Billy H

Thank you for your answer Bob. I have said it before I think your saddles have a great look--- Old westerns! would really like to see that saddle on a horse--- beat it looks awesome! westers dressage ? I've watched a few competition, each one very different from the next. I figure it's sort of Free style, but everyone's having fun! Take care my friend, Billy

Hi Bob, Very good looking saddle! Setting stirrup leathers back is interesting-- is this common with western dressage riders?

Thank you for the reply

Is anybody having trouble seeing pictures posted ? Billy

Hi Nate, Wishing you good luck in your adventure to building your own saddle! Some great advice on where to start from. You will be surprised at the cost of starting your first saddle. Good tools are not cheap but really make a difference in the final project plus they just work better. I had to laugh when Keith mentioned building a airplane in ones garage, being a retired airline pilot I can assure you that it is not a good idea. The saddle tree is so important to a good saddle. Custom saddle trees are expensive but worth the extra money in my opinion. Rod and Denise Nikkel make really nice trees and they contribute to this forum a lot with great advice. I had a chance to see a few of their trees at Keith Seidels Work shop in Sheridan this spring. This forum has so much information about the ART of building a good saddle. If you have the opportunity try and talk to a saddle maker in your area---- sometimes they are willing to give you a little of their time in getting started. I would try and offer to pay for their time it shows respect for the time they have spent in learning their trade. I am working on saddle number 8 and I can tell you that you will find yourself getting very frustrated at all the mistakes and material discard factor that comes into play. J Watts DVD series on building a saddle is really good to watch, you will find that it will fill in a lot of the blanks in starting a saddle. Hardwoods saddle making series is better suited for someone who has a few saddles under their belt, but a real treat to watch him work. I think that anything is possible if one is willing to put the time and effort and of course $ . Regards Billy

Great Job! I was thinking the same as Tosch about your Icelandic. I wish I could find a Icelandic that was 15 hands--- they are such cool horses. Your cantle binding looks really good from the pictures. They always are a struggle for me. Billy

My wife likes to drive horses, your work looks really well done. Billy

Looking forward to your clinic Keith! Billy

My Hat is off to you Randy! Being your 3rd saddle you have done a really nice job. Regards Billy

Thank you Keith, It was a bad idea---- just had one of those moments when trying to think of how to make something work . Billy

Thank you for your thought Oltoot. I have gathered that you like a tin seat, they have a lot of merrit to that method. I believe you are right not to use Bark tanned Latigo for a leather ground seat. We are trying to keep her budget at a minimum, so I am doing my best to use left overs from previous saddles without ordering another hide. Probably a bad thought the Latigo hide; I don't think it would hold shape very well. I did find a piece of tin today and I believe I can make a strainer from it. Thank you Billy

I have had a hide of Bark Tanned Latigo that I bought quite awhile back. It felt as though it had hardly any Hot stuffed wax or oil in it and took water almost like Skirting leather. That said it does not mold or shape as well as skirting leather. So it has been sitting rolled up in the corner of my little shop for sometime now. I am going to build a young lady a Wade saddle with her request for a All Leather Ground Seat. The seat will have very little rise to it. What are your thoughts on using this hide for the Ground Seat? Thank you in advance, Billy

Glad to see you found a saddle! I hope it fits you and your horse well and you can get some good riding in---- in the end that's what it's all about. Regards Billy

archer 55, I can't tell much from your pictures, but maybe someone else might. I agree with CWR ,Josh Ashman and Keith that McAll saddles are a pretty decent production saddle. The site you gave at $2,400 surprised me if they are advertising as new. Its been a while since I looked at one but when I priced them they were closer to the $3,000 mark. Maybe they have a less expensive line these days. Curious what saddle you used on this horse before starting your search? Don't know what part of the country you live in but Brighten Saddlery in Colorado has a bunch of McCall saddles. The owner "Roger" used to own part of McCall Saddlery and has about 30 years of experience fitting saddles, might be worth a call. Regards Billy

Just to add some thought to your search----------- remember that the horse you are buying this saddle for is a mixed breed and I will bet that he has some fairly wide shoulders and maybe a shorter back. You might find that the standard tree will not fit well. So if buying make sure in writing that there is a return agreement if the saddle does not fit correctly. If buying a used saddle you need someone with saddle experience to look over the rig and make sure it is safe for use. This site has so many folks with years of experience in not only saddle making but also saddle fitting---------- Keith Seidel Master saddle maker, Rod and Denise Nikkle who are tree makers and the list would go on and on with names. One thing that drives me crazy is folks will ask advise just like you have and then buy a saddle off the so called shelf and come back crying that the saddle sores their horse and ask what can they do to fix the problem. If they would have just listenend to wise suggestions from folks like who I mentioned they could have prevented a bad experience. You might want to post a picture or two of your horse and see what feed back you get on saddle fit. That doesn't cost you a dime and is worth a bunch. Either way I wish you good luck in your search. Regards Billy

At that price range there are plenty of really nice saddles for sale. Just google "Custom Used Western Saddles". Regards Billy PS Roofing nails in my mind shouts "cheep"

Hey Randy, I'm sorry that my posts probably didn't make much sense to you. Sometimes I get into a hurry writing. I must confess that I am a saddleaholic:) . Seems like I'm always thinking about them and how to make the next one better. A few years ago Western Horseman interviewed some of the Saddle Makers from the TCAA . The article was on what they felt was a good saddle fit ( ground seat ). WOW what a great article in that each maker had a different take on fit. Some of the most respected makers in the business each with a little different idea of what they liked. I find myself thinking of that often. So far I have built ( to the best of my ability) Tin Ground seat saddle like Jeremiah Watt in his DVD, Tin Ground seat like Dale Harwood in his DVD series, Steve Brewers All Leather Ground Seat tutorial, Dusty Johnsons 2 piece Tin Seat and sat through Al Gould two day class at Prescott. Would love to watch Keith Seidel put his Ground Seat in. All are different but the same in that their goal is to be balanced and comfortable. I guess that's why I was bringing up how a saddle feels really good on the Draw Down Stand but when I put the saddle on different horses my center of balance felt different, some horses really good and some other horses good but not what I think as perfect. Not really any help for you, just observation. Cary Schwarz saddles look like they have a good Ground seat also, I have his Buck Rolls on my last saddle; they are really well done. Super nice guy to talk too. I think I may get his Ground Seat DVD. Long winded thoughts from a fellow novice saddle maker. Billy

Left out the part that the all leather seat works better for me in getting a better ground seat. Need to do a better job of checking what I wrote. Billy

Hi Randy, It has been fun to see another fellow saddle maker go through trials and tribulations in the progression of making a better saddle. I think you're doing a great job considering that it is #2. Ground Seat---- is a real challenge for me, it seems that with every saddle I do without fail I question wether or not I have achieved my goal of the perfect seat. The last saddle I did felt just right, but when riding different horses I feel my center changing a little bit. Meaning each horse has a slightly different shape (hope that makes sense). I have built both Tin and all Leather seats and I find that I can get a better shape especially for us short legged fellows. Big Souix----- I feel your pain buddy, couple of days ago it was -19. Once I got cold I couldn't warm up. Best Regards Billy

JJD, I noticed CW has his sons saddle posted on page 8 of the Gallery also! Great looking saddle. Regards Billy

Hi JJD, I have built a saddle for both my kids and at the time, they were 7 and 9. I built both of them on 12.5 seats and have worked very well for both of them. My daughter is 13 ( hope to survive these early teenage years ) and we might get another six months out of her saddle before she just plain out grows it. That said ---- if I were to do this process over I think I would have been better off with 13.5 seats or may be even 14 inch seats. The Ground seat would have a bit more dish to them with a bigger seat. Either way they are keep sakes from Dad and will be passed on to the next generation; so it is a win win situation either way. You can see those saddles on page 8 of the saddle and tack gallery under "trying out my new camera" Both were built with Ring Rigging and have been ideal for smaller saddles. One thing I WOUD NOT DO is use Lace up stirrup leathers like I did. Every time it seems they saddle up the leathers need to be adjusted and that gets a littled old. Regards Billy

They look really nice Josh! Must have missed your post. What did you use for leather ? I have not made a Headstall yet but would like to try. Billy

Thanks for the questions rktaylor! And a big thanks to Oltoot. Keith hope it's ok I'm making your pattern in short order. Regards Billy

Hello to all, Thought I would give a up date after putting some hours in the seat. Overall --- very pleased with the saddle, it sits all the horses I have been riding very well and pulls down real nice. I built the ground seat like Dale Harwood did in his DVD series. The first 10 rides or so- felt a lot different than what I was use to, but have really gotten to like it a lot. The all in one Fork cover-Flat plate-Rear rigging seems to work very well for me and I am sure to build some other saddles with this process again. There are so many things to improve upon after yet another saddle under my belt, but I do not think that will ever end. I rushed at the end of this build and I see that every time I swing the saddle up on a horse. Hand stitching a entire saddle is very time consuming but I worked very hard at making my stitches look nice and I think that shows. I never got any crtiques on this saddle, but I would welcome them good or or what needs work. Best to all Billy

Thank you Ron, I would agree that their Chestnut is a nice color and I think one can get a lot of color out of the stamp. The last two batches where Russet and seemed to have a lot of what I call fatty lines. When oiled grain side turns a bit to red for my taste but the flesh side looks good. Really like your saddle, would love to see it on a horse. Regards Billy