just finished

[TroyWest]

Real nice work Andy. Hummingbirds about to feed on the flower is a nice touch. I like the hobble buckles too.

I like the shape of them. I like your tree too. Is that a nightlatch on the offside? Tell 'em they won't get thrown outta that saddle! Nice job.

[mudman]

That sure is a nice rig! Just simply beautiful.

[LarryB]

wow thats nice.... That is SO nice. Look at all the tooling and done so nice. I like the birds in white... sets the back off perfectly...

[gtwister09]

Andy,

Great work! Great clean looking saddle. Lots of nice touches from the partial tooling/stamping to the billets, hummingbirds and matching ostrich inlays/bucking rolls. Many others have stated all the great details. Tutorials from you would be a great thing. I would throw my hat in to encourage tutorials out of you as well.

Regards,

Ben

[Ian]

Wow...just WOW!

[Duke]

oh man, im drooling! that is exactly the kind of saddle I want to learn to make. your attention to detail is overwhelming. the hummingbirds are a nice one off touch, as are the stirrup hobble buckles. nice deep depth in your carving, I am in awe. I am hoping to become good enough to turn something like this out. I know this will take time, and I am more than willing to learn. that is why I have given myself 8 months to prep to do a saddle, including making my own draw down saddle stand, and a few other things before I jump into it. any tips, tricks, pointers, anything at all, if not a tutorial, would be awesome. thank you so much for sharing this with us.and btw, there is something I have bneen meaning to ask, and maybe you or others can shed some light on this: the latigo strap that is wrapped arounf the the stirrup leather, that is to turn the stirrup so that you dont have undo muscle strain right? how do I do it?thanks

[AndyKnight]

Troy,

That is ac "o sh..t strap" on the swell. Doesn't do much for the saddle. I have some better pics without that and the bucking rolls on another camera but hav't got them downloaded yet.

Duke... The latigo wraps on the stirrup leather are about 90 percent show and 10 percent function. The stirrup leathers are twisted and wrapped prior to putting them ib the saddle. I use a stirrup twister which will also pre stretch them a certain amount

This is all done with the fenders and where you want to twist them wet. so when they are dry they will hold there shape forever as long as the riders don't mess with them. The wraps just cover the area where the backwards twist is set in. In the past I have done lots where I don't put the wraps on. I will post a pic of my stirrup jig one day.

[Duke]

thank you for the expleanation. I am definitely interested in viewing your jig.my gf asked me what that strap was also, and thats exactly what i told her,that is was like the oh sh!t handle in your car.I like it, and definitely wish I had one on my saddle a few weeks ago, when my QH mare went to full on buckin with me on her.needless to say, I will be making one

[CitizenKate]

You saddlemakers are just freaking amazing.

Kate

[LadyJ]

Wade tree, bucking rolls (squawk tits is the politically incorrect cowboy name), round skirt and the humming birds/flower combination is so unique. WOW!!! Now please tell me how much it weighs?

I ride an old Capriola that is basically the same rig (only not as nice or well finished as yours --- really). Mine is well balanced and light enough I can ride it in endurance without soring a horse's back. That is because it is almost as centered as a dressage saddle). My Capriola is injured (maybe fatally) and I was thinking about finding a new saddle built like it-- but trying to lighten it even more.

If you could use the lightest leather (that won't stretch out too much), and your lightest tree, and eliminate all nonessentials except D rings for snapping things on the saddle (like water bottles, sponges), what would you guess is the lightest you could make that saddle?