Saddle

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

Couple years ago, at a 4-H practice we noticed another lil girl ridin a saddle that looked really neat. Our daughter was to the point that she'd outgrown her first saddle. The father of the lil girl was nice enuff to let our daughter try it out. But we couldn't find one like it around here. The one we did find that was similar to it was not well made and was way more than we wanted to spend on a saddle. Since we do some repairs on saddles. (friends bringin em over and parkin em in my kitchen) I said...why can't we build one? They have a saddle shop where Mr. Lilly works, so figured if there was anything we couldnt do, he could take it in and have that done (swell and seat back sewn) So we did, ordered a tree, and leather, and went to work. She's been ridin this saddle since March and just loves it. I made the pattern, hubby cut it all out, I done the toolin on it. Sent it to the saddleshop where he works and they put the leather on the swell and sewed the seat and back on. Other than that it was all done here at the house. Seat and swells are the hardest part, but it turned out rather nice for our first attempt at buildin a saddle. The concho's on it, are hand made, we designed them (our brand) and a jeweler in another dept where he works made them for us.

Side View



Back Veiw



Concho

[Nicky]

Keep up the good work! I think it looks great, especially for a first time saddle, but it would look great if it wasn't a first one

[Faster horses]

Gee, Jersey Lily, that looks like really good workmanship. Good job!

BTW, my husband remembered what the tree was in those Buck Steiner saddles we discussed. It was a "Little Wonder Tree."

Sure glad he could remember, for I couldn't.

[Nicky]

Well that's interesting (about the Little Wonder tree). My dad (will be 79 in feb) got his first saddle (that was his) when he was 10. The had a ranch near Wilsall. It has a Little Wonder tree in it. Dad then got a Connelly bros. saddle. My cousin rode the first one for awhile, then I got it when I was 8. I rode it til 1989 when I got a saddle made by Bob Pletan in Wilsall. I still use the old saddle on colts because it's so light. But it doesn't have funny looking swells

[PPRM]

The workmanship looks good.

When I saw the swells and High back, my first thot was a person could take a heck of a beating coming out of that, lol.....Sometimes staying on hurts worse than ejecting, LOL


PPRM

[the_jersey_lilly_2000]

The swept back swells and high back really suck her down in there when she's turnin the barrels. Much better than the first saddle she was ridin, it wasn't a barrel saddle, had a low back, and small swells. I'll admit, if one went to buckin it would hurt.

[Oldtimer]

That is the style of the old "form fitters".....You can ride rough country or a rough horse in one of those, but they are a little harder to get out of in a wreck....

The one thing I would change on that saddle and all my own if I could and that is to have a low flat horn....In the past few years I've seen more people hurt by tall narrow horns than anything else- either coming down on it with a bucking or falling horse( and breaking pelvis's or getting internal injuries) or by having horses roll on them and poking into them..... Faster Horses knows one of them from my area....

Not meaning to be critical, because my daughter has a saddle with the same type of horn ( "but Dad its the style")-- but it is something to think of when buying a ranch saddle......

I ride an association tree with a 3" horn with a flat top- and now I wish it was shorter, since I never get in a hurry enough for dallys anymore to need it that tall- and when I'm pulling for leather I'm usually trying to rip the gullet right off it.....

[Heifer]

Hey Lilly - I think your saddle looks beautiful! The instant I saw it, I knew it looked just like my dad's old saddle. I ran out and had a look at it, and the horns the same, the seat back is exactly the same. Your's is just much fancier.

I wonder why we're all talking about the safety of it... how many of us wear helmets before we jump on a horse? Do your kids wear bike helmets??? Probably all a good idea, but doesn't often happen on the ranch. I'm sure there are many way's to get hurt, coming out of any saddle.

Dad's saddle is smoother than a baby's bottom, and dark dark chestnut coloured, no tooling - nothin' fancy about it at all. In fact, he's been riding in my saddle lately (purchased in 1978 with money from my 1st 4-H steer), 'cause his stirrup leather is broken. But the shape is exactly the same. He rode in that saddle since he was 17, roped many cows or bulls needing footrot or pink-eye treatment. We need to get the saddle fixed up, even if it's just to put up for display.

The point is, I'm sure your daughter will make many wonderful memories in this saddle, all the more special because of her mom & dad's hand in making it.

Great work!

[Been There]

I had my dad's old Harpham oiled and fixed up. My brother and I had started colts with it for a long time and it needed a lot of attention.
It sits proudly on a stand in my office now.

[Faster horses]

I'd say that was a fine tribute to a good saddle and a great dad.

[Jinglebob]

Nice work on the saddle. Looks real good. I like the concho's too.

[PPRM]

Hmmm...... I reread my post, I was only making a comment, I wasn't being critical, or at least my intent wasn't to be,

PPRM