I was looking to build and what it was going on. I was building it for my wife and her mule. Both are small. We talked about the sizes, I sent them the mule measurements and they built the tree to those measurements, fit perfectly. I’m thinking I might try one like you are considering. I would like to try making it lighter. I will absolutely do a timberline tree.
Glad to hear you like Timberline saddle trees. I’ve rebuilt a couple saddles and disassembled a few more, just for study, but these will be my first from the ground-up, so to speak. My idea is to make a light, but good, stiff saddle that us old geezers can lift without straining the old rotator cuffs! I’d like to see some photos of your saddles if you have any available. Always looking for ideas and new ways of doing things.