When i decided that i needed to get a saddle tailor made for me, as i couldnt find what i was looking for here in the uk, i didnt want a riening saddle, or a fancy show saddle with lots of sliver, what i really needed was a good quality saddle with a tree shaped to the kind of horses we have here, which are mostly upto weight and of a good width fitting,
and as we use the saddle for work, i didnt want to be over loaded with tooling on the leatherwork,
my first job was to find a saddle maker i was happy with to realise my dream saddle, which i found after many hours of looking on the internet and trawling through designs and types, and workmanship, it was also important to me that i found someone who was either a rancher or Cowboy saddle maker, so they would know exactly what i would need and understand all the small things that make a saddle truly a custom build and built to do a job.
So starting with a blank page, i sat and thought long and hard about what i needed from this saddle, and i was very aware that with the cost of a custom made saddle , that you really need to make the right decisions at the beggining as its too late once its made and been sent over here,
So after contacting Bob, he chatted to me about my requirements and was very helpful indeed, so back to the drawing board to think about what i wanted the saddle to look like,
I needed a good width fitting,, whcih was based on our horses measurments, i also chose to have a 16 inch Low association tree with Bobs reccomendation,
i needed to keep the weight to a reasonable level, as im not so tall and find some of these saddles very heavy,
I opted for a horn that was of a medium size, i dont need a large one that is used for roping, i only tow smallish weights anyway, the horn was to be sloped forward as not to catch me in the stomach on climbing up very steep terrain, which brings me to the cantle which i also didnt want to high at the back, for the same reason not to catch me in the back going down very steep slopes,
Preset fenders are a must, for my short legs to avoid ankle and knee strain,
Then to the colour and style, and the carvings, i wanted a brown lighter Antique colour, the style was to hopefully fit a woman better than an off the peg saddle, i wanted the seat slightly narrower exactly where i sat, as i have found that some western saddles have been uncomfortable to ride in for any length of time, i also found quite often that the fenders were too long for me, and by the time i had adjusted them right up, there was no leather left to adjust on the bottom of the fender, therefore making it harder for a short legged person to keep the stirrups in the right position.
The carving was something i really enjoyed getting together, i decidied on some Daffodils to go on the fenders, as they are a Welsh emblem, and Celtic Knotting to go on the fenders and around the skirts,
As this was a Celtic saddle it had to have the Welsh Dragon on both sides, not just any Dragon, but one with scales and look as real as possible.
As i use the saddle for work, i needed a knife holder and somewhere to keep a hoof pick,
Below, in Bobs own words, he will take you through the work he did uptil completion.
His site is on the 'Links' below if you have any questions about the making of this saddle or one you may like made for yourself,
If you want to know anythng about the saddle after it got here, then ill be happy to answer any questions.

Click here to go to Bob,s saddlery site.

The saddle tree maker is checking the bars to make sure that they are uniform and positioned level.



Having to start with a tree for the saddle, i didnt really know what would be best for me, so here, Bob will explain why he reccomemded that i have this type of tree,

There are many many names of different saddle trees. Just myself, I have two that I have designed that are unique to me and not something that is available to other saddle makers. The Low Association is a very popular tree and has the basics of a very good all round design. (All swell fork saddle trees are practically a revision of the basic Low Association tree) In its ordinary form it is made with a 14” front, I knew that when made with a 13” front it fitted the description of the needs that you were describing.

I recommended it to you for that reason.



Its very important to ensure the quality of your saddle that it is made of the best leather available, Herman oak leather being the best.


This picture shows the shoulder area of the hide. The upper pattern is
a skirt pattern, beneath it is the cover for the back of the cantle and
then the gullet cover. Beyond this is the head area, it is thick
leather so ground seat parts will come from this part.


This view is of pretty much the center of the hide with the white
pattern being the swell cover. Above it is the rear jockies and the top
layer of the front rigging. The Rigging is cut nearest the backbone and
the swell cover in what is called the belley. The swell cover needs to
be able to stretch some inorder to form it around the swells so it must
come from a part of the hide that has some give to it yet is firm enough
to wear well.


The seat is cut from the butt end of the hide, this closer view of the
seat pattern shows where the seat will be cut from. The front jockeys
of the seat are next to where the backbone of the animal was and the
back of the seat, cantle area, is in the flank area of the animal. The
cover for the horn is to the left of the seat, sort of where the hide
came around under the tail.



This morning I have worked on developing patterns for your saddle. In
the attached picture I am finding the center of the horn and cantle and
placing a mark in the center of each.

This is one of the first steps I do when starting a saddle.


In this picture I have started with a previous skirt pattern that I
think is close to what will work for you. In my notes I have that we
plan on a large round skirt, in this picture I am sketching a large
round on the paper skirt pattern.



Another shot of designing the large round skirt.


In this picture I am identifying and marking the rigging position.



At this point I have taken a previously used rigging pattern and have
laid it on the tree and paper skirt so as to figgure out what will work
best for you


I drew this fender shape for you, using the saddle that you like as
an example. In the picture I am holding it up in the location it should
be when your sitting in the saddle.



The covering of the saddle horn consists of three layers of leather.
This shows the completed horn and gullet covers on your saddle. During
the finishing stage of the saddle I will be putting a brown latigo wrap
around the neck of the horn.



Having blocked the skirts I am positioning the rigging to make sure that the skirts and the rigging compliment each other and will work well together.


I am using a spoke shave to carve the shape of the seat so that the rider will find it natural to sit up straight, have the legs ahead some and be in balance with the horse.

This shows what is called the ground seat of a Western saddle. Layers of leather have been placed upon the bars of the tree. Parts of these layers are then skived away to create the place for the rider to sit.

Before you go onto the next saddle page where Bob will carry on explaining the progress of the saddle, i wanted to show you some of the carvings in closer detail,
The Celtic continuous knotting must of been hugely tedious to draw acuratly and carve, but it was just so different to anything that i have seen on a saddle that i thought it would look interesting, and as the Celtic theme ran strongly throughout the saddle, it was important to me to have it on there,The Welsh Dragon was also another 'must have' as it is the Emblem on the Welsh flag, and the Doffodils are also something that we associate as being an Emblem, i also asked Bob that if he had the chance to put the Prince of Wales Feathers somewhere on the saddle that would be great,
so all in all it had a very strong Welsh theme, i hoped that one day after i am long gone, the kids will remember this saddle being made and used, and keep it in the family.

Here I am using dividers to make sure I have uniform spacing to the lines of the Celtic knot design before I carve the design into the leather with a swivel knife.