Some years back I realized that my primary saddle, a
top-of-the-line heavy ranch work model I'd been using and abusing
since the days of big collars and bell-bottoms, needed to be
replaced. Much as I loved the old thing, it was not only showing
its years, but no longer fit my old carcass.
(Middle-age and
medical conditions can turn Bo Duke into Uncle Jesse!) Plus,
I'd gone from riding normal-sized quarter horses to mega-beasts
half-again bigger, so the saddle didn't really fit them either.
I'd long thought about building my own saddle. And, since
nothing on the market seemed close to meeting my needs, and I didn't
want to mortgage the farm to pay for a needlessly fancy custom job,
I went ahead and did it.
What I built was not only big enough to accommodate my usual
physique, but a good bit extra in case
(Providence forbid) I
get bloated-up by another episode. Cantle spacers functioning like
a truck's sliding seat. It also has extra-long bars halfway between
full QH and draft, specifically sculpted for best load distribution
over the backs of horses in the 17hh, 1600# neighborhood. Oh... I
also wanted the tree sturdy enough for
Gwangi roping,
and impervious to Dixie humidity. So it got steel internal
reinforcements, carbon fiber external, and full fiberglass covering.
It came out homely as a mud fence, but it fits my big horses and
me nigh perfect. Still ,it has a few drawbacks...
First, it's
quite heavy. Around 70#. I can usually sling that
up onto my 17-2hh colt okay, and he doesn't notice a few extra
stone... But, if I get a bit busted-up or sickly, there's not
anyone else around who can do it for me. And some horses don't have
that much spare carrying capacity.
Second, I do sometimes get to ride normal-sized horses, and the
Frankensaddle doesn't fit them so well.
Third, while my saddle's tree is watertight, the leather it's
dressed and rigged with is not. Particularly troublesome, since the
hills of North Carolina are trying to identify as some kind of rain
forest lately.
So I decided to get a
secondary saddle. Something light,
that would fit quarter horses better (while still being usable on
the bigger critters), weatherproof, and cheap to semi-disposable.
I looked around a bit and wound-up ordering an
Acerugs
synthetic western saddle through
Amazon. These come
in a plethora of colors and variations. I resisted the urge to get
one in hot pink zebra stripes with rhinestone pinwheels and went
with the
18" Black Endurance model. This version forgoes
most of the bling accents in favor of sturdier double-screwed
lanyard rings in useful places. It came with a matching saddle pad,
bridle, reins, and breast collar.
All for around $300. My 1970s utilitarian ranch saddle
retailed for nearly
four grand in 2021 dollars. So
expectations aren't
too high going-in.
Out of the box we noticed that, for a saddle made of not-leather,
it was surprisingly easy on the eyes. The pommel, horn, and top of
the cantle are covered with a leather-like vinyl. The various
panels are covered in
Cordura, which is apparently a
kind of nylon with a denim-like surface texture. The seat is
synthetic suede and well-padded, and did legit measure 18". It has
conventional D-rings, front and back, with nylon rigging. Black
synthetic sheepskin underneath. Blevins buckles on the nylon
stirrup 'leathers', which are stock-saddle style, meaning that the
fenders are not load-bearing. (This is a
good thing). The
stirrups themselves are Cordura covered and lightly padded. About
5" inside width measurement at the tread, which is typical for
regular size western saddles.
Very light saddle overall.
Around 20#.
The saddle pad is a 30" long, cut-back with black synthetic
fleece on the horse's side, slick material on top with leather-like
wear pads in the usual places. Some Amazon reviews complain of
receiving pony-size bridles, but the one they sent us appears to be
normal QH size. Wide, neoprene-lined, decorated brow-band type.
The split reins are plain 7' nylon with Conway buckles. The breast
collar is neoprene-lined Y type with small star concha decorations
matching the bridle brow band, and has a quick-attach snap for
connecting to the cinch.
The saddle came with nylon off billet, 'latigo' strap, and flank
billets... Oddly missing is a flank cinch. (Not a packing error.
It is
not included.)
Since the new saddle is built on quarter horse bars, I chose
ol'
Troubs, our 15-1hh, 1200# quarter horse, for the first test.
I used the included pad and breast collar.
The saddle seemed to fit him pretty well, with ample wither
clearance. When I tightened the cinch, the rear of the saddle
raised up off his back a bit, suggesting that the front D-rings may
be placed a little farther forward than ideal. Not a big problem
though.
The stirrup 'leathers' were set all the way out from the factory,
and were a bit too long for me that way. So they are long enough
for tall riders. The stirrups themselves were a problem though.
This wasn't a surprise to me, being a sasquatch and all... But I
thought I'd be able to at least get my narrowest riding boots in far
enough to do for a few laps around the yard on a well-broke horse.
I hadn't figured on the lightness of these stirrups. Having almost
no mass meant that they just 'bounced' away when a boot touched
them. Had to lean down and
put them onto (and off of) my
boot toes.
The saddle was generally comfortable. The shallow slope created
by the padding from mid-seat up to the top of the cantle did,
however, act as a ramp, gradually sliding me forward into the
pommel. This was partially due to limited ability to push myself
back through the stirrups. It seems like something that will fade
with break-in, as the memory foam crushes down, leaving a more
upright cantle.
Several Amazon reviews complained of the "slick" saddle pad
causing the saddle to shift while riding. They were correct. Not
only the slickness, but the puffy nature of the new pad resulting in
the cinch being effectively looser than intended, made the saddle
prone to sliding around on the horse. The pad might be better
broken-in under a saddle that already has been.
For the next test ride, I used our 16-2hh, 1450# quargian. The
included breast collar did have enough adjustment to fit her. I
replaced the Acerugs stirrups with
Royal King black oversized
westerns, and used a trusty old saddle pad.
Still had a slight problem footing the stirrups due to the 'leathers'
holding them parallel to the horse's sides. This is common in new
saddles. It remains to be seen if the synthetics will
'train' like leather does with a broomstick holding the
stirrups twisted-out in storage. They did seem to 'fight' me less
as the ride progressed. If necessary, it's easy enough to add
gadgets that turn the stirrups 90 degrees or let them swivel.
Even with the broken-in pad, the saddle wanted to shift
side-to-side at first, especially on the low-withered mare. But,
after it slid back a two or three inches, that stopped. It seems
that this saddle likes to be set a little farther back than my
others in order to rest firmly in the
'pocket' of the
horse's back. Once there, it fit pretty well, and didn't try to
slide-back further. (The breast collar didn't get overly tight.)
It sits rather nicely, and I think it'll get even better with a
bit of breaking-in. I wouldn't suggest using it for heavy ranch
work like roping or ponying recalcitrant fillies, as I doubt the
lightweight tree would hold-together. But, for this price-point, it's a heck of
a deal for moderate riding purposes.
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