Mule Saddle

[Billy H]

Made this Wade Mule Saddle for a fellow who likes to ride in the Colorado Rockies.

[benlilly1]

Beautiful! You do great work!

[yoboverthetop]

Great job. I really like the nicely balanced two-tone look you've created.

[Trox]

Very nice!

Tor

[oldtimer]

What is the main difference between a horsetree and a mule tree?

Nice saddle BTW

Knut

[Dwight]

Good looking saddle, . . . looks like a lot of effort went into that one.

Oldtimer beat me to my question, though.

May God bless,

Dwight

[Tosch]

Oldtimer,

A mule saddle tree has less rock because a mule's back is straighter/flatter than a horse's back.

Tosch

[BondoBobCustomSaddles]

Nice job Bill, I like the overall look of the saddle, and am sure that it will look right at home on one of those long eared critters!

Bob

[Billy H]

Thanks for your nice comments.

I not not a mule expert, in fact this is my first mule saddle. The tree I built on is one of Jon Watsabaughs.

The tree fit some horses really nice also. In fact one of my horses it fit really well and was considering making myself a new Wade.

Jon makes beautiful trees. Thanks Billy

[GrampaJoel]

Very clean lines!

Nice job.

[yoboverthetop]

oldtimer, I have Harry Adams' book here, Saddlemaker's Shop Manual. He says the following...

"Mules require a wider and lower gullet with a flatter bar angle than horses of the same weight and size"

[rcsaddles]

The bars should also be shorter than a quarterhorse tree.

[Billy H]

Well Oldtimer- Looks like your getting some input to a Mule tree and or their Bars.

The fellow I built this saddle for has a couple of Mules. They had very different conformation, not sure if this saddle would fit well on his other critters.

Thanks Billy

Edited April 29, 2013 by Billy H

[vacacaballo]

I just came across the following on Ed Steele's site, regarding tree fit for mules. This is how he describes their mule fit designation.

SE - Mule (Mule) - Reduced bow and steeper front rafter angle to conform to the distinctive mule back. Helps prevent the back of the saddle rocking up when cinched, which creates tremendous pressure under the stirrup leather when the rider's weight pushes it back down.

http://www.equi-flex.com/FTTH3.html

Edited May 9, 2013 by vacacaballo

[Billy H]

A word to the wise..........

Trading a Custom saddle for labor in return may not work out so well.

Lots of ----- I will be there and then no shows or very sloppy work.

A expensive lesson for sure.

[WinterBear]

So he got a mule saddle and you got the shaft?

[Billy H]

Wishing everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

[oltoot]

As the years have gone by and people have started breeding for "good" saddle mules, selecting mares and jacks for more 'horselike' instead of 'donkey like' conformation, the idea of a different kind of saddle fitting all mules has become a myth. Just like selecting specific trees for specific horses, mules must be treated as individuals. The new or novice mule owner must make the same kind of long term decisions about future use. All that said, the generalizations about rock and gullet configuration are good generalizations.

[Denise]

Interesting that Harry Adams says mules require a flatter bar angle and Steeles say they need a steeper angle. Shows how much mules (an opinions about them) can vary... The only thing that seems to be relatively consistent is that most mules need less rock than most horses, but how much less can vary quite a bit. Bar length would also vary depending on the size of the mule.

[Billy H]

I think there will always be different opinions on saddle fit and saddle tree fit and how to go about it.

For me----- I enjoy these disscusions, gives me things to think about on my next saddle.

Here is something to ponder. How old should the Mule or Horse be before you have a Custom Tree and or Saddle built?

My little story----- I started a 5 year old gelding in the summer of 2012. I am not a great horseman yet ( working hard on that ).

He has been a real challenge for me to get him coming along. The saddle I started with fit very well on his back.

This summer I had great opportunities to ride on a fairly large ranch and work some cows. I figured that he had done most of his growing. Boy was I wrong, not only did he grow taller but his confirmation changed a lot. Bigger shoulders and his back also change some. Long story short the saddle we started with does not fit well any more. New saddle being started this month.

[oltoot]

More generalizations. They are a little slower to mature and, if not pushed too hard too young, tend to live longer useful lives than horses so your experience suggests 5. But you may well find that with pads to fill in the gaps while waiting you will have more long term use for the saddle that works on 5 yr olds than the one that works on 2-3 yr olds.

[Billy H]

Oltoot,

I started this horse at 5 yrs old. He changed considerably from 5 to present day.

Maybe he is just a late bloomer, kinda like me . Regards Billy