Saddles

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

Two things,
First off, can anyone give me a little more information on Simco Saddlery? I picked up an older cutting saddle made by them and am trying to figure out how good a saddle it is.

Second off, where do you guys normally buy your saddles and what's your favorite brand/style?

[Rockin-P-Ranch]

First off I know nothing of the Simco Saddle Company so I can not help you there at all.
 I have 5 saddles that I use at different times for different things and they are all hand made for me, and bilt to my specks for what Im looking for.and yes they are not cheap. The oldest one I have had for almost 18 years, And the newest one for 5 years. But these saddles will last a life time if take care of them.The guy that makes them lives about 20 minutes from me and I can pm you his phone. But there are several people on this board that make and repair saddles.

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

Rockin, how often do you oil your saddles. I tend to do mine about once a month, cuz this heat dries this out so bad. The thing is, i've never had one as dry as this saddle I picked up, and it is DRINKIN the oil... Do I just oil until it doesn't want anymore or what?

[Tusk Hog]

  Simco is an old saddlery. For the life in me I can't remember where they were made. They were in the same class as the old Longhorn, Billy Cook and like companies before production lines took over. You may have to find some really old horse people to get much info on them.

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

Well if I have to find a really old horse person, then surely Boar Ninja or Circle C can help me out, right?

[Rockin-P-Ranch]

Yea that is what I would is ask some of the reall old timers on here like Ninja or Chris they should know.I try to oil mine about once a month but it dont always work out that way.

[RockinW]

on oiling, it depends on how much you use it, and on the climate. up here usually a couple times a year is enough. but if it gets wet and dries back  out often, you may need to oil it more often. every time leather gets soaked and dries back out, it saps some of the oils out of it. if you only ride a little, and dont get in the rain or the river, then once a year may be enough. also where you keep it makes a difference. storing them in a  closed up, un-insulated place like a hay barn or the tack room on a trailer is really hard on leather. sometimes they will sweat and cause saddles to mold, other times they will just cook stuff. if possible store them in an insulated place where temp. and humidity wont fluctuate so much.

and oil it a little at a time, just till it softens up. not until you can wring oil out of it.

and as far as simco saddles go, it depends on the age of it. all of the old companies  made better saddles  years ago than they do now.
but like rockin p said, none of them compare to a good hand made saddle.

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

I agree with you Rockin P and Rockin W, nothing beats a good handmade one, but some of us poor ole broke folks can't afford a custom one LOL, so we make do with what we can find. This saddle that I am talking about is by no means a new saddle, or an OLD one, it's kinda in the middle.

[RockinW]

yep, i know how it is. thats how i got in the saddlemakin' buisiness, couldnt afford a good one, had to learn how to build em.

[Circle C]

Well if I have to find a really old horse person, then surely Boar Ninja or Circle C can help me out, right?

Don't get me confused with being an old horse person. Heck, I am a spring chick compared to some of the old folks on this board.


I do agree that the older saddles made by Simco, Tex Tan, Hereford, etc were good saddles. Much better than the assembly line stuff produced today. However, none of them seem to compare to a good custom saddle made by a craftsman. 

As for oil, I like Fiebing's Saddle Oil, I imagine there is some better stuff out there, but it works fine for me.

also where you keep it makes a difference. storing them in a  closed up, un-insulated place like a hay barn or the tack room on a trailer is really hard on leather. sometimes they will sweat and cause saddles to mold, other times they will just cook stuff. if possible store them in an insulated place where temp. and humidity wont fluctuate so much.

I got tired of fighting mold from the humidity down here, and went ahead and air conditioned my tack room. the way I figure it, is that I would rather spend a couple hundred a year on a/c than replacing good tack.

[BarrNinja]

Old timer? LOL! You just aint right with me sometimes Mr Ronnie! I guess I got it coming!

Im with Circle C. I got tired of wiping the mold off my saddles every time I wanted to use them. I started keeping them in the house and its made all the difference! I try to get to em about once every 3 months but I stretch longer if I can.
I have a real old Longhorn youth saddle that all of my kids have used and is currently on loan to cousin for his kids. I bought it used over 20 years ago and I am convinced I will get another 20 years out of it! Its one of the best made saddle I have ever owned.

[Caughtandhobbled]

Hello,

Simco saddles were popular many years ago (when I was a youngster). I rode one on a ranch that I worked on when I was a kid, it was old then (30 years ago). If your saddle is taking that much oil, maybe you should get it looked at to insure that it is safe to use.

As far as good saddles, my favorite saddle is a Carl Waldrop shop saddle from Brazoria. I do have a couple Corriente  saddles that are very good quality for the money. The Corriente saddles have held up well for me in the arena and at the ranch. There are several ropings that are giving away Corriente saddles as trophy saddles.

Good luck, and be safe.... Make certain that your saddle and hardware are safe and sound. Later...

[Rockin-P-Ranch]

Caughtandhobbled Next time you are on here give me a pm. Tiny Carl Waldrep in Brazoria is the guy that has made all of my saddles. He does very fine work. He also makes all of my head stalls and reins also. At about the same price you can get them at the feed store.

[aladatrot]

I'm a saddle freak. I obsess over saddle fit to the point that it keeps me up at night. I have a hard to fit gelding that I almost sold because I couldn't find a saddle to fit him. I prefer a custom out of a small shop, but as far as an off the shelf affordable saddle, my corriente beats the others I have on my racks. Caught and hobbled put me onto them and I ended up with a wade style

Of course, custom is always better, but if you can't go that route, I am a huge fan of corriente. I personally group simco with newer circle y (my show saddle is a circle y), newer herefords, and the like. The name is what you are paying for, but much of the old quality is gone. Dont mean to be offensive to simco fans, but even a hard core hereford lover will say they just don't make them like they used to.

Wanna talk English saddles? I have a heck of a collection of those! Nobody ever appreciates my English tack...

Cheers
M

[Rockin-P-Ranch]

Aladatrot There is not a thing wrong with English tack. I have rode a Australian out back saddle more than once working cattle they are very easy to ride and get you very close to your horse. But when things get a little western as they some times do with me the western cut saddles cant be beat. And as far as the older name band sattles some of them are as good as any made.If you are having trouble gettig a saddle to fit a  horse take a mold of his back and get a tree made just for him. Almost any saddle maker can order a tree to fite a horse.I have done it more than once.

[aladatrot]

Rockin p,

That corriente I got fits him like a glove. I have it paired with a tod slone one inch felt pad, and the dry spots are gone. I have tried so many saddles from different makers because it seems like none of their trees are sized the same. I have had more padding configurations on this horse from less is more to more is more, from wool to neoprene to impact gel and every combination thereof. I finally got the saddle that absolutely fits, and that tod slone pad is just the icing on the cake.

At the time, I wasn't able to swing a custom saddle, but I can tell you I was sure ready to sell the hard to fit horse.

cheers
m

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

SSHH I rode hunter jumper for about 2 years, you can't beat a good English saddle, heck I still use mine to get colts used to a girth and havin something in their backs. Lol.

Since you brought up pads, the best pad I have ever had was a 1" 5 star pad. AWESOME lad. Lol actually had it on a colt inthe round pen and he took off runnin and buckin, I kid you not, the pad never moved. I thought it was glued on him.

[aladatrot]

Texas Tiny, if you can afford a 5 star pad, you need to go ahead and order a custom saddle. Those 5 stars are expensive!

I own a passier with a p s baum tree. I had a courbette but sold it a while back because I just dont ride hunters. I love saddleseat, and have a 40 year old blue ribbon saddle, a barnsby, an old  crump, and a few others I have since forgotten.

Cheers
M

[TinyTexasCowgirl]

Ha ha ha yeah 5 stars are expensive but I never said I bought mine lol. I got it as a trophy at a ranch rodeo.

[aladatrot]

I heard about 5 stars and then looked up their website. It looked great, and  they sold me on the whole deal. Of course, they don't list pricing on the 5 star site. So I headed over to eBay to see what kind of deal I could get. I almost choked.$265 for a working type pad is a little out of my league. I ended up with the tod slone as a gift from my daddy, then bought another one at the tack swap this weekend.

Cheers
M