Category Archives: Saddlery

Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Looking For A Good Trail Saddle

I recently read a post on a facebook group page I frequent, in which a member asked for advice on buying a “good” trail saddle in the “under $1,000” price range. Reading many of the responses was almost physically painful to me!  It was painfully obvious to me that there are many, many people out there who have absolutely no idea what a good trail saddle is. It was also quite obvious that many responders have a very narrow perspective from which they judge what a good saddle is, but promote or defend their view almost with religious zeal!

I read recommendations ranging from people who apparently consider a half-hour ride around the neighborhood to be a trail ride, to those who consider 50-mile endurance rides as trail rides!  Most riders fall somewhere in between these extremes, and therefore, the saddles they should consider also fall somewhere in between the recommendations of these two extremes. A fairly large “grain of salt” is in order here.

The fact that a saddle is comfortable on a half-hour ride can’t be extrapolated to the conclusion that the same saddle will be comfortable for the horse and rider after 8 hours in the saddle. Nor can the fact that an endurance saddle didn’t sore the rider or horse after five hours and fifty miles on an endurance ride be conclusive evidence that this same saddle will work well for a horse that is in less-than top condition and a rider who might be a bit overweight on a 20-mile ride over 8 hours or 100 miles over 5 days.

I decided to add my two-cent’s worth to the fray.  After posting it, I realized that I, too, have a fairly narrow perspective from which I judge what a good trail saddle is.  Still, maybe some of my readers will find it of value.

Disclaimer:  This is not a discussion about saddle fit. That is an entirely different religious and political argument!

So, here goes.

To start off, let me just take a few lines to make sure the reader understands the perspective from which I judge a good trail saddle.  I ride long, hard miles, through some very difficult country.  A trail ride less than half-a-day in duration is not common for me, other than the occasional short group ride or training rides. I have, on occasion, ridden 40 miles in a day with no trail, through difficult country (measured by GPS) with horses loaded with game meat and personal gear. I often carry up to 30 pounds of gear hanging from my saddle.

My saddles must have multiple attachment points for gear, such as saddle bags, pommel bags, breast collar, crupper, canteen, bedroll, coat, slicker, rifle scabbard, limb saw, axe, and more.  My saddles must be heavy-duty and have a strong saddle tree with no flex to cause pressure points on my horses’ backs.

My limb saw

The covering material must be strong, durable, resistant to foul weather, and comfortable to both myself and the horse. For my needs, lightweight saddles made for endurance, or inexpensive saddles with plastic trees and fabric covers, or flexible trees, are simply ruled out. That doesn’t mean my saddle must be heavy, just that it must be heavy-duty.

Having these parameters in mind, there are some things that must be considered when I select a saddle to fit my requirements. While price is a limiting factor for me, it can certainly be an indicator of quality. However, I consider price to be a consequence of quality craftsmanship, rather than a determinant of it. Time can temper price, often making used saddles the best option if price is a limiting factor, as it is for me. One can easily find quality used saddles, in need of a little care, that far outstrip the quality and durability of a similarly priced new saddle.

We have all heard and read the many recommendations extolling the merits of saddles with flexible trees or even without trees.  The party line (it’s very much like a political argument) is that the saddle tree (or lack thereof) allows the saddle to flex to conform to the shape of the horse’s back, making it comfortable to the horse.  Anyone must admit that this sounds like a good and reasonable assumption, and it is clearly used to market such saddles, but if you really analyze it logically, this idea fails.

Stop and consider what happens when a flexible piece of wood, such as a popsicle stick, is held by the ends and a weight is placed in the middle. It flexes down in the middle. Right in the middle. Where the weight is. This is exactly what happens with a flexible saddle tree. It flexes down into the horse’s back exactly where the weight on top of it is! Now, this may not be a problem for a horse that is ridden for two or three hours at a time, as the flexible tree will, in fact, spread the rider’s weight and it may actually be comfortable for the horse. But, for a horse that is on the trail for 20 miles, climbing and descending, with a rider that weighs 180 pounds, like me, and with another 20 pounds of gear hanging on it, it is easy to see that a saddle tree that flexes will flex the most where the most weight is placed on it and will impart pressure points into the horse’s back. It is simple physics.

The worst saddle sore I ever saw on a horse was from a heavy rider on a saddle “made for gaited horses” with short skirts and a flexible tree (he was riding a large Tennessee Walker), for which he paid in excess of $1,500. During a long difficult ride, the saddle tree flexed, spreading the bars apart, allowing the cantle to essentially sit on the horse’s spine. Despite the heavy wool-felt saddle pad, by the time we stepped down from our saddles at the end of the day, the sore was ugly and raw.  The following year, the same horse on the same ride with the same rider and similar gear, now sporting a well-made saddle with a rawhide-covered wood tree, not only showed less fatigue, but no sores or tenderness at all.

Again, for my requirements, a flexible tree or treeless saddle is not even in the running. If you are a heavy rider or if you make long rides through difficult terrain, this is something you should consider.

I prefer saddles with rawhide covered wood trees. Despite the sales pitches to the contrary, these are the trees the best custom saddle makers still use. A wood tree allows a very small amount of flexion, just enough to keep the saddle tree from being brittle, and a well done rawhide covering is one of the toughest materials known to man.

Rawhide covered trees have been around for over 200 years and there are saddles still in use with these trees that are over 150 years old. I am not afraid of new technology nor am I saying newer manufacturing techniques may not be equally tough or better. I am only saying that a well made rawhide-covered saddle tree is a proven commodity, and, according to the best saddle makers, still the king.

There are good quality saddles that use trees that used to be called “ralide” trees. These trees are plastic or fiberglass. Some brands that have used these trees are Simco, Bona Allen (sold by Sears and Montgomery Ward), Colorado Saddlery, among others. These trees are a big step down from the rawhide-covered wood tree, but they can still be the basis for a good trail saddle.  These “plastic” trees are far better than a wood tree without the rawhide covering, like some older production-line saddles had.

Tree partially covered in rawhide – poor quality

I wouldn’t recommend them for the kind of riding I sometimes do, but for what most people call a “trail ride” they are perfectly sufficient and are essentially the same kind of tree that many medium-quality, moderately priced ($700-1,500) saddles are built on.

The problem with these plastic trees is that they tend to flex more than a wood tree and they generally have less surface area in the bars. In other words, the tree bars, which spread the weight on the horse’s back, tend to be about 2″ shorter and 1/2″-1″ narrower than rawhide/wood saddle tree bars on saddles of similar seat length and size.  This means there is less surface area to spread the weight over a larger area of the horse’s back.  A good, heavy leather in the skirts can mitigate this somewhat, although most saddles made with plastic trees are also made with lighter, lower quality leather than saddles with rawhide-covered wood trees. They are, however pretty tough and often carry a manufacturer’s warranty that far exceeds that of a rawhide/wood tree.

In recent years, certain tree manufacturers are making fiberglass-covered wood trees. I have read some good things about these trees, but they are still not as popular among the best saddlers as the rawhide-covered wood trees. Could just be tradition, though. My experience is limited here.

“Vintage” Simco saddles (photos from Pinterest)

Years ago, my father purchased a half-dozen or so Simco saddles for a riding school our family had. These all had Ralide trees. Many years later, we still had a couple of those saddles.  The tree on one saddle failed and my father called Simco to see whether we could get a new tree for the saddle. The company told us to send the saddle to them and they would take care of it. Dad shipped the saddle off and several weeks later received a completely refurbished saddle from them at no cost to us! Simco is no longer in business (although their brand name is still used), but the older Simco saddles, made in the 60s and 70s,  are still sought after as a good quality used saddle. They are easy to find in the $350 to $500 price range and are worthy trail saddles if the leather is in decent condition.

Endurance saddles are made for a specific purpose: To ride far and fast in a very short time. They are built on very small, lightweight trees, not intended to carry heavy gear and not intended to carry a heavy rider.  A good endurance saddle, such as the Tucker pictured below, is a well-made saddle. However, it would not be suitable for a horse pack trip. Nor would it be suitable for a heavy rider for a long ride. There just isn’t enough surface area under the saddle to adequately spread the weight of a heavy rider with gear over a long ride on a horse that isn’t in top condition. I consider “Aussie” saddles to be in this same category, although there is a very wide range of build quality in these as well.

Fabric-covered saddles are, by definition, “cheap” saddles. They may be comfortable to ride for those on a tight budget, but they are not durable. These are not saddles that will ever be handed down as family heirlooms. Nor should they be considered for those riders who are heavy or who intend to put a lot of miles in the saddle on horses they care for.  Saddles made with fabric coverings are very lightweight saddles. They are comfortable to ride and much easier to lift onto and off of the back of a horse for a person with physical limitations, than my 40 pound saddle. However, they should not be considered in the same vein as lightweight endurance saddles. In my mind, these fabric-covered lightweight saddles are analogous to wearing flip-flops on a five-mile hike; comfortable at first, but less so as the miles pile up.  These saddles use lightweight trees, as well as fabric sweat flaps for the stirrups. This material tends to wear on riding clothing and eventually wears out itself.  A much better option would be to look for a good used leather saddle in the same price range.

Several years ago, in preparation for a month-long horse pack trip, I was searching for a good trail saddle. I found what I was looking for in the local classified ads. I was able to purchase an excellent saddle made by the Utahn Saddle company of Vernal, Utah (long out of business) that was probably made in the 1960s. I paid $380 for this saddle, a rifle scabbard, a couple good saddle pads, a bridle, and a second saddle that was in dire need of repair.  You can read about that score here. I have since put a couple thousand miles on that saddle.

My Utahn Saddle, fully loaded for a trip

The other saddle, that was essentially a freeby in that deal, I refurbished into an excellent trail saddle that became a gift to my niece. It required a lot of work, but I was able to do it myself at very little expense and I learned a lot in the doing of it. You can read about that experience here.

Refurbished used saddle

I will acknowledge here that as I age, lifting my 40-pound ranch saddle onto and off of my 15-2HH horse is starting to feel like hard work. I intend to make a lightweight, yet heavy-duty, saddle for myself. I have already purchased the tree, from Timberline Saddle Trees, Vernal, Utah, which is their Timberline Wade tree. I intend to cover it with high-quality leather, but minimizing the amount of decorative leather and keeping things in the 25-30 pound range. I have researched some designs and I wrote up some of my musings here.

Saddle by Out West Saddlery, Pagosa Springs, CO

So, what do I look for when I buy a used saddle (other than size and design)? I look first at the tree. I lift the skirts to make sure it is a rawhide-covered wood tree and that the rawhide is in good condition. I don’t mind if a stitch or two of the rawhide lacing has broken, as long as the rawhide itself is in good shape. I make sure the horn and cantle are tight and there is no movement that might indicate a broken or cracked tree or cantle. Next I look at the condition of the leather from an overall perspective. Leather that is dried and curled or scratched can be revitalized with careful cleaning and oiling with saddle soap and PURE Neatsfoot oil. However, leather that is cracked and checked may not be so easy to revitalize.

Sun damage

That is sun damage and it cannot be undone. Sometimes it is so bad that I feel the saddle is not worth attempting to revive. Other times, I can live with it and it can be somewhat mitigated and it’s life extended with cleaning and oil.

Leather that is torn or cut may be repairable inexpensively at a saddle shop or you may be capable of repairing it yourself, as I do.

Next I look at the fleece. Is it in good condition? Is it original or has it been replaced? If it was replaced, was it done well? Is it actually real fleece? Some cheap saddles have fake fleece that is not durable.  Stay away from these. That fake fleece is indicative of the overall quality of the leather and tree. See this post.

Some old saddles had felt instead of fleece on the skirts. That isn’t a problem. Fleece on a saddle is not actually intended as padding. It is there to keep the saddle from sliding around and keep the saddle pad under it. I don’t worry too  much if the fleece is in poor condition, because I can replace it without too much effort for about $100. You can have a saddle shop do it for around $350. It makes a good bargaining point, though.

Is a good cinch included? Are the stirrup leathers, stirrups, and buckles in good condition? These things can be replaced, but, again, make good bargaining points.

Worn out Hamley saddle

 

Repairs to the Hamley saddle

 

The above saddle is a Hamley, nearly 75 years old, still a sought-after saddle. It was handed down to me from my wife’s family. I refurbished the saddle and it is very comfortable and strong.  It fits my narrow-built horses well. Hamley, Pendleton, Oregon, is one of the oldest surviving saddleries in the country and their saddles are very hard to come by…at any price.

In summary, the time factor brings excellent, well-made saddles, maybe in need of a little refurbishment and care, into the realm of possibilities for those, like myself, who may be restricted by price limitations.  It is not difficult for one to find in the local classified ads, a saddle that was once a high-priced, sought after saddle, priced lower in the current market than the cheapest new saddle, made in India or China (read very low quality), that you can find on eBay.  Very often, the quality and durability of those older saddles is still there. It may be hard to see sometimes, and may require a little elbow grease and maybe some repair work at a local saddle shop, to bring it out, but, dollar-for-dollar, they far outstrip the quality and durability one will get out of any sub $1,000 new saddle you will find marketed under any brand. All it requires is a little patience, a little searching, a little care, and only a little cash.

Just my opinion, based on my knowledge and experience. Your mileage may vary.

TH

 

 

 

Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Maybe it’s time for a new saddle

2 Comments

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.

Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Another saddle to repair

After the successful repair of my buddy’s old youth saddle,

I decided to pull another old saddle out of my “to-do” bin and take a look at it.

It needed the same kind of repair as my buddy’s saddle: the front of the left side saddle tree bar had broken off from the stresses imposed by the cinch rigging. The last repair went so well, I decided it was time to get this saddle out of the bin, repaired, and get it sold to someone who could use it.

So, I started taking it apart. Here’s what I found:

This is a very cheaply made off-the-shelf saddle.  Some previous repairs were evident: conchos and saddle strings had been replaced and everything reattached with screws. The seat was made in several pieces of leather, rather than one piece of high-quality firm leather. The ground seat is padded with upholstery padding, the skirts are made of several pieces of tooled leather stitched onto a heavier backing piece, to which is glued and stitched fake fleece on cloth backing (which is also in very poor condition). The machine stitching on the skirts has cut clean through the skirt backing leather, so that the backing leather must be replaced.

The tree was made to appear to be a high-quality bullhide-wrapped wood tree, but in fact, the tree was only partially wrapped in paper-thin rawhide, which was then tacked, rather than stitched, to the tree. The tree itself not only has the front of the left bar broken off, but the right bar is split through most of its length. This tree would have to be glued back together, then wrapped in fiberglass to be considered “repaired.”

This is a saddle that was made as fast and cost-effectively as possible, to then be sold as an inexpensive saddle. It was not intended to be an heirloom. It is dressed up like a good trail saddle, but it simply was not made to last. This is the kind of craftsmanship one should expect in the $500-$800 price range for today’s western saddles. In fact, the plastic trees this price-range of saddle is normally made on is superior to the tree this one was made on. Do not interpret that to mean those plastic trees are good saddle trees, just better than this one.

In the final analysis, I could put 8-10 hours into repairing the tree and replacing various leather parts, repairing the skirts, re-fleecing the skirts with real fleece, making a new horn and wrap, making a new ground seat, and re-installing all the outer leather, a total of around $4-500 in materials and labor…and the saddle would still be a cheap old saddle.

I guess sometimes you just have to say it’s not worth it.

TH

Saddlery, Tack and Gear, Western Trails

Another old, beat up, unusable saddle brought back to life

2 Comments

A couple weeks ago, I saw an old saddle in my buddy’s tack room. It was obviously an older saddle, probably from around the 1940s or so, with small sweat leathers and the stirrup leathers exposed on the outside of the sweat leathers. It was a small saddle, measuring 14-1/2″ on the seat, and built like a youth saddle. The leather was dry and cracked and in need of a good cleaning and oiling. As I looked closer, I saw that on the left side (on-side), the front of the tree bar, to which the left side of the cinch rigging had been attached, was broken. The bar had split and departed. The rigging attachment was missing altogether and the rigging ring was held in place by a couple leather boot laces tied around the pommel and through the hand-hole – obviously a “just-get-me-back-home” kind of repair.

My buddy has several grandkids he likes to get out on horses every chance he gets, so I asked if he would like to have that saddle repaired. Looking rather doubtful, he said, “Sure, if it’s worth saving!” I told him I’d give it a shot.

The following week, I tore the saddle apart to see what I could do. I was immediately sorry I had forgotten to take a “before” photograph. Oh well, you can see from the photos of the repair process what needed to be done.

The first thing was to remove enough of the leather to assess whether the tree was, in fact, repairable. I was disappointed in what I found. The tree was not rawhide covered, but was made as cheaper saddles were made “back in the day.” The wood tree was covered with a cloth mesh, not unlike what we call “cheese cloth” and that was painted with a thick glue-like varnish to seal the tree. The cloth mesh adds little or no strength to the tree, but helps in the adhesion of the glues used to attach the leather to the tree. I found the tree itself to be loose at all the joints. In other words, it was not in very good shape.

I decided that I could repair the broken tree bar by gluing and screwing a piece of pine in place of the missing piece, then milling it to match the other side – not a difficult thing, since the tree was not covered with rawhide. I have both the tools and the skills as a woodworker to do that repair easily. In a couple hours I had the repair done and was pleased with it. I further strengthened the tree by drilling pilot holes and driving in 2″ screws through the bars and into the cantle and pommel. It is now quite firm and all the joints are tight.

I reinforced the repaired bar with a single layer of fiberglass bi-directional cloth over the length of the bar. It didn’t go on very well, as you can see, but it will be strong enough for its purpose. I also painted a layer of resin over the rest of the tree to seal and strengthen it. The resin doesn’t have much strength in itself, but it tends to soak into the surface layers of the wood and adds some strength there and it would also add a little reinforcement to the cloth mesh and varnish already on the tree. Regardless, it would be stronger than it was when it was made.

The next step was to sand the whole tree smooth, since the fiberglass resin made every little string and sliver hard and prickly. Once smoothed, it was time to start replacing all the saddle leather.

I started with the gullet leather. It went on easily.

The ground seat was next.  Most saddlers use a tin “strainer” as the foundation for a ground seat, while some higher-end saddlers make a ground seat entirely of leather. This saddle originally had a tin strainer, so I reused it.  All the old nails had loosened, so I reattached it with zinc-coated roofing nails, which should hold it much better than before over the long-haul.

After the strainer was in place, the ground seat was completed with the same leather as before. I wanted to re-use all the leather that came on the saddle, as far as possible, so that I wouldn’t have trouble with the outer leather not fitting back on the saddle properly.

Next was the saddle horn. The old one was worn out and loose. The leather was stretched and the stitching was coming loose. The original horn was quite small, but it looked right in proportion to the saddle, so I made a new horn and wrap pretty much as it was made originally…at least size-wise. I used better leather than was used originally. I think it came out pretty well.

Next came the rigging. I decided to go with a Stohlman-style 3/4 rigging, which would be immeasurably stronger and more durable than what came on the saddle and would be less likely to put undue stress on the tree bars and break the repaired area again. I made paper patterns, based on patterns provided in The Stohlman Encyclopedia of Saddle Making, Volume One. The original rigging was pretty close to a “full-rigging”, but I moved it back, so that it would allow the cinch to ride a little farther back for my friend’s Fox Trotter horses.  I attached the rigging with three 1″ screws, front and rear each side. This rigging will still be strong when all the rest of the leather on the saddle has rotted away and is useless.

Once the rigging was in place, it was time to start replacing the outer leather. I started with the pommel cover, which is standard operating procedure. Next came the seat leather. Since this is an old-style saddle, it has a total of 16 leather conchos (sometimes also referred to as conchas) and 8 saddle strings. This is sometimes called an “8-string” saddle. More modern saddle designs are 6-string, because they combine the front jockeys with the seat leather as one piece. Personally, I like the 8-string design. It imparts a traditional look, I think.

I cut and prepared the 16 conchos, 8 at 1-3/4″ and 8 at 1-1/2″.  I applied neatsfoot oil and Fiebings Chocolate colored stain to them to make them look a little closer to the color of the original leather.

Here is where I changed things a little. I hope the changes are stronger and yet invisible to the casual observer. When I repair a saddle, I try to make improvements where possible without detracting from the original design and patina of the old saddle. If I know a repair is there, but I can’t see it, I feel like I have done well.

The original saddle skirts were attached to the tree bars with a few nails here and there, but mostly with saddle strings that passed through the tree bars in various places, then through the saddle leather, and were finished with a bleed-knot. You only see them as saddle strings on the outside. This is the traditional method for attaching saddle skirts to the tree bars. It has worked well for a couple hundred years.

More modern saddles, particularly show saddles no longer have any need for saddle strings and some prefer not to have them at all. On these saddles, the skirts are attached with screws and nails only, with a few leather tags to hold the ends of the skirts tight to the bars. Saddle strings passing through the tree bars are entirely eliminated. This obviates the need to drill holes through the saddle leather and through the tree bars. Some feel these holes weaken the tree bars, but I have seen little evidence of that when care is taken to make sure all the holes are drilled properly in the right places.

For this saddle, however, I decided the best method was to use screws. Not all the holes in the original tree bars were drilled in the right places and putting everything back as original would have been a mistake in my estimation. The saddle skirts originally had leather patches sewn to them on both ends, which was pulled up over the front and rear of the bar and attached with nails. This was to keep the ends of the skirts tight to the bars. Only one of the leather patches remained. It was on the rear of the left skirt. I made a similar patch from scrap leather and used my industrial sewing machine to stitch it to the rear of the right skirt.

With the new rigging in place, this method would no longer work on the front of the saddle skirts, so in the front of each skirt I punched 1/4″ holes and installed two leather thongs on each side. These I pulled tight over the front of the bars and fixed them with nails through the rigging leather and into the wood of the bars. I then put nails and screws in all the appropriate places to ensure the skirts never move and provide another few years of good service before they need to be re-fleeced.

This being a trail saddle, however, means it should have saddle strings. So, on the upper side of the saddle, I strung the saddle strings through existing holes in the saddle leather, then slid the large concho into place. I then used an awl to make a pilot hole in the concho, through the saddle leather, and through the center of the saddle string. I then set a #10 X 1-1/4″ wood screw through all that and into the saddle tree wood. This method firmly fixes the saddle leather to the tree and creates a very strong substrate to give strength for the saddle string. The small concho is then set in place over the large concho, covering the screw head. The saddle strings are then finished with the traditional bleed knot.

Some saddlers attach the conchos and saddle leather to the tree in this method, but use a small D-ring to attach the saddle strings. I prefer the traditional look of the bleed knots and no D-ring.

As I reassembled the saddle, I oiled each piece of leather with a heavy coat of 100% neatsfoot oil, which it absorbed thirstily, and then went over each piece with Fiebings leather stain in Chocolate color, to blend the new and the old as much as possible. You can see the difference in the following photos:

Speaking of D-rings, I forgot to mention that I added D-rings to the front rigging for a breast strap attachment point. I also added a D-ring to the left rear, under the concho at the cantle, for the attachment of a rifle scabbard strap or anything else one might wish to attach there.  On that D-ring, I made an attachment from tin and slid it up under the rear jockey leather, to make it as unobtrusive as possible. The screw that holds the saddle leather and concho in place passes through it as well, so it will be a very strong attachment point for a rifle scabbard.  After installing it, I decided to go back and attach a similar D-ring on the other side as well, so one has a choice of which side to carry the rifle scabbard. I’ll get to that tomorrow.

I still need to make a new rope strap that attaches to the pommel and a stirrup keeper strap, as well.

There are few things in life that bring me more pleasure than taking something old and broken and making it work again.

This still an old saddle, but it is now ready for another 20 or so years of riding service for my buddy’s grandkids!

TH

Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Finished my repairs on another old saddle…

I finished the repairs on another old saddle last week. Thought I’d make a short post about it.

This is an old saddle I bought just prior to my big horse pack trip in 2015. I was looking for a good saddle for the trip and happened to find an ad in KSL Classifieds for a couple saddles in Price, Utah. After a little dickering I picked up two saddles and some extras for $380. I wrote a post about the purchase, which you can read here.

The better saddle of the two is the one I have been riding ever since, but the other was in pretty poor shape. It was an old ranch saddle, probably made around the 1940-60 time frame.  It had a good rawhide-covered wood tree and was a well made saddle, although not what I would consider top-grade. It was a good, solid work saddle in need of repair.

The seller apologized for it’s condition, confessing he had lent it to his son, who left it in his garage and let his dog chew on it.  He had done some repairs to the saddle himself, however, so the fleece was fairly new, but the saddle strings were mismatched and several conchos and other attachments hadn’t been stained or oiled. In other words, it needed a lot of work.

(Click on the photos to see the gallery full-size)

It sat in my workshop, stacked on top of the bones of several other saddles in need of repair, until last month, when I finally got around to taking a good look at it.

It was evident I needed to replace the seat jockey, although I toyed with the idea of just trimming off the ugly and selling it. I finally decided this was a good learning opportunity for me, since I aspire to eventually be a decent saddle maker.

I started by disassembling the saddle and removing the cantle binding. Then I pulled the seat jockey off the saddle. It revealed a seat on the tree that had been inadequately prepared before the seat was applied. While this is evidently a custom-made saddle (it is definitely not a factory-made production saddle) there is no maker’s mark, serial number, or any other identification of the maker or saddlery. These kinds of saddles often come from small shops where the saddler makes one-off types of saddles intended for sale. In order for the saddler to make a living at it, he often cuts corners and skimps on things that don’t show in the final product, but can make the saddle less comfortable and durable. That was the case with this saddle.

I found the seat to be composed of a tin strainer tacked to the seat with a thin layer of leather covering the front half of the strainer, and the seat jockey applied directly over the tin and rawhide on the seat. In my rebuild, I followed a better practice of covering the seat strainer and seat with a layer of heavy leather, which is then skived to make a smooth seat. That is then covered by the seat jockey, creating a much smoother, more comfortable, and more durable seat.

I also made a new front right jockey, as the original one had the corner eaten off by the infamous dog in the garage. In order to make this piece look as original as possible, I had to search out and acquire the correct stamping tools for the tooling. Search as I might, I was unable to find one of the stamping tools required, so I made one out of a 3/8″ by 6″ bolt. I thought it imitated the original stamp pretty well. One would have to look pretty closely to see the difference.

I cut out the raw seat from a piece of Herman Oak 13/15 oz leather I had bought for the purpose. I wet it and let it case overnight, then stretched it over the saddle, using my saddle-making stand, cranking the seat forming belt down tight. I used the old seat to help me determine where the ear cuts should be at the sides of the cantle, where it meets the tree. Once formed and marked, I pulled the seat jockey back off, cut the ears, and tooled it with the stamps I had made and bought, imitating pretty closely the original patterns.

That done, I was now ready for the part I find the most tedious of the whole affair: the cantle binding.

I cemented the formed and tooled seat jockey to the tree with Barge contact cement (Barge is the brand normally used by saddlers, as it was originally formulated for leather), making sure everything was properly aligned and straight. I trimmed the excess leather from the back of the cantle, leaving 1/2″ to form a good, rounded cantle. I made a cantle binding out of a piece of about 10 oz leather, skived thinner on the back side (the part that is on the back side of the cantle) to make it easier to form to the contours of the cantle. I edged and put a stitching groove on the front side of the binding, then wet it and let it case overnight. I then formed it to the cantle and tacked it in place. I let it get almost dry, before cementing it with Barge contact cement to the cantle.

Now the hard part. I marked the stitching holes, front and back, with an overstitch wheel with a 6-stitch-per-inch wheel on it, so I would know where to insert my stitching awl and where it should come out of the leather on the back. Sadly, my expensive Craftool Pro awl wasn’t up to the task and I broke three awl blades in the first six stitches (those blades are $16 each). Pushing an awl through an inch of good leather is tough! The blade has to be strong and sharp. The Craftool Pro blades were simply not up to the task.

Happily, my local Tandy store takes customer service seriously and they refunded my money for two awl blades and the haft (Craftool Pro hafts are made to only fit the Craftool Pro awl blades) and allowed me to put that toward their lower-priced awl haft, which accepts a variety of blades, and to buy a set of their lower-priced awl blades, which are not as well made, but are much stronger.  That leaves me with a credit at their store, which I will have no problem using up in the near future. Thank you Tandy, Orem, Utah.

Anyway, back to the cantle binding. I took my new awl and blades (these blades run about $5 apiece) and sharpened them on my water stones, then polished them on my strop. I broke one more blade through the last stitch of the cantle binding, but it wasn’t nearly as painful.

One of the marks of an excellent saddle maker is the stitching on the back of the cantle binding. An excellent saddler will show nicely spaced and aligned stitches on the back, while a less expert saddler’s stitches will be misaligned, and poorly spaced. I am here to tell you that is a skill that is developed by strict practice and many, many stitches. Mine is admittedly pretty mediocre, but not too bad for my second cantle binding. Many saddlers nowadays avoid the entire issue by either using tacks rather than stitches, or by using hidden stitches, on the back of the cantle. One technique is to split the leather on the back of the cantle binding and stitch under the flap, then glue the flap down to hide the stitches.  I think I may try that next time, however, I have to say I truly admire a saddler who leaves exposed stitches on the back of the cantle that are perfectly spaced and aligned. It is truly one of the telltale marks of an excellent saddle maker.

 

I was pleased with the finished cantle binding.

The next step was to stain the new leather to try to make it match as closely as possible the original leather. I decided on dark brown stain. I prefer Feibings Pro Dye and have had good luck with it in matching original leather finishes. The Pro Dye is an oil-based dye, which I find penetrates and finishes more evenly than the alcohol-based dyes.

First, since my shop was cold with snow on the ground outside, I placed my gallon container of Fiebings 100% Pure Neatsfoot Oil in water in an old crockpot cooker I have in my shop, and heated it. Warm oil penetrates leather better than cold or room-temperature oil. Once it was warm, I applied a heavy coat of oil to the entire saddle, including under the skirts and the backsides of all the parts, both old and new, as well as the saddle strings. Once that had soaked in, I wiped off all the excess oil, then applied the stain with a piece of fleeced sheepskin. I applied stain to the entire saddle, considering that the original color of the saddle was faded and uneven, as evident in the above photos, and that the stain would help hide marks on the pommel from the dog’s gnawing on the leather. It worked pretty well. The original leather was darkened to a nice dark brown. However, the new leather lightened up a bit as it dried and took on a mahogany hue with dark edges – pretty, but exposing obvious restoration. Personally, I don’t like my repairs to be obvious. I like them to return the saddle to as much of an original look as possible, while returning the saddle to serviceability.

I followed the dark brown stain with a coat of Fiebings Pro Dye in Chocolate. That did the trick. The seat jockey, saddle strings, new conchos, latigo carrier, and new right front jockey, now blend in well and it takes a closer look to determine that they are, in fact, restoration/repair pieces, rather than original. I like that.

The final step in the repair was to replace the rigging straps that connect the front rigging ring to the rear rigging ring, and to reassemble the entire saddle. I still need to make a pair of stirrup keepers, but other than that small detail, the saddle is ready for service. I’m happy with the outcome. My skills are definitely improving as a saddler.

Sadly, after all that work, the saddle is just a tad small for me. It measures a 15″ seat, but rides like a 14″ seat, due to the angle of the pommel swells and the extra layer of leather I installed to improve the seat.

So, this saddle is ready for another 75 years or so of faithful service.

 

Good Stories, Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Finally finshed the repairs to the Hamley!

Those of you who have followed me for a while will remember that way back in about October 2012, during a training session, my mare, Penny, blew a gasket and let off a bunch of steam. In doing so, she went down and as I made my exit, my spur caught the seat jockey of my Hamley ranch saddle and ripped it. The spur also left a long scratch across the seat. Then, Penny wallowed around on the ground a bit, trying to regain her feet,  scratching the pommel pretty good. When she got her legs back under her, she jumped up right into a large oak tree, punching a stick about the size of my index finger right through the cantle binding. Luckily, both Penny and myself were ok, but the saddle took a beating.

Just a few days later, I went to mount Penny, who was wearing the Hamley, and the on-side stirrup strap broke. As I inspected things, I noticed that the rear rigging was about to break loose as well. It was time to put the Hamley on “injured reserve” and start looking at repairs.

(Click on the photos to see them full-size)

Now, it’s not like I ruined this saddle. If you are familiar with western saddlery, the name Hamley should ring a bell. Hamley, Pendleton Oregon, has been making quality saddles since 1883. They are one of the few saddlers still in business from the days before the horseless carriage came into vogue. In fact, I sent the serial number of the saddle to Hamley and received a Certificate of Authenticity, confirming that the saddle was made for my wife’s uncle, Earl G. Richins, and that he paid $154.50 for it in 1947. Cool!

So, this saddle belonged to my wife’s uncle until he passed away in 1974. Then we think it passed on to his sister’s husband, who rode it until he was in his 90s, when the ranch he rode for apologetically told him they couldn’t use him anymore, because they were afraid he’d get hurt. Well, he also passed away and the saddle eventually passed on to me, being the last of the family with horses.

With that little history, it won’t surprise you that the saddle had been through several repairs during its lifetime. One stirrup leather had been replaced by scabbing in a section of new leather in order to retain the original tooling on the outside. The other stirrup leather had been changed altogether…the one that broke…and the tooling did not match the original. Also, the skirts had been re-fleeced at least once and the last time it was done was a poor job. The skirts were curled around the edges and the fleece was wearing out. The rope strap had been broken and replaced long ago, as had the original saddle strings. In other words, the poor old saddle was in need of major repairs…again.

Now, I have aspired to become a saddler for many years, although I had never actually done anything more than a few minor repairs on my own saddles and one major rebuild of the pony saddle I learned to ride on as a kid. However, in doing my research I found that having Hamley rebuild this saddle was way beyond my reach financially. Since the saddle was in such poor shape to begin with, and since so many repairs, of varying quality, had already been done to it, I decided that the value of the saddle couldn’t be degraded much more if I did the repairs myself. So, the decision was made. I would use the Hamley to improve my knowledge, skills, and experience as a saddler.

Over the years since 2012, I have acquired the basic tools that all saddlers seem to have. I have also acquired the basic skills that saddlery requires. Several months ago I disassembled the Hamley and removed the damaged parts. However, the rest of my life made me put the Hamley on the back burner. Then, during about November last year (2017), my wife received a telephone call from her cousin, the daughter of Earl G. Richins. She was asking whether we knew the whereabouts of some of Earl’s belongings. She was only about 13 years old when Earl died and, due to some unusual circumstances, some of his belongings had passed on to his siblings, rather than to his young children. That included my Hamley saddle.

My wife told her about the saddle, the needed repairs, and asked whether she would prefer I reassemble it and leave it as original as possible, or whether I should do the repairs needed to make it a serviceable saddle again. She never really answered the question, but said she would like to have the saddle. I decided the right thing to do was to go ahead with the repairs and give her the saddle in working condition. After all, it was her father’s saddle and she was the rightful owner.

Last week I finished the last of the repairs and reassembled the saddle. This afternoon I took it on a shake-down ride, to make sure my repairs meet muster and are comfortable to ride.

Here is a list of the repairs I made:

  • Replaced the torn cantle binding
    • Oiled and stained the cantle binding to match the color and patina of the original leather
  • Replaced the old rear rigging leathers
  • Replaced both stirrup leathers
    • Tooled the stirrup leathers to reflect the design of the original tooling on the saddle
    • Stained the stirrup leathers to match the color and patina of the original leather of the saddle
    • Cleaned and stained the sweat leathers (which had been replaced in an earlier repair) to match the original color and patina of the saddle
    • Replaced the Blevins Buckles with new, better ones.
  • Replaced the old cinch latigo with a new one
  • Replaced the rope strap
  • Made new stirrup keepers
    • Tooled the stirrup keepers with a “R” for Richins.
  • Stained the scratches and gouges on the seat and pommel to hide them
  • Refleeced the original skirts (hand-stitched)
    • Added backing to the skirts to stiffen them and keep them from curling
    • Replaced the saddle strings with 1/2″ heavy latigo strings
  • Patched and stitched the rip in the seat jockey.
  • Oiled entire saddle and gave it a nice finish.

I have to say, I’m very pleased with the way the saddle turned out.

The one repair I’m not proud of is the repair to the tear in the seat jockey. I used waxed poly thread and it would not take stain, so the thread stands out white against the dark leather of the saddle, making the repair very obvious. It’s serviceable, but way too obvious. That was a lesson learned and a mistake I will not make again.

So, next week I will give my wife’s cousin a call and make arrangements to return this saddle, which is hers by right of inheritance, to its rightful owner.

I think Earl Richins would approve.

Good Stories, Saddlery, Tack and Gear

A little more progress on the pony saddle…

I got the ground seat finished today and started on the rigging. I’m hoping I’ll get the rigging done and started on decorating the skirts, jockeys, and sweat leathers on Thursday. Not going to have much time tomorrow.

This is an enjoyable learning experience for me. I’m pretty slow at it right now, since I have to study up on each step as I go, just to make sure I’m doing things the right way and in the right sequence. I hope I get a little faster with each saddle. As it is, I still have six more saddles in various stages if disrepair to get done at some point in the future. I’m essentially “cutting my teeth” on this little saddle.

Christmas is sure coming fast. Hope I get it done in time!

Adi's saddle with the ground seat installed
Adi’s saddle with the ground seat installed

img_2763

Good Stories, Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Working on Christmas…

I’m pretty excited today.

Adi
Adi

Several months ago I started working on a Christmas gift for my oldest grandchild, Adi. She’s four years old. Last spring she saw a pony and told her mother, “Pop-pop (that’s me) is going to buy that pony for me.” Nobody is sure where that came from, but it sure clicked my switch!

So. Pop-pop figured he’d better get to work! I decided to take the old, worn out pony saddle I learned to ride on and rebuild it for Adi’s Christmas present. Like I said, I started on it several months ago, but didn’t get far. I disassembled it and made a few repairs on the saddle tree. Then a couple months ago I bought the leather for it. Then about a month ago I cut all the parts out of the leather. Well, yesterday I got back to work on it.

The tree had a couple places on the pommel where filler had broken out, so yesterday I repaired the tree with auto body filler. Worked like a charm.

Today, I installed the gullet cover and covered the horn.

For my first saddle, I’m pretty pleased with how the horn came out.

Looking forward to making some more progress next week. I’ll keep you posted.

12/15/2016:  I’ve made a little more progress on Adi’s saddle. I’ve finished the ground seat, installed the pommel cover, and have the stirrup leathers ready to finish.  I’m working on the saddle skirts now and should have them finished by the the week’s end.

Saddlery, Uncategorized

Picked up a couple “new” used saddles today…

This afternoon I picked up two saddles, a bridle with a good D-ring snaffle, an old, but good saddle pad, and a rifle scabbard, for $380.

Two saddles for the price of one.
Two saddles for the price of one.

I have been looking for a saddle to take on the big ride, because it doesn’t look like I’ll get the repairs to my Hamley finished in time. I have been shopping for good used saddles, because I don’t want a squeeky-new saddle to break in on the trail. Not only that, since I am operating on somewhat of a budget, I can buy a very good used saddle, even if it’s a little beat-up, for less than I can buy a very poor new saddle, not to mention a good one. I had already called on a couple saddles advertised for sale in the northern Utah area, that were priced in the $650-850 range, and was tempted on a couple in the $1100-1500 range. The problem I always ran into was that they were either Full-Quarter Horse bar saddles, or Regular-Quarter Horse saddles, both of which would be too wide for my high-withered, narrow backed fox trotters. I needed a saddle with a gullet width of about 6″ and a fairly tall gullet.

When I came across an ad for two saddles for $400, under 100 miles away, I took a closer look. Although the ad didn’t give many specifics, other than that one was old and one was in good condition, and that they were 15″ seats, one photograph showed the gullets of both saddles, and I could see right away that they were not the usual QH bar saddles. I called on them and the seller agreed to meet me halfway, up on Soldier Summit.

When I arrived at the designated meeting place, I was met by a man in his seventies, who greeted me with a smile. He opened his camper shell window and tailgate and slid the saddles back to where I could take a look at them. He said he had kept them around for a long time, thinking he would buy another horse, but has finally conceded that he never will. So they were for sale.

The "newer" saddle
The “newer” saddle

I could see right off that the newer saddle was in very good condition. The only thing detracting from its value was a large “44” carved into the stirrup sweat leathers. This one was won by somebody at a show or rodeo. The leather was in great shape, as was the skirting and fleece.  I checked under the front jockey and was pleased to find a rawhide-covered wood tree bar. Recognizing that this saddle alone was worth pretty much what he was asking for the whole shootin’ match, I stopped inspecting this one and turned my attention to the older saddle.

This one is about 75 years old
This one is about 75 years old

This saddle was probably 75 years old and in need of some pretty extensive repair to the leather work. The seller apologetically showed me some rodent damage to the seat jockey and other parts that he hadn’t seen before he put them in his pickup. The mice have chewed a large part out of the lower part of the seat jockey, chewed off the corner of the right front jockey, chewed off the end of the cincha keeper, and chewed off a couple of saddle strings. There are scars on the pommel as well. Additionally, the leather straps all need to be changed out and the cantle binding was coming loose. However, this saddle, too, was built on a rawhide-covered wood tree that is very solid. The rawhide appears to be in very good shape. I Couldn’t find a maker’s mark, but it is a very well-made ranch/working saddle. It’s just in poor condition.

Newer fleece on the old saddle
Newer fleece on the old saddle

On the bright side, the seller had the skirting fleece replaced professionally a few years ago, so it’s in great shape. The seller said he was told it might be a Hamley, but I have a Hamley and I don’t believe this is one. I figured I could do the repair work to turn this back into a good riding saddle.

I inspected the bridle and found it has a usable pair of braided para-cord reins as well as a good egg-butt D-ring snaffle. The bridle needs oil, but is in good shape.

Bridle with snaffle bit, saddle pad, and rifle scabbard
Bridle with snaffle bit, saddle pad, and rifle scabbard

The saddle pad has some rodent damage in one place, but in fact it is still a good pad – wool blanket over a foam insert and wool-felt pad. The saddle scabbard is in rough shape and coming unstitched at the seams, but the leather is good and re-stitching it will take me an evening at most.

After looking the old saddle over and over, I offered the seller $350. He thought a few seconds and countered with $375. I smiled and told him I didn’t have a $5, so I’d give him $380 for bundle. He smiled again and we shook hands.

Old-fashioned Ox bow stirrups
Old-fashioned Ox bow stirrups

This evening, when I had a little time, I inspected both saddles a little closer. I had looked pretty well at the older saddle and learned nothing new this evening, except that the stirrup leathers are still in good condition and might be used on my Hamley saddle in a pinch. I also like the old-style tin-covered wood Ox-Bow stirrups. They are also in good, usable condition. The fleece has been replaced, but was done by a professional who did good work, but wasn’t too concerned about looks. He could have done a nicer job. This saddle needs a lot of work, but will be a good, solid saddle when I’m done. I’ll probably replace some leather and sell it to make back the purchase price of the deal.

Utahn Saddle Company maker's mark
Utahn Saddle Company maker’s mark

The newer saddle is in very good condition, made by the Utahn Saddle Company (I found the maker’s mark on the latigo keeper), that once billed itself as “The saddle maker’s saddle maker”. The company is gone now, but once was a good saddle maker out of Vernal, Utah. This saddle is a cutter, and has a broad set of swells, almost like a “form-fitter” tree, 4″ cantle, padded seat, wide Cheyeand wide, cutter-style covered stirrups.

Fleece on the newer saddle is in excellent shape
Fleece on the newer saddle is in excellent shape

The tree, as I mentioned, is rawhide-covered wood and is very solid and heavy. It came with a very nice mohair-blend cincha and a nice flank strap. The fleece is in excellent condition and is a thick, premium-style fleece. The leather is in very nice condition, but needs a little cleaning and oiling. This is a very solid and good saddle. I figure this saddle alone is worth about double what I paid for the whole bundle, even in its current condition.

Both saddles measure what would equate to “Semi-QH bars” and gullet width, so they will fit well on my fox trotters, with their tall withers and narrow backs.

Can’t wait to get the Utahn saddle on my horses. I think that’s the one I will be taking on my big pack trip.

It was a good day.

Saddlery, Tack and Gear

Working on the Repairs for My Hamley Saddle

1 Comment

Now that my wife and I are settled in a house here in Salem, Utah, I have been able to get at least some of my tools out of storage and into my little workshop out back. Some of the first things I brought are my saddles and leather working tools.

2014-12-24 13.10.56A couple weeks ago I finished the work on my old Bighorn saddle, which needed to have the horn tightened up, new fleece, and new saddle strings. I finished that project and put the saddle immediately back to work on my new Missouri Fox Trotting Horse, Ranger. After having my last horse, Penny, beat my good Hamley Ranch Saddle to pieces, I decided that the Bighorn saddle was going to be my breaking and training saddle from now on.

My 1947 Hamley Ranch Saddle, ready for repairs
My 1947 Hamley Ranch Saddle, ready for repairs

Last week I got to looking at my old Hamley and decided it was time to start the repairs.

The saddle was in need of new saddle strings, new rear rigging leathers, new stirrup leathers, a new cantle binding, and possibly new fleece, as well as repair to a tear on the front left side of the seat jockey. I also need to soak and flatten both the rear jockeys and the skirts, as they have curled up pretty badly.

Just so you know why I didn’t just sell the old saddle, or hang it up for decoration, this particular saddle came to me from my wife’s family. It belonged to her uncle, Earl Richins. I got it because there was no one else in the family who would get any use from it. A couple years ago I contacted Hamley, which is still in business in Bend, Oregon, about the saddle. For a nominal fee, they took the saddle’s serial number and researched their files. They provided me with a Certificate of Authenticity for the saddle, which showed the saddle was made for Earl G. Richins, who paid $154.50 for it in 1947. It is a family heirloom and I intend to continue passing it down. I also intend to make it mine and hope that whomever I pass it to will make it theirs and use it as well. I’ve no use for a decorative saddle.

A little over a year ago I had a mare that was prone to panicking. She would occasionally just go bananas if I got her into a position where she didn’t understand what was happening and felt trapped. While working with her one day, trying to teach her to sidle up to a gate, so I could open it, she went berserk. She went back, fell over, lunged up, crashed into the gate, then over again she went. Then she jumped back up and crashed into a fence where a tree was overhanging. I had come off the first time she went down, so I was just standing by watching the rodeo, waiting for her to get finished with her tantrum. After crashing through the tree branches, she finally stopped and settled down. I went to her to make sure she wasn’t hurt, which she wasn’t, just a little shaken up. However, my saddle was another story completely.

When I got over to Penny, I could see a stick about the diameter of my thumb sticking out of the cantle binding of my precious antique Hamley saddle. Not only that, but as I checked for further damage, I found both rear rigging leathers about to tear away from the cinch ring, a large new scrape on the pommel, and a scratch across the cantle, where my spur had raked as I came off. It was only a day or so later that one of the stirrup leathers gave out and broke. So my Hamley was out of commission. After evaluating the work that would be required to “restore” the saddle to “collector” condition, I decided that it was simply out of my price range. Judging by what I have priced at Hamley and other saddlers, it would run in the area of $3500 to have the saddle restored. I decided that I would do the repairs myself and bring the saddle back to usable condition. I decided that as an aspiring saddle maker, this would be an excellent learning experience. While some may criticize me for learning on my Hamley saddle, in my opinion it was simply too far gone to be worth the expense of sending it back to Hamley for repair/restoration.

So, here I am about ready to do the repairs. By this time I have acquired most of the tools necessary for saddle making. I still lack some of the more expensive gadgets, such as a leather splitter, and I could always use a few more punches and strap-end cutters, but I have enough to do what must be done on the Hamley.

Last week I started on the repairs. I started by disassembling the saddle, as much as was necessary, so I could take a good look and evaluate all that needs to be done. Turns out the tree, a bullhide-wrapped wood tree, is in excellent condition. I was surprised to find that Hamley uses bronze stirrup hangers, rather than having the stirrup leathers pass over the saddle bars. The tree is solid as the day it was made and the bars are in good condition. I removed the  old saddle strings, pulled the few nails holding the skirts to the bars, then removed the skirts. I removed the rear jockeys, then the rear rigging leathers. The stirrups had been removed months ago. The last thing I removed was the cantle binding. I pulled the seams loose and cut the threads with a sharp knife. I used a pair of pliars to remove the remaining thread from the stitching holes in the cantle. Click on an image for a slide show with the photos in full-size.

I decided the first project would be the cantle binding, as I dreaded it the most. The cantle binding is one place that really shows the craftsmanship, or lack thereof, of a saddle maker. This was to be my first cantle binding and I didn’t expect it to come out perfect, but I hoped it would come out well.

I started by reading up on the topic in the reference books I have bought along the way, including the three-volume set by Al and Ann Stohlman and another book by Davy Jones on saddle making and repair. I decided to follow the directions given by the Stohlmans.

I cut the new cantle binding out of 7/8 oz skirting leather, making the piece about 1-5/8″ wide by 30″ long, which were measurements I took off the saddle itself. I then made a stitching groove along both edges, about 1/8″ from the edge, as this would be a binding with exposed stitching on both the front and back. I edged and buffed the edges and skived the ends thin. I then soaked the binding in luke-warm water for a few minutes, until it stopped bubbling. After stripping off the excess water with my fingers, I put the binding into place on the cantle, stretching it tight and placing a 1/2″ #12 tack at each end, down under where it would be hidden by the seat jockey.  I formed it as much as possible with my fingers, so that the edges fit nicely into place on the cantle where the old binding had been. I then let the binding sit until almost dry, going back and forming it with my fingers now and then as it dried.

Before the binding was completely dry (you want some moisture left in the leather), I removed it and finish trimmed the long end to fit properly, then re-skived that end. I applied rubber cement liberally to both the cantle and the cantle binding, however, as directed by the Stohlmans, I did not apply rubber cement to the very front portion of the underside of the cantle binding, so that it could be adjusted easily as it was put into place on the cantle. I then carefully placed the cantle binding into place on the cantle, working it into place with my fingers. A rub stick would have helped as well here, but I didn’t have one available. Both ends were tacked into place with two tacks. These will remain permanently.

At this point I ran a #5 overstitch wheel over the binding in the stitching groove to mark where I would cut the stitching holes with the awl. I then threaded two #517 stitching needles and sharpened my awl and went to work.  I found right away that it is critical to have a good awl blade and have it razor sharp. There is a talent that is developed in using an awl. I got better as I went, but my first few holes through that thick cantle leather were difficult. I had a hard time getting the awl to penetrate perfectly straight, as I kept applying pressure that was not perfectly straight. I bent my awl blade slightly several times. Once bent, you just cannot straighten an awl blade perfectly. I was able to straighten and resharpen the awl blade enough that it worked, but I had difficulty in getting the awl to penetrate straight and emerge on the backside right where I wanted it to – in the stitching groove. I would watch to see where the blade was going to emerge, then I would pull it back and adjust until it emerged where I wanted it to.

I only got about 1/3 done on the binding that first evening, because there wasn’t enough light in the work area. I just couldn’t see well enough to see where the tip of the awl was emerging and I was tired, so rather than risking a major mistake, I left it for the following day.

2015-01-03 16.36.21 2015-01-03 17.18.46 2015-01-03 17.19.14 When I got back to the project, of course the binding had dried out completely. I decided to try stitching with it dry, as I didn’t like the way it came out while working on it damp. I found that when the leather was damp I tended to tighten the stitches too much and the leather would bunch a little, making the work look a bit rough. I found that when I stitch with the leather dry I liked the look better.

One saddle maker, Dusty Johnson, recommends drilling the stitching holes with a Dremel-type high-speed tool. He told me that by drilling the stitching holes, rather than cutting them with an awl, he is able to complete the stitching on a cantle binding in a matter of a half-hour, rather than about two hours with an awl (it took me much longer). I used Dusty’s technique to make my chaps and I find it makes my stitching look much more professional. I may try that the next time, but I was afraid it would show up on this binding where I changed methods. I finished the cantle binding stitching with an awl and with the leather dry.

2015-01-03 17.18.41Another thing I am learning, slowly but surely, is to be consistent and apply the correct amount of pressure when I tighten each stitch. Toward the end of the stitching I pulled two stitches through the binding leather. They are visible if one looks, but not bad enough that I would tear it all off and start over…at least not on this saddle. All I can guess is that I came upon a weak area in the binding leather in that place, as I applied no more pressure there than anywhere else on the binding. It is possible I was applying too much pressure all along in tightening my stitches.

2015-01-03 17.19.49I also found I tend to mark my cantle binding with my fingernails and tools as I stitch. This is something I really need to pay attention to , especially while working damp leather. Anything with an edge or corner that touches damp leather will leave a permanent impression. This is not a problem on this saddle, because it’s going to get a lot of marks on my pack trips anyway, but if I were doing this as a gift or a commission, it would look pretty poor. It gives my work a used look when it is brand new.

2015-01-03 17.19.24At the end of the stitching I learned another thing. I did not pay enough attention to the angle at which I was inserting the awl while stitching around the binding. I ended up finishing the stitching on the front, but still lacked nearly 1/2″ in the back. I ended up creating another two stitches in the back, running them through existing stitches in the front, while creating a lock-stitch at the same time.

I will likely stain the cantle binding to try to get it closer to the color of the old original leather. I haven’t yet decided whether to do that or just let it age naturally with neatsfoot oil.

All-in-all, while I am not completely pleased with the appearance of my work on the cantle binding, I know it will be serviceable and it was an excellent learning project. I am sure my next cantle binding will reflect improved craftsmanship on my part. Below is a gallery of all the pictures I took for this post.

Next up: The rigging leathers.