steve mason Report post Posted October 10, 2008 Reading the small skirt post reminded me of some saddles that I have not seen in a long time. I have heard them called either a skeleton or poor boy saddle. From what I recall the swell, horn, cantle back are not covered, just left exposed. I remember hearing that Bob Douglas rides one of these, while visiting harwood there was one in his tack room and I remember hearing that Chuck Stormse used to make them. Anyone here made one or have any photos of one. Thanks much. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TroyWest Report post Posted October 10, 2008 Bob sent me a picture of one he made for himself. I'll try to get it on here. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elton Joorisity Report post Posted October 11, 2008 Steve, I have pics of some that I can show you in Edmonton. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Don101 Report post Posted October 11, 2008 Do you mean Hope saddles as they are realy bare, Don Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtsadl Report post Posted October 11, 2008 Hitching Post Supply in Washington was selling some skeleton rigged saddles built on Laporte cable rigged trees a few years ago they might still be on their website. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TroyWest Report post Posted October 11, 2008 Sorry it took me so long. Ignorance can be time consuming Spoke with Bob Douglas today, wanted to make sure he didn't mind me putting this on and he was more than happy for me to do so. Also got a little history. Said he started trying to find comfortable and lightweight saddles after he broke his hip many years ago and just started riding some bare trees with rigs on. Said he got the idea from reading a Will James book called 3 Mustangers. The guys in the book wanted to ride as light as possible and came up with a stripped down model. This is one of the styles Bob came up with. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timbo Report post Posted October 12, 2008 I like the gullet rigging on that rig.........any tricks to it??? Would you nail it on the inside of the gullet?? Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TroyWest Report post Posted October 12, 2008 Yes, you would need to nail it or put a couple of screws in it. Bob said he's roped a lot of things in this rig and it has held up well, never using more than a 1 1/2" strap on the front rig. He said if it works on those Mexican saddles it ought to work on one of these. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echo4V Report post Posted October 13, 2008 That rigging reminds me a lot of the style of rigging that was popular before the Sam Stagg rigging took over. If you look in the leather history forum for a thread about the coolest PDF, or something like that, you can see a lot of pictures of pre-Sam Stagg rigged saddles and the rigging mostly looks like this. David Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldtimer Report post Posted October 13, 2008 I built this light weight saddle for a lady last year. I believe this style of rigging is called mexican rigging. / Old timer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ArtS Report post Posted October 13, 2008 Thats a great looking saddle. How does she like it? Art Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echo4V Report post Posted October 13, 2008 For those of you who have built a lightweight saddle like this...how much weight did you save as opposed to one of your regular saddles? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timbo Report post Posted October 14, 2008 I AM LOVIN' THIS THREAD!!!!!!!!!!! Since I am going to build my first saddle this winter and it is going to be a light weight trail saddle, this thread is just what I am looking for. Keep the pics coming guys, if anybody has anything light weight or rigged different post some pics up of it. From what I have come up with David it is very easy to get one of these down to 25 lbs but some can go as low as 17-18 lbs!!! Sure alot easier to sling off and on the horse for sure!! It will also make up for the weight of personal gear I have to carry. Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TroyWest Report post Posted October 14, 2008 Yes Timbo, you are correct on the weight, Bob said it was about 20 lbs. less than a regular saddle. You cant really tell from the photo I put on but the ground seat goes over the top of the cantle and that is what you see nailed down on the cantle back. There is no separate binder to sew so these make pretty fast as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mulefool Report post Posted October 14, 2008 I posted in the skirt thread about the saddle I've been riding for a few years. I also had a chance to ride one of those skeleton rigged LaPorte trees that Hitching Post supply carried. I really liked it. I like the cantle binding in Bob Douglas saddle. I guess you wouldn't need a cantle filler either for that type of thing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldtimer Report post Posted October 14, 2008 (edited) Thats a great looking saddle. How does she like it?Art She loves it ! It weighs 11 kilos, about half the weight of a regular western saddle. Edited October 14, 2008 by oldtimer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldtimer Report post Posted October 14, 2008 (edited) For my personal use I built this Santa Fe style saddle built on a Timberline tree. I often ride the trail in the Swedish mountains, and I find no sense in carrying a lot of leather in my saddle, so I built this skeleton rig. The horn cap is made of rosewood with a brass Texas star inletted ( saddle bling bling ). A lot of weight can be saved by choosing light weight stirrups and 10/12 oz leather. Weight of this saddle: 10 kilos / Old Timer Edited October 14, 2008 by oldtimer Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Echo4V Report post Posted October 14, 2008 Mulefool-that cantle binding (with the scalloped edges and a brass nail in each scallop) is actually fairly common on gaited saddles. In fact I just bought one from a member on another forum ( which I believe you also belong to) that has that cantle binding, the only difference is that the back of the cantle is covered then the seat is stretched over that and nailed down. I think it makes for a pretty good looking cantle, and probably saves some time in finishing. The saddles that are shown on this thread are all perfect examples of what I've been thinking about building ( and why I started the skirts thread), you folks on this forum are truly a fount of knowledge. David Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Timbo Report post Posted October 15, 2008 This is not necassarily a skeleton rigged saddle but it is a pretty minimal saddle. Question for the saddle makers is.........do you think it could be made from one side??? I will not be taking the ground seat pieces from the same side either. Let me know what you think. Tim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldtimer Report post Posted October 16, 2008 This is not necassarily a skeleton rigged saddle but it is a pretty minimal saddle. Question for the saddle makers is.........do you think it could be made from one side??? I will not be taking the ground seat pieces from the same side either.Let me know what you think. Tim I don´t think one side of leather will be enough, so I´ll suggest that you order two sides just to be sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
D.A. Kabatoff Report post Posted October 16, 2008 (edited) I'm not generally a big fan of the aesthetics of skeleton saddles but I came across a saddle on Ebay that has quite a nice look to it; the link is below. http://cgi.ebay.com/VAQUERO-SADDLE-STERLIN...id=p3286.c0.m14 also have a second ebay link to an antique cable rigged saddle. From the looks of the saddle I'd guess it to be 80 years of age or older. http://cgi.ebay.com/Saddle-Vintage-Cable-r...id=p3286.c0.m14 Darc Edited October 16, 2008 by D.A. Kabatoff Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted October 17, 2008 How does a cable rigged saddle work? Is there a pro or con with them? Tony. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
barra Report post Posted October 17, 2008 Barra. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tonyc1 Report post Posted October 17, 2008 Barra. Thanks, Barra. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
