Tree Repair

[CWR]

I'm back needing some advice. I've got a saddle in the shop for repair. When I took it down I noticed that the rawhide is torn where the stirrup leather slot was cut. Is there anyway to patch that that will give it some strength? The bar is not broken and the tear is on the top side.

Thanks,

CW

[horsewreck]

CW when I see a break in the rawhide on a tree the first thing I do is figure out how it got there. If it is at the end of the stirrup leather slot and it looks more like a cut with clean edges it may be the result of the builder nicking the tree with his knife when he was cutting out the ground seat leather for the stirrup slots. Sometimes it takes years for a knife nick to open up the full depth of the hide. If it has jagged edges and is torn I would check that tree over real close because that sort of injury is the result of stress on the tree. Sometimes a break in the tree is not right at the same spot as the break in the rawhide, so you have to snoop around a little. The most common place I see real breaks in saddle bars is the rear of the stirrup slots, this is real common on cutter bars because they are so thin in that area to start with. The quick fix for sealing up rawhide for me is fiberglass resin, even though it makes that area of the rawhide a little more rigid than the usual varnishes and sealers tree builders use. Long story short if it is a cut, seal it up, if it is torn, check it out a little more. I'm sure the other guys have their ways to seal up rawhide, find what works the best for you. I hope this helps a little... Jeff

[CWR]

r

CW when I see a break in the rawhide on a tree the first thing I do is figure out how it got there. If it is at the end of the stirrup leather slot and it looks more like a cut with clean edges it may be the result of the builder nicking the tree with his knife when he was cutting out the ground seat leather for the stirrup slots. Sometimes it takes years for a knife nick to open up the full depth of the hide. If it has jagged edges and is torn I would check that tree over real close because that sort of injury is the result of stress on the tree. Sometimes a break in the tree is not right at the same spot as the break in the rawhide, so you have to snoop around a little. The most common place I see real breaks in saddle bars is the rear of the stirrup slots, this is real common on cutter bars because they are so thin in that area to start with. The quick fix for sealing up rawhide for me is fiberglass resin, even though it makes that area of the rawhide a little more rigid than the usual varnishes and sealers tree builders use. Long story short if it is a cut, seal it up, if it is torn, check it out a little more. I'm sure the other guys have their ways to seal up rawhide, find what works the best for you. I hope this helps a little... Jeff

Thanks Jeff. Thats kinda what I had in mind but I wanted to check before I went to smearing stuff on the tree. I'm pretty sure that this is from the rawhide being scored when the slots were cut. I can't make the tree move, but I will go over it real good again before I put it back together.

Hope your getting some rain.

cw

Edited April 22, 2012 by CWR