CourtneyYEG

Hello. I'm not a saddle maker by any stretch of the imagination - I'd just like to replace the keepers on my saddle. I tried Tandy Leather, but they don't seem to sell the pieces pre-cut and ready to go. I've found a couple US sites that will sell me the finished keepers - I'll pay $15 for the items and almost $40 USD for shipping. Is that normal? Does anyone have a lead on a Canadian supplier that might be able to sell me just a couple of these finished pieces without an inflated shipping price? I've got a couple calls into local saddle makers, but I'm not having much luck with that either. Anyone have any leads or suggestions for me? Thank you!

Hello. I'm in the market for a new saddle and I'm shopping used since my budget doesn't support a brand new saddle. I've come across a few decent looking used saddles, but the brands give me pause. I know they're production saddles, but I can't find much online to tell me if they're good or bad. The first is Irvines - I'm looking at an Irvines Association saddle. The second is Texas Saddle Co, in a wade style. I know Irvines is a great Alberta gem for the western rider, but I've never ridden in one of their saddles and I'm not sure if it's actually decent. As a rider, I'm fairly recreational. I have a preference for how Wades and Roping saddles sit me and while I'm not 100% sure what an association tree is, I've heard that it's quite popular and a lot of people who ride this tree like how it seats them. I've been browsing Ranch World Ads as well, but with the weak Canadian dollar, I have to basically double the USD list price to get a good idea of what it'll cost to buy and ship into Canada. Has anyone heard, used or worked on an Irvines or Texas Saddle Co saddle? What were your thoughts?

The newest Wordpress update, Gutenberg, is quite handily breaking a lot of websites who use any themes with page builders. However, they installed a workaround that allows you to continue using the classic editor. Eventually, they'll stop supporting it, but for now... it's an okay workaround.

Sorry, I’m still figuring my way around here. I’m in the Edmonton area, but will travel within a couple hours in any direction. I just wasn’t sure if it was a relatively easy fix or something that was more trouble than it’s worth.

Pardon my ignorance, but is it possible to change the style of a Cheyanne roll on a saddle? I’m looking at a saddle that fits my needs in every way, but the Cheyanne roll has weird rope lacing on it. I prefer plain Cheyanne rolls without any fancy lacing, buckstitch or whatever else people do to dress it up. Is it possible to change that without damaging the rest of the saddle? The saddle itself is a hard seat roper with a roughout seat. I assume it’s possible, but I wanted to confirm first. Is the cost comparable to that of a new saddle? I don’t mind spending a couple hundred dollars on that, but would hate to get a bill for $1000 to repair what “appears” to be a relatively straight forward change. Thank you!