santa fe.JPG

Very interesting idea. I like this saddle a lot better than the light weight synthetics. A saddle should be made from leather! Is it comfortable?

Very interesting idea. I like this saddle a lot better than the light weight synthetics. A saddle should be made from leather! Is it comfortable?

I haven't had a chance to ride it yet. I soaked and turned the stirrups so they were drying at the time I took the picture. I went with Oxbows to keep it old school looking, but might switch to bells later for comfort. The seat is comfortable on the stand, but I'll let you know if that changes once it's on the horse. Shouldn't really. I'm anticipating I'll have to be a bit more quiet in the seat since the skirts are minimal and normally a bit more prone to travel on a horse. I agree about synthetic trees. While they would work in this application since it will be used on the trails, I still prefer knowing there's a nice wooden tree under me. It also lends to the overall look of it. The pockets in the front and the way it's sewn in the back should be sufficient to prevent "curl". When I blocked the skirt, I didn't push it up around the tree from the bottom, rather down from the top. I wanted as much surface area as possible so by pushing it down, I avoided having to fill the skirt on the bottom side to make it more even with the tree.