3arrows

Sorry, I forgot to add after my first post that the name "HereFord" was found on one of the under saddle plates under the front skirt. I didnt look there at first, but a local saddle maker found it and also said the number on the rear skirt was the model number. I'm not trying to argue the points here, I know what I dont know, and I am a rank novice. Just didnt appreciate the off hand "it must be mexican" comment, with only 3 pictures to go by. Thanks for the input, Im trying to learn as much as I can and your efforts to stear me in the right direction were appreciated as well as your professional comments. Constructive criticism is always more beneficial than diminutive babble. Thanks again for weighing in on this one... cheers ron.

Need to look closer Andy, this saddle is a quality saddle and not a mex cardboard junker. The carving in this saddle is very deep and required a lot of work and skill. I rode this saddle over the weekend on another 3 hour trail ride and I have taken it off of our for sale list I like it so much. Im keeping it. It is very comfortable and easy to ride. Thanks for your less than accurate opinion... BTW, It is a Hereford saddle made in 1971 and was their top of the line model called the "Trail Boss".......ron

Ok, had a local saddle maker look at this saddle and he said this was definitely a BigHorn saddle. He was familiar with the padded fenders and also said this saddle was their Equitation Saddle for Western Pleasure Equitation classes. Seems like the equitation model has a higher front which causes the rider to sit in a more upright position. I would have throught this was a Bona Allen saddle because of the tooling design, since I have another BA that is similar..thanks anyway ron.

Hi, I bought this saddle a couple of days ago, it has no name on it, only a number on the latigo tab No."574". Any ideas of who might have made this oldie? Notice the padded fenders and corners of each skirt. Ive never seen that on any saddle before. Thanks for any help you might give on identifying this saddle..thanks ron

Thanks Dave, good advice. I started today actually, I bought an old saddle at the local tack auction and completely disassembled it tonight. It had a broken "O" ring rigging on the off side, the cantle is cracked and no stirrup leathers, so I got it for $17. The saddle turned out to be quite a nice saddle. Im going to repair it, stain it and see how it turns out. The leather is still in great shape, with no cracking or deterioration. Thanks for the advice... ron

Hello, thanks for letting me join this forum, Im happy that I found it. I am retired and my wife and I just started a used saddle business. Right now we sell only on EBAY, but will eventually have a store front to display our tack. One thing that Im looking for is a way to identify saddles, right now we only buy Bona Allen, Simco, Circle Y, Billy Cook and Hereford and a few Big Horns. There are a lot of used "no name" saddles and Id like a way to identify them, if for no other reason, to stay away from the junk out there, but more appropriately to find some good deals. WE only intend to sell good used western working, pleasure and trail saddles. Any suggestions as to how to identify the older saddles that were farmed out as "no name" by some of the bigger saddle makers?? Any books that would help with this??? thanks for any help that you might give... ron :horse: PS: Im also learning how to repair them, as Im very adept at fixing and repairing just about anything..