skeleton or poor boy saddle

[ArtS]

Thats a great looking saddle. How does she like it?

Art

[Echo4V]

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?

[Timbo]

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

[TroyWest]

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.

[mulefool]

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.

[oldtimer]

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

[oldtimer]

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

[Echo4V]

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

[Timbo]

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

[oldtimer]

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.