Saddle tree question

[Curbstrap2]

I have been told that the trees from Steele Custom Tree and Saddle company are not the same manufacture as the Steele Equi - fit tree, despite the similar (and very confusing) names. Can someone please explain the difference to me?

[Denise]

There are two different sites I have found that use the name Steele. One is against flex trees and the other is the major maker of them, so they are different companies. Don't know any more than that.

http://www.steelesaddle.com/trees.htm

http://www.steelesaddletreellc.com/index1a.html

[David Genadek]

Saddles by Steele is run by Wayne Steele. His son Eddy Steele runs the tree company that makes the equi- fit saddle trees. They live on the same road but it seems they only talk when they absolutely have to. Eddie is a fourth-generation tree maker Wayne is the third generation. Eddie also had a brother that was involved in the saddle tree company and somewhere in there the factory got burned down and now I don't think the brother is involved anymore. Eddie had left the business for a while and was doing pattern making for local foundry but once the factory burned down he came back in and re-established everything.

Both men have an extraordinary amount of skill in the art of tree making, however, both focus on lower end markets.

David Genadek

Edited January 9, 2010 by David Genadek

[Curbstrap2]

Saddles by Steele is run by Wayne Steele. His son Eddy Steele runs the tree company that makes the equi- fit saddle trees. They live on the same road but it seems they only talk when they absolutely have to. Eddie is a fourth-generation tree maker Wayne is the third generation. Eddie also had a brother that was involved in the saddle tree company and somewhere in there the factory got burned down and now I don't think the brother is involved anymore. Eddie had left the business for a while and was doing pattern making for local foundry but once the factory burned down he came back in and re-established everything.

Both men have an extraordinary amount of skill in the art of tree making, however, both focus on lower end markets.

David Genadek

Thanks for that explanation. Part of my confusion is that it was my understanding that Saddles by Steele

http://www.steelesaddle.com/

were custom start to finish. Is this not the case and what is your definition of 'lower end market?'.

To my mind, 'lower end market' is anything bought off the rack from a shop ie: Wintec, Circle Y, Billy Royal, etc.

[David Genadek]

Thanks for that explanation. Part of my confusion is that it was my understanding that Saddles by Steele

http://www.steelesaddle.com/

were custom start to finish. Is this not the case and what is your definition of 'lower end market?'.

To my mind, 'lower end market' is anything bought off the rack from a shop ie: Wintec, Circle Y, Billy Royal, etc.

Well you used to be able to define things by price point however, in today's market we have people who are just above beginner level in their own horsemanship passing themselves off as Master horseman and selling $800 saddles for $4,500.00. So, today my criteria is going to be based primarily on materials used and construction methods utilized followed closely by overall design. In the case of Steel saddle tree company his largest customers are the larger factories and that is why he is the largest Western saddle tree manufacturer in the world. As for the Steele Saddle company I would assess it as a low end saddle because of the construction methods used and the seat design and fender position. These things tell me that they are gearing their prodiuct for people who are new in the gaited horse market who are being heavily influenced by the Tennessee style of training and riding horses.

I believe the word custom is being very overused in the market today. In my business I do not use the word custom as what I'm currently doing is customizing a factory saddle. The term I use for what I do is called Mass customization which is what most of these people that claim to be custom saddle makers are actually doing. For much of my career I have actually been a custom saddle maker so this is one of my pet peeves. A custom saddle is one in which you work with the saddle maker from the tree design to every minute detail on the saddle and the saddle makers probably going to build the entire saddle from start to finish, less than that is a variation on a production type saddle. With that said the reality is not everyone can afford a custom saddle and low end doesn't necessarily mean bad. My company builds a line of saddles that are geared for the lower end of the market. However, what we never compromise on is the design of basic functionality. It is up to the horse owner to gain enough knowledge to be able to tell the difference which certainly can be a challenge. Salesmen are not always the best group of people to get facts from.

David Genadek