Latest Off The Bench

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Here is the latest saddle I just made and delivered for one of my customers. It is for a mule as you can see in the pics. Because this mule is quite stout she couldn't find a saddle that fit him , and she is very particular with what she does and rides. She normally likes a some "bling", however; in this case while she wanted it to look good, she also wanted it to look "old timey" . This one is built on a C S Roper style tree with mule bars , a cruper D, external stirrup leathers and a 5" cantle. She wanted the dark oil look. Delivered it today, the smile on here face says it all. Feel free to critique, your comments are welcome.

Bob

[Zooker]

I don't know much about saddles, but it looks very nice to me.

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Really! Only one comment, no critiques from anyone?

[ReneeCanady]

I don't know anything about saddles either but it looks awesome to me! Great detail and it fits nicely! I have to admit the mules haircut has be cracking up. Marine mule

[David8386]

Looks good, tooling and color all blend together well. Don't know diddly about saddles but it looks good.

David

[shooter55]

Bob, Looks great. You achieved the "old timey" look in my opinion. Don't know a thing about making saddles, but I do have a question for you. Do you "custom" fit the saddle to the animal? I see saddles for sale and wondered if there is a general size or if you need to tweak them for different configurations. Just curious.

Again, very nice.

Tim

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Thanks for the kind comments from all. Shooter, the answer is that I have my trees made custom for me. When I take an order, I make a template of of the animals' back, and send it to my tree maker with the specifications that the owner wants, such as cantle height, horn type and size, style of tree ect.

Bob

[H factor]

I don't kow anything about saddles either, but it looks OUTSTANDING! I imagine its a ton of work... are you self taught? GREAT JOB GUY!

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Thanks for the comment H. I started out by just reading books, but; as I got into it, there was more that I wanted to know, so I got hold of Ann Stohlman, and corresponded with her about the things I still had questions and she sort of mentored me before she passed away. Great Lady.

Bob

[Aurelie]

Hi Bob!

I really like the look of that saddle! Nice job!

I ve got some "technical" questions for you , though

1st : about the dees: i would not have dared to use so big ones. Are not they a bit too big (not going to rub anything around?)

2d : about the saddle tree : can i ask you which saddle tree maker did it for you? i am looking around for who could build that for me (mules bars) .

3d : what is the placement of the rigging dee? from where i sit it does look like a "full" but maybe it's a trick from the picture?

4th : about the color : how did you get that "dark" aspect? is it only by oiling it? you might have spent some time oiling it ...and you oiled it with what stuff?

5th : i like the conchos screwed on the back cantle but i have not yet dared to do it...kinda afraid of going all the way through the back cantle right in the middle of the seat