Saddle Deconstruction #3: Unbranded Saddle

Brittany Wells

Sometimes we don’t need anything fancy. We just need something that does the trick to pack a guest around on the trail, or give a fifteen minute pony ride to one of the kids. It can be tempting to grab something dirt cheap, just to have on hand as an extra. After all, it’s hardly ever going to get used. It’s not that you don’t know it’s basically the disposable camera of saddles, it’s just that it surely won’t get used enough to matter. 

I happen to have one such saddle sitting around, so you know what that means… It’s about to come apart.

First, the review.

These are the two basic principles I follow:

  • The safety of the horse and of the rider is equally important

  • The comfort of the horse and of the rider is equally important

You may be thinking that those are pretty obvious. So what’s that mean out here in the real world?

Those translate into a basic checklist when I assess a saddle:

  1. Is this thing going to stay attached to the horse if things get western? (Is everything securely put together?)

  2. Will it sore the horse? (Will the way it fits the horse make things get western?)

  3. Will it sore the rider? (Will spending time in the saddle hurt as much as getting bucked off?)

I expect a saddle to pass all 3 of those questions to be considered a safe, serviceable piece of equipment. It’s not too much to ask that no one hurts after a ride, is it? Everything besides that is down to preference and intended use.
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Mmm... saddle blanket print

Unbranded Saddle

2003 Unknown Origin

$350 saddle, breast collar, and saddle blanket set

50 hours use

This was purchased as part of a set on eBay for use as a kid saddle. It’s not clear who manufactured it or where– maybe India or Mexico, where many similar pieces are made.

It’s mostly synthetic, though the seat and fork cover are leather with machine stamping. It weighs next to nothing.

The fenders are fabric and foam. They are not weight bearing, just passive, so a tear isn’t dangerous. It looks like the fabric might ruffle the horse’s hair a bit. The stirrup leathers are nylon webbing, but look serviceable.

The skirts are a comprised of fabric, foam, and synthetic sheepskin.  Although I don’t consider the combo ideal by any means, I do respect the fact that what you see here is what you get. It’s not masquerading as anything but what it is.

 

It’s not an heirloom, sure, but let’s see if it’s good enough.

Also note the breast collar D that is secured under the rigging.

Under the seat jockey, we get a look at the rigging assembly. This is a D ring style ⅞ rigging, with a thin support strap going to the corner of the cantle. The screws are a little sloppily spaced, and the other side had one screw sink through the top layer of leather. That said, I had such a heck of a time removing the staples from the tree that I’ll concede that they probably do offer some support. The supporting strap is a thin piece of latigo or oil tan that I doubt is much real help.

The webbing on the rear billet slots actually is screwed in to the bar, so it’s somewhat stronger than it looks…

Backside of the seat.

The seat is leather covered with foam and suede. For what it is, it’s more solid than the last two saddles we looked at. The seam between the two seat halves is flat, and although the leather is cut off in the cantle area, it does taper all the way down– if unevenly.

By the way, the reason the seat leathers would be made in two pieces instead of one is to save on material costs. A single piece of seat leather is large, and has to be good quality throughout. Using two pieces allows for more creative use of a hide, minimizing waste. This is also the reason for padded seats on most cheap saddles– foam conceals the leather edges. Plus, it goes on the tree without labor-intensive wet forming. Once the foam is broken in, the rough edges usually become uncomfortably apparent.

The least of the offending screws, plus a jutting staple.

The skirts are stapled to the underside. Not ideal, but at least those are practically flush.

There are problems lurking underneath…

It really makes you wonder how hard it is to choose the right screws.

4 out of 6 rigging screws go clean through the bar (and the sharp ends of two or three staples). The thin skirts offer next to no protection from this– the points are easily felt as lumps the through the wool.

A little rough from the molding process, but not as bad as those screws.

Despite being plastic, the tree is very rigid. I would not expect it to deform substantially. It does not have obvious stirrup leather grooves, but as the nylon webbing has next to no footprint I’ll give it a pass.

The ground seat is built-in. The gap between the bottom of the seat and the bearing area of the tree looks a bit shallow, so it’s worth giving a closer look.

Darkened to make the wear more apparent. (Click to enlarge)

The channel between the two bars should never bear weight. It runs along the horse’s spinous processes, the spiny bone protrusions of the spine and withers. Pressure will cause soring, and puts the horse at risk of developing a fistula. Once a fistula becomes obvious, it’s likely a deeply established, advanced infection that may never fully heal. (‘Fistulous Withers’ is not a google for the squeamish.)

This tree bears rub marks on the center channel… not good.

ebay tree on horse markup
Red line indicates the worn area.

Getting the tree on a horse verifies my suspicions . There’s very little clearance in the worn area. With a rider’s weight, the tree would easily press into the spine. This particular horse is not narrow in the least– a test fit on another was even worse.

unbranded saddle smokey markup
Another dud.

This case really highlights the importance of a good tree. It doesn’t matter how good the saddle construction is if the frame it’s built on doesn’t work. 

Recap

The good:

  • Lightweight
  • Cheap

The bad:

  • Exposed screw points
  • Injury risk

So. Does it pass the checklist?

1. Is this thing going to stay attached to the horse if things get western? 

Pass. I know, surprising. And it’s not a strong pass. But I don’t see it going anywhere until some deterioration takes place.

2. Will it sore the horse? 

Fail. Emphatically. A wither fistula can be career ending.

3. Will it sore the rider? 

Pass. It’s fine for the guests and children crowd, barring an unsheduled dismount from #2.

The Verdict: Fail

As far as the sitting and rider-retaining functions of the saddle, it works. That’s more than I can confidently say for Saddle #1 or Saddle #2. But the horse soring potential throws a wrench in this “deal.” Returning to our just-keep-it-on-hand-as-an-extra scenario from earlier, the risk of injury makes this a potentially very expensive saddle. Worth it? Nope.
 
After disassembling this saddle, I disposed of everything but the tree. It can’t be fixed, but it will be a good reference for tree problems. 
 

Not all factory-made saddles have such serious issues. But it pays to be aware of the things that can go wrong when cost-saving comes before the consumer and their animals. These defects are usually not visible from the outside, and not easily accessible either.

Be sure to get recommendations from knowledgeable sources when looking for a saddle company or saddlemaker so you can buy with confidence. And don’t be afraid to closely inspect saddles you may already have– it’s better to find out there’s something amiss now than after an incident!