a question about in-skirt rigging

[Shelly]

Shelly,What I said was there is nothing wrong with a Skirt Rigging.I really Like flat plate or a skirt rigged saddle.My most ordered saddles are flat plates and ring riggings set at 3/4 or 7/8s

Steve

Sorry, I stand corrected - I would like to say that the flat plate is my personal 'second choice' - this is so much better than a full double or dropped rigged saddle, in my opinion! Have made some of these for the ranchers around - have you ever made any 'seat riggings'?? They are an interesting saddle - I think I saw something on the threads about them before it all crashed...I've only seen a few, and again, from talking to the cowboy that had a few of them, they are very popular in his area of the country - and I've just not seen them too far outside of that...he did admit that they could pinch at the slot on the seat, but overall, he liked them fine...I'd asked him if he'd ever tried a flat plate, but he hadn't...attached is a pic of his saddle - note the seat jockeys are lined with a heavy liner, as a flat plate would be done, but I could see where this type of rigging would reduce the bulk under your leg by 1 thickness, anyway...also, it may be you would have a very smooth motion with fender swing, but he also mentioned that the slot would have to be longer to accomodate being able to go farther forward, as he felt it did prevent that some...might be able to leave it this way, (a question would be how much you give up in stout/integrity of the saddle by lengthening the slot - would it be a benefit or a worry),and change up the fender/stirrup leather design to get that if desired...my concern on something like this is the repair costs involved on down the road, should this ever fail in a 'big' way...!

Edited August 1, 2008 by Shelly