We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

A couple weeks ago we had a visit from Lee McLean, who hales from "way down south" - High River, Alberta.  She came with a van load of side saddles - English, Western, and even some bare trees - that we could examine and measure to our heart's content.  The plan was to see if we could figure out how the "really good one" was made and why it worked well while others that looked nice were harder to ride.  I don't think we completely solved the mystery, but we all learned new things about side saddle design and how finicky it can be.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Here's some pictures from the shop tonight, as the look of some trees changed dramatically, and the rawhide room is very full - of large, blue containers...

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

I marked out the next four trees for Rod today using some special "made to order" tools that we have had for a few years now.  The major part of my job in the shop is to take the wood from rough lumber to laminated blocks of wood, marked out with the appropriate pattern and ready to cut on the band saw.  Over the years we have used, devised and had made for us different tools especially designed for what we need to do.  The metal T square and specific angle markers I use make me much more confident in the accuracy of my markings, and have sure made my job a lot easier.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Getting the right amount of room in the saddle for the rider can be tough if all you have to go on is the seat length measurement.  That is because the seat length measurement doesn't actually tell you how far apart the fork and cantle are on the bars, and that is where the rider is.  (Our Seat Length and Thigh Length Relationships page explains more about this.)  The thigh length measurement can be very helpful in getting the right amount of room for the rider, and here is a quick explanation of how we use it and how we determine it.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

When it comes to bars and how they fit, there is a common idea that certain bars always fit a certain way or are needed for specific uses.  In the last couple of months we have heard questions and comments such as these:  "The Wade bar fits horses better than other bars." and "Do you have a bar with a lot of rock in it?"  And then we hear that Arizona bars are the best for roping trees and cutting bars are needed in cutting saddles.  So, what do these names mean and how do they apply to our trees?

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Today, many things were full, so I thought I would show them to you...

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

Actually, nothing really that specific...  While there was a good reason they were initially used, things have changed over the years so now they are very general terms only.  So unless you are comparing trees made from the same tree maker, not just the same saddle maker (and very often in production saddles you don't know who built the tree), they really can't even be used in a comparative way any more.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

You wouldn't think that saddle tree making would be a profession overly fraught with danger, but there are enough things that can cause health issues, short or long term, that we do take a few precautions.

We are no longer building saddle trees, but we have two videos about how Western saddles fit horses available on our westernsaddlefit.com website.

We use rawhide to lace our trees as we feel it is the best material out there for the job.  And we make our own rawhide, usually out of deer hide, though we have used some calf hide too.  But once it is made into rawhide, it doesn't magically transform itself into usable form, which is rather unfortunate as cutting lace isn't the most stimulating job in the world.