Saddle Identification, Restoration & Repair
Questions and Answers for restoring and repairing saddles and tack, routine maintenance expected and help with the care of antiques or special saddles. Can't identify the maker's mark? Post it here. Interested in the history of your saddle? Ask.
695 topics in this forum
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Hi guys, hope you are all having a great Memorial Day Holiday. I need some help on the history of the Billy Cook Saddles. Does anybody know the story around Billy Cook going out of business and selling the design to Simco/Longhorn? I have a Greenville Tx Billy Cook saddle and think it is a great saddle, only to be told by another person that this is actually a Simco saddle not a BC saddle afterall?? Any help on the history of these saddles and the history of Billy Cook? thanks ron
Last reply by darksdeebar, -
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- 4 replies
- 261 views
I have been getting more jobs from the local Icelandic horse community over the past year. The tack isn't radical different from what I normally repair, but the saddles look a bit different. This time at home I was asked to replace a girth strap that had broken. It is a first time for me to see a girth strap that is sewed directly to the saddle flap. It was just sandwiched between the inner and outer layer and sewn. As it can be seen on the lower picture, the strap was originally sewn across the width, which seems strange to me. However, the split didn't happen directly along the sewing though it looks as it has started in one corner. The sewing along the edge …
Last reply by Mulesaw, -
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- 354 views
Does anyone know of the history behind Zary South Saddles out of Tucson Az? Looking online I havn't found much, but found one saddle that had makers marks for Zary South and N. Porter, and supposedly Zary worked for or with Porter at some point? I have a couple Zary South saddles that are on my list to clean-up or restore. They're old family saddles and I'm hoping to learn some more about them (pictures to come).
Last reply by mbnaegle, -
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I have an old Billy cook saddle that was made in Sulfur Oklahoma with the number 2070 on it and was trying to identify what saddle this was exactly. Its got tooling all over it.
Last reply by siderider, -
- 1 follower
- 20 replies
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This time at home, one of my customers asked if I could repair the saddle flap of an Equipe saddle, where the outer layer of leather had been worn through. She had bought the saddle second hand since it fit both her and her horse perfectly, so she is not the one who has managed to wear the saddle flap to this extent. Actually I am kind of puzzled as to why it was only worn through on the right hand side of the saddle, but the left side had just a bit of normal wear, so either the previous owner must have had used her right leg more, or perhaps have used some abrasive things on her right leg, like an unprotected zipper? For once I have managed to take pictures …
Last reply by Mulesaw, -
- 3 followers
- 34 replies
- 4.9k views
I have been making holsters, sheathes, pouches, belts, etc. My daughter came up for Christmas, and dropped a new project on my bench. One of her friends has an old saddle she loves, and her fenders are badly worn. "See if you can redo the fenders," my daughter said, "the attached stirrup leathers should be fine." The fenders were tooled in a basket weave pattern. "Nope, she'd actually rather lose the basket weave, it's been eating up her legs for years. A border would be okay." This will be a new experience. Break down the existing pieces, saving the parts that are still good, and the hardware. I ordered the saddle skirting weight from Makers, …
Last reply by Brokenolmarine, -
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I have had this saddle for 17 years, fits my Arab great! Wondering when it was actually made? Anybody know? I have modified it slightly, changed the concho's and put on black strings and solid black stirrup's I showed in it for 5 years everything from western pleasure to reining, and use it all the time on the trails.
Last reply by Gram, -
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J Z Horter Co out of Habana I picked up this old square skirt saddle because it had a maker's name on it. Unfortunately, I can't find out anything about this maker in my books or with Google. In fact, I've never heard of Habana either. Thanks, Greg
Last reply by Carlos Asse, -
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The family of Charles Martinez, owner of McCabe Silversmiths from 1935-1960, has just recently completed assembling the saddle from marked silver pieces left behind since his death in 1960. It was a collaboration of artists including the Stanton family who purchased the last of the McCabe business along with a well know leather tooler, Bob Scott using traditional patterns and color as Dad would of done. The Ketchum Saddlery was always dad's preferred leather outfit, but they are no longer in business so we had to search out someone who could fill their boots and feel we found the best in the trade with the guidance of Tony Stanton. We believe that Dad was possibly …
Last reply by hollyharvey3, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
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I found a saddle that is, from Legacy Saddlery. It only has black marker four a number on the underside of the pommel/ horn. It is stamped legacy, saddlery behind the horn, and it also has an "L" stamped on the outside of the stirrup leather above the stirrup. An extensive search on the internet, nothing. I'm trying to figure out the maker of this saddle.It's very well made. Its very wide flat bars.
Last reply by MamiaGirl,
