History of Western Saddles

Western saddles have had a long and interesting history.  This saddle, usually considered uniquely American, can actually be traced back to medieval knights and Moorish riders.  Read on to find out where the western saddle came from and how it got its modern shape.

Along with Moorish invaders, a unique style of tack and riding came to Spain in the early medieval period.  These saddles had high forks and cantles and longer stirrups.  These allowed armored riders to stay in the saddle more effectively, and were soon adopted by the majority.  They were used by Spanish knights for centuries, and called the Spanish war saddle.

This saddle came with the conquistadors to the New World, and this military saddle eventually became the stock saddle used by working cowboys in the colonies.  Two main styles developed as this saddle became commonplace in North America.  The first was the Texican style, popular as far north as Canada and east of the Rockies.  These were large, square skirted, heavy saddles built for heavy brush and terrain.

On the Pacific Coast, the Californio style was more popular.  These were round skirted and lighter, with center fire rigging.  Decorative examples were popular, made by vaqueros in their free time.  The same styles still exist in modern western saddles, though there have been a lot of changes, and the names are no longer the same.

The western saddles of the 1700s were relatively primative.  They had no horn, a saddle tree made of wood covered in rawhide, and single piece stirrups.  They lacked fenders, jockeys and skirts.  By the early 1800s, changes had been made.  A variation of the saddles used by the vaqueros spread east after the opening of the Santa Fe trail.

This became known as the Santa Fe saddle, and was used into the middle of the century.  It included a horn after the 1820s, was often highly decorated, and included a removable leather tree covering called the mochilla.  This protected riders' legs from the sweat of their horses.

In the middle of the century, the mochilla became a permanent part of the saddle, now called the Mother Hubbard.  Bent wood stirrups, steamed into shape, first appeared.  Skirts and jockeys began to appear, with different shapes developing in different regions.

After Mother Hubbards fell out of style, fenders began to appear, then steel horns, since wooden ones were prone to breakage.  Loop seats were popular from the end of the 19th century to the early part of the 20th, and padding was also available.  Saddle standardization was created in the early 20th century.

Since then, saddle styles have continued to change, with rigging, slant, and materials changing.  Many very specialized types of saddles have appeared, and synthetics have been introduced into saddles since the last part of the 20th century.  There are now many different kinds of western saddles designed to work well with any activity, and the number keeps on growing!