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You're getting better and better at this Ron.

Hey, guys, . . . simple question for all saddle makers, fixers, etc.

When I was a youngster growing up in the 50's and early 60's, lots of people around our area had horses and / or ponies.

ALL THE SADDLES had relatively thin, chrome polished, saddle horns.

Now, . . . they are all fat, . . . leather covered, . . . and it seems lately that they all are covered in some kind of grey leather, . . . vinyl, . . . or some kind of product.

Can someone explain the how and why of the changes, . . . would love to hear it.

May God bless,

Dwight

Good question Dwight.  I grew up in the late 40's, 50's in the city, and the only horse/pony I ever had was those I could dream about on TV on Saturday mornings.  I used to lay by the heat register in the morning pouring over the Sears and Roebuck,  and the Montgomery Ward catalogs , drooling over the saddles, wishing I had me one.  In retrospect the seems to be the way I remember it too.  Course my memory ain't what it used to be.  Just curious also.

Bob

Holy cow you're as old as my mother Dwight.

Saddle horns vary with region and the style of the saddle. For most people the horn doesn't serve any purpose and for most beginners it's an "oh shit" handle. While the horn on a reining saddle is fairly short and small it's longer than normal and narrow on a barrel saddle and on many trail saddles the horn is removed completely.  And then there are the trick rider saddles which have a horn that looks like a pole sticking out.

A lot of things are due to changes in fashion though  Other things are due to the style. Just thinking of the saddle Bob made for that western dressage rider. The horn could and probably should be just a little stump to prevent getting caught on it during a posting trot. They will have to find their way yet.

For quite some time and some tree makers, still do it that way, saddle horns have been made from metal and been bolted to the fork. That might not be as strong and solid as today's laminated trees and horns. Here's a good page for you to read http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/understanding-tree-measurements/the-basics-on-horns/

In the end it might just be that things change. Way back when... trees were just wood, then they got covered with rawhide, now they are mostly covered with fiberglass and a company in Germany only covers them with boat lacquer. 

What you consider to be grey leather might just be rawhide or a dally wrap (like Ron did here), which is added to protect the leather. The later will mostly be found on working saddles. But what exactly it is you're referring to, I don't know. 

Hello Dwight,

The reason I use wood post horns and a leather wrap is for the purpose of actual ranch roping.

We rope and dally.  The bigger wood post horn means there is a larger surface area to help slow the rope down.  The wrap is called 'Mule Hide' - Its usually a split of some type.  I use 5oz chap leather.  This provides a wear layer as a lot of friction is created by 'running rope'.  Running rope is the process of dallying and letting the rope 'run' around the horn.  The more wraps the less the rope will run. Four wraps on a horn like this will stop a big critter.  

The large diameter horn allows us to use the horn like a clutch on our rope - Slowly bringing everything to a stop when we have something large roped.  Also, it allows us to slip rope if we are pulling something heavy like a bull.  This frees up our horses feet.

It just a practical thing for saddles that are used in ranch situations where roping will happen.

R

Thanks, Thor and rd123, . . . it was just one of those "hmmmm" moments we all get from time to time, . . . and I originally wanted to just throw my questions anad observations over to "fashion" and let it go at that.

The wrap was what got me to ask, . . . I knew there was something more than I knew about it.

I purchased an old "Jumbo" saddle from a pawn shop in Colorado, . . . it's most likely at least several years older than I am, . . . was once a beautiful saddle, . . . but has been "cowboy" repaired a few times.  It has a larger horn, leather wrapped, and has a piece of black garment leather glued around it. 

Now I know the why and how to some of my questions, . . . and I just wanted to say thanks.  

Oh, and, . . . yes, I have ridden the saddle, . . . and it is a comfortable one.  But it spends most of its time sitting on a home made saddle stand, adorning the entrance to my leather shop.

May God bless,

Dwight

Bondo Bob I laughed when I read your post about pouring over the catalogs. I did the exact same thing!  I was one horse crazy kid. For hours, weekend after weekend in the winters when I couldn't or didn't want to be outside. I wanted one of each of them!