What Are Saddles Made Of?

While out at the races the other day, my friends and I were talking about all the different gear and equipment that jockeys had to use and that horses had to wear.

Everything from their whips to their helmets and large boots is so unique to horse racing.

The saddle is one of the most important pieces of horse-riding equipment, but as we were talking, we realized we weren’t really sure exactly what saddles were usually made of.

We all had a few ideas but none of us were quite sure.

So, I decided to look into it.

So, what are saddles made of?

There are several types of saddle, but here in the U.S., saddles are traditionally made of a wood “tree” covered with rawhide and coated with varnish. While some modern materials, like fiberglass, have replaced wood in newer saddles, wooden “tree” saddles are still considered the best and most reliable.

A lot of different materials go into making saddles, and there are several varieties of saddle commonly used, so there isn’t one material as such that makes up the foundation of a saddle.

Most of what we see of a saddle is leather and rubber.

So, let’s look into the different types of saddle, and what they’re made of.

What are Western saddles made of?

I just want to quickly define what we mean when we talk about the ‘tree’ of a saddle.

It’s essentially the skeleton of the saddle, the rigid part which provides support to the saddle to be able to carry the rider’s weight.

Western saddles are just what they sound like—the kind of saddles used in Mexico and the American Southwest, primarily for the purpose of working cattle across vast areas.

In Western saddles, the tree is traditionally made of wood covered with rawhide (animal skin not exposed to tanning).

They would have then been coated with varnish, although nowadays there are many synthetic alternatives to varnish.

Other synthetic materials have also replaced wood as the material for the skeleton in many modern, Western saddles.

While these are lighter and less expensive than wood, they’re also considered weaker.

Some synthetic alternatives to wood, like fiberglass, are considered so much weaker as to actually be dangerous to the rider.

The tree is then typically covered with leather on all visible parts.

The seat itself may have foam rubber between the tree and the top layer to provide additional comfort to the rider or alter the contours of the seat.

Sheepskin is placed on the underside of the saddle, covering the tree.

Metal cinch rings keep the saddle in place on the horse.

What are English saddles made of?

English saddles are quite different.

It’s still based on a solid, wooden tree, with webbing, leather and padding materials added.

Unlike western saddles, the wooden tree is reinforced with steel under the front arch, and around the rear underside.

Again, some modern synthetic materials have been used to replace wood in certain designs.

Polyurethane has shown great results but fiberglass is used to make very cheap English saddles.

Leather is then added on all sides to create the seats, flaps and panels, typically with cowhide.

The panels on the underside are then traditionally stuffed with wool flock, still preferred as the highest quality material available today.

Often the main distinguishing features of an English saddle is the lack of a horn.

Western saddles typically have a large, horn-shaped handhold at the front for the rider, whereas English saddles simply require the rider to hold the horse’s reins.

English saddles also have panels, which Western saddles typically lack.

These provide cushioning between the horse’s back and the saddle, and allow adjustment in fitting the saddle to the horse.

Are English or Western saddles better?

Naturally, there are different uses for different saddles and it certainly isn’t all just appearance.

English and Western saddles have been used for very different things, and actually the term English saddles encompasses a few different types, including dressage saddles.

English saddles are typically lighter, and give you more direct control over the horse.

The lack of additional leather gives you more mobility, which allows for betting posture when jumping.

English saddles often are used for show jumping and racing, as they’re much lighter and put a lot less material between you and the horse.

Western saddles, on the other hand, were developed for longer rides, since, as I said, their main use was for guiding cattle across vast areas over very long rides.

They’re designed for comfort and utility on a long ride, both for you and the horse.

English saddles don’t require the blanket underlay that you would normally see on a Western saddle.

Ultimately, then, neither is better than the other.

They both serve very different functions, and which you should use depends on what kind of riding you want to do with your horse.

Saddle-making is something of an art, then, and it’s easy to understand why when horse riding was the primary form of transport for several thousand years.

Lots of different materials and types of craftsmanship goes into making saddles, and there are countless distinct varieties of saddle.

Which saddle is best for you depends on exactly what you want to use it for; the hardy, enduring saddle of the Western frontier, or a smaller, lightweight English saddle that lets you get closer to the horse.