Why Is Woolskin Put On The Underside Of A Western Saddle?

[GrampaJoel]

Is there anyone here that can tell me why wool skin is put on the underside of a western saddle?

Does it serve a practical purpose?

[AndyKnight]

Is there anyone here that can tell me why wool skin is put on the underside of a western saddle?

Does it serve a practical purpose?

helps to prevent pad and or blanket slippage...

[jwwright]

.........my answer is the same here , just as Andy said...........In my experience, the "cushion" effect of the woolskin is minimal, if any, after it is broke in. It serves to help keep the blankets from slipping. Another material, wool felt, was widely used in the past, and in our part of the cowboy country, is coming back in popularity. JW

[steve mason]

Is there anyone here that can tell me why wool skin is put on the underside of a western saddle?

Does it serve a practical purpose?

because it's to hard to find dog skins that are big enough.

[TwinOaks]

since there's' already a legitimate answer.......

....because it'd look just plain silly to put a sheep on horseback.

[Traveller]

and because it's pretty

[GrampaJoel]

jwwright

.........my answer is the same here , just as Andy said...........In my experience, the "cushion" effect of the woolskin is minimal, if any, after it is broke in. It serves to help keep the blankets from slipping. Another material, wool felt, was widely used in the past, and in our part of the cowboy country, is coming back in popularity. JW

Thanks for your response Mr. Wright and also AndyKnight . On both sites.

I am truly looking for an answer here. You seem to be the only person(s) willing to commit to an answer that isn't a silly reply.

[TroyWest]

I believe that much of what we do on western saddles is done done for aesthetics and/or tradition. Aesthetics simply means the study of beauty, and there is nothing wrong with tradition, if it is a good tradition. A saddle doesn't have to have woolskins. It doesn't even have to have a skirt. You could cut out a set of rigs with a pocket knife. Hang them on a tree , add stirrup leathers and ride a horse, rope, barrel race, whatever. You don't have to have a swell cover, housings, horn cover, not even a seat, certainly doesn't need tooling. Without all of these things it just doesn't look very western. I don't think there is a set of rules that says it has to be a certain way, but if it's not that way, it won't look like a cowboy saddle. These things simply developed over time and became acceptable in a western culture. Saddles from the Orient look nothing like our western saddles. But we like the look of our western saddles much better.

I have seen western saddles lined with woolskin, felt, foam covered with chap leather, and synthetic wool. A top end saddle will , for the most part be covered with a real woolskin. Somewhere in the past some maker lined his skirts with a real woolskin. He probably had it readily available, and it looked good, worked well and liked it. Others followed suit. It is now a very well accepted method of lining saddle skirts. I don't know if anyone could really say it started at a specific point in time as they have been saddling animals since the book of Genesis. Somebody, somewhere, threw a woolskin across his mounts back. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. I'm guessing they didn't start sewing them on until the invention of the sewing machine, although Al Stohlman did sew his all by hand. I have built a saddle where the customer requested that I sew his woolskin on by hand. That's my $.02.

Troy West

[bruce johnson]

Troy,

Was sewing the woolskin on by hand as much fun for you as my first couple were? Made me appreciate a machine more when I got it. Now I even cringe when I have to resew pocketed bars or riggings.

Joel,

I am going to agree with everyone who said woolskins help hold blankets. I am sure historically they got started because they were the best source of cushioning available too. I rode a saddle back in the day called an "Innovater". It had a slick bottom and that was the era of the carpet pads. Might have been the tree, rigging, the pad, or the horse but it rolled all over and nothing stayed in place. This was western pleasure show ring stuff. You hear about the cavalry guys dismounting, airing the back, resetting blankets, and leading a mile every so many too. Makes me sort of wonder how those saddles really worked.

[Saddlebag]

A friend was loaned an economy saddle that has almost zip for fleece. Everytime the horse cantered her pad shot out the back. Proof that the fleece helps hold the pad, especially if the top of it is wool.