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I just wanted to hear some others thoughts on In Seat Rigs. I have never built one, but have had a few people ask me some of the ranch rodeos I attend if I would. I have been thinking on making one to take to the WRCA finals. Has anyone else used this rigging style, if so Pros and Cons?

Ashley

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Ashley, I guess great or warped minds think alike. I have been giving some though to building a seat rig also. Tracy Moss on this board used to work for Olivers, I think. I sent him a message to get his thoughts on seat rigs, this morning. Hopefully, he'll chime in here. JW

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Ashley,

I've made several seat rig saddles. One for a cowboy on the Waggoner Ranch in Vernon, Tx. , another for a cowboy in Longview, Tx. with a large pre-con outfit. They both really seemed to love 'em. The first one I'd ever seen was in Bob Marrs shop in Amarillo many years ago. He built a lot of them. His opinion was pretty favorable . He told me the pull of the rigging went completely over the top of the seat. As you probably already know many of the trophy saddles at the ranch rodeos are custom made seat rigs. It's not a new concept as there are several very old seat rigged saddles in Don Kings museum.

Upside: they're not that difficult to build. Fenders are much narrower than normal. One layer of leather less under your leg than a flat plate, one more than a skirt rig.

Downside: You really have to get your patterns right, fenders are narrower than normal to go up in the slot , slot in seat has to be wide enough to allow forward movement of stirrup leathers, slot doesn't need to be too high or too low.

Outside of those ranch rodeo circles a seat rigged saddle is looked at as a pretty odd duck . Just depends on where your market is.

There was an old saddlemaker in Guthrie, Tx. named Tooter Cannon. He passed away some time back but he made mostly seat rigged saddles, if not exclusively. As a result, he designed a piece of hardware for the rig that was very flat and it was called a Tooter Cannon rigging. Glenn Pointer, a bit and spur maker made these. I can probably find the pattern for it in my files if you want to see what it loos like.

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Troy,

"Tooter Cannon" it has been a while since I heard that name. I would be interested in seeing the pattern for the rigging.

Regards,

Ben

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Troy, I would appreciate seeing your seat rig hardware pattern. I am familiar with Pointer's hardware, and Danny Pollard from Merkel, Tx is building hardware for me. At least amongst my contemporaries, the seat rig fairly popular. I would like to build one to play around with for myself, and get it right before I offer it to potential customers. Thanks, JW.

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Biggest drawback in my experience is the painful pinching of the rider's leg between the fender and the edge of the slot. I have not found a way to eliminate this without an unsightly large slot for the fender.

Keith

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We discussed seat rigs some back before Katrina or whatever the crash was named. Otto Earnst of Sheridan Wy. patented the seat rigged saddle back in the 20's or early 30's. I posted a page from an old Earnst catalog showing the info a day or so before the crash so that is gone forever but once things get back to normal round here I will re-post it. Greg

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We discussed seat rigs some back before Katrina or whatever the crash was named. Otto Earnst of Sheridan Wy. patented the seat rigged saddle back in the 20's or early 30's. I posted a page from an old Earnst catalog showing the info a day or so before the crash so that is gone forever but once things get back to normal round here I will re-post it. Greg

Greg, What is a "seat rig" ? Never heard of it before!!

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Oldtimer......I am not Greg, but here is a photo of a seat rigged saddle, made by Richard Oliver.

seat_rig.jpg

post-5250-1206895362_thumb.jpg

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Oldtimer......I am not Greg, but here is a photo of a seat rigged saddle, made by Richard Oliver.

seat_rig.jpg

Thank´s for the pic! :wtf: Never seen anything like it before ! What´s the theory behind this construction ? I can´t see any advantage in it ??

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Here's the pattern of the hardware. It looks like the same hardware in the photo you posted of the Oliver saddle.rig_pattern.jpg

post-5656-1206902437_thumb.jpg

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The seat rig saddles I made in the past were much like the one you showed in the photo, just a traditional seat rig, however, I thought you guys might get a kick out of seeing a much more non-traditional saddle I made a few years ago. It's a Mother Hubbard seat rig, meaning, the swell , seat, rig, and housing are all one piece of leather. There's no lacing behind the cantle as it is all one piece of leather. The design was to be a simple lightweight saddle. I really build very traditional saddles but I did this for the challenge. Like I said, thought you guys might get a kick out of it.seat_rig_saddle.jpg

post-5656-1206926051_thumb.jpg

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Very kewl Troy. I would think, at least in my case, the "pucker factor" would be high cutting and fitting that big chunk of leather. That would be an expensive and time consuming piece to end up as an unscheduled practice. Always terrific to see your work, and get your thoughts. Thanks, JW.

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Troy,

What was the final weight of the saddle? What was the wight of the leather that you used? As others will say......WOW! Looks very neat and yes I would have to agree about the "pucker" factor. Great as always.

Regards,

Ben

Edited by gtwister09

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Troy, That saddle would be a challenge with out the stamping.. with it is an awsome piece of work!!

I have never seen a seat rig up in this part on the world.

Andy

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Guys, I have slept since then. As you can see the date on the photo is 2002. I used my regular 13-15 oz. but picked it to the light end and I think it weighed maybe 32ish lbs. , but I really don't remember exactly.

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Troy,

Very cool design. Question on your "insert-state-name-here" twist stirrup leathers. Is the wrap portion that comes on around and makes the stirrup hobble strap secured with a buckle or a hackamore hanger type knot? Yeah, I know I'll catch some flack. Here is a really different saddle with your distinctive floral patterns and all I can come up with is question on a skinny ol' piece of latigo. I promise I'll come up with a better question on the next one.

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Hey, I appreciate you guys compliments very much.

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Bruce,

I put a buckle on my stirrup hobbles and it's usually in the front. Don't know why I don't have it showing in this photo.

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Troy,

Is the top piece one piece without any separation at either end? I have been toying with making one all one piece but have been a bit uncertain as to shaping and getting the back skirt high enough. How did you form the first fitting? Also what did you do in the hand hole?

Keith

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Bruce,

I put a buckle on my stirrup hobbles and it's usually in the front. Don't know why I don't have it showing in this photo.

Troy,

Maybe I am reading something into this picture that is not there. Is the stirrup hobble strap an extension of the wrap for the stirrup leather? I thought it was at first look. My mind is kicking around an idea here. I like the looks of the braided wraps. Could a guy leave his two ends coming out the bottom of a short barrel braid in the front, one shorter and attach a buckle, the other longer end make that the billet end? Hmmmmm.

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First off thank youto everyone that replied to my question about the seat rig. Next Troy that is a great looking saddle. I have one more question about the seat rig. Do you double the leather under the seat to give more strength to the rigging? Does that make any sense?

Ashley

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Bruce,

It's a traditional wrap and a stirrup hobble, 2 separate pieces. I'm sure what you are considering is possible. It sounds like your making a stirrup wrap that doubles as a hobble strap.

Ashley,

Thanks for the compliment.The answer to your question is yes. On a regular seat rig you do add a liner under the seat just like you would a flat plate. You sew the bottom edge but the top tapers away under the seat jockey and is simply glued.

top_view_seat_rig.jpg

post-5656-1206990603_thumb.jpg

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Keith,

I meant to put that photo above in answer to your question. There is no separation either end. I started by making a template across the back of the cantle and cutting that line first. After I got it over the cantle I could shape it with my drawdown and then mark the spot for my horn. The hand hole is simply an oval hole. Hope that helps. Sorry the pictures in the wrong spot.

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Troy, your saddle work is amazing. After I picked my jaw up off the floor.

I can't help buy wonder how you did that. How can you make that work? With the skirts joined to the seat and swell cover in one? Won't that be an amazing thing to sew on a machine?

I think this saddle would be quite a job to reline the skirts.

Beautiful workmanship Troy...

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