page_title: Western saddle
section_title: Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Western saddle / Construction
caption_attribution_description: Parts of a Western Saddle
context_page_description: Western saddles are used for western riding and are the saddles used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States, particularly in the west. They are the "cowboy" saddles familiar to movie viewers, rodeo fans, and those who have gone on trail rides at guest ranches. This saddle was designed to provide security and comfort to the rider when spending long hours on a horse, traveling over rugged terrain.
  The design of the Western saddle derives from the saddles of the Mexican vaqueros—the early horse trainers and cattle handlers of Mexico and the American Southwest. It was developed for the purpose of working cattle across vast areas, and came from a combination of the saddles used in the two main styles of horseback riding then practiced in Spain—la jineta, the Moorish style which allowed great freedom of movement to the horse; and la estradiota, later la brida, the jousting style, which provided great security to the rider and strong control of the horse. A very functional item was also added: the saddle "horn". This style of saddle allowed vaqueros to control cattle by use of a rope around the neck of the animal, tied or dallied around the horn.
context_section_description: The modern western saddle begins with a "tree" that defines the shape of the bars, the seat, the swells, horn, and cantle.  Traditional trees are made of wood covered with rawhide, coated with varnish or a similar modern synthetic coating.  In some cases, the core of the horn may be of metal.  Modern synthetic materials of various types have also been used instead of wood, but while lighter and less expensive, are generally considered weaker than traditional materials, some, such as fiberglass, dangerously so.  A high-quality tree is at the heart of a good saddle, particularly those used for sports such as steer roping, where the equipment must withstand considerable force.
  The tree is usually covered with leather on all visible parts of the saddle.  The seat may have foam rubber or other materials added between the tree and the top layer of leather to provide additional comfort to the rider, and leather or foam padding may be used to slightly alter the contours of the seat.  Sheepskin is placed on the underside of the saddle, covering both the tree and the underside of the skirts.  The cinch rings, made of metal, are attached to the tree as described under "Rigging," below.  For decoration, metal conchos, lacing, and small plates, usually silver or a silver-like substitute, are added.
  The leather parts of the saddle are often tooled into designs that range from simple to complex.  The finest-quality saddles often have hand-carved tooling that itself is considered a work of art.
caption: Parts of a Western saddle
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