Thanks Denise for the idea, and those others that took time to look or make comments. One of the nice things about leatherwork, or I suspect any other hobby is you never quite get things right, and that keeps you coming back for more.
Still, its nice when people praise your efforts.
Here is a picture of a exercise saddle tree. Most of them are made out of aluminum, although fiberglass, and sometimes wood, reinforced with metal
are also used. Most of the metal ones are stamped Mexico, although I get mine cast locally. The metal piece attached to the side are called stirrup bars, and are supposed to release if a rider comes off, and is being drug. It is far from a perfect mechanism, and can be good or useless, depending on the saddle. I do a lot of repairs for the local racetrack, and on average get at least 50 a year where something has gone wrong with the tree. Occasionally, the tree itself breaks, but the most common problem is failure of the rivets that hold the stirrup bar in place. Not a pleasant feeling if you are a rider!
This is getting long, perhaps I will change my moniker to Windy.
Doug