# One ugly saddle



## danielsumner (Jul 18, 2009)

Ran across this on local craigslist. In my opinion this is one ugly saddle. No wonder thier trying to sell it.


----------



## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

I have no clue what those straps are for ... that just doesn't make sense to me.


----------



## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

The matching Bridle headstall is hanging off the horn. the other straps are a breast plate. Still ugggggggglllllyyyyy and gawdy


----------



## Terry W (Mar 10, 2006)

maybe the rider wore turquoise a lot?


----------



## malinda (May 12, 2002)

A few years ago there was a local lady who advertised her horse who was sporting an entirely turquoise colored western saddle. She wound up on Fugly (not just because of the saddle though).


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

When I was a member of the MHSRA (high school rodeo) the queen candidates all had matching outfits. They also had an old pair of boots that they would spray paint to match the outfit of the day.


----------



## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

I've actually seen more of those than you would think. More often than not it's with young gals(teenagers and younger), they'll sport the horse in the same bright color. I rode one weekend with a woman who decked her palomino quarter horse out in bright neon green. Green accents on the saddle, green halter, legs and tail wrapped with green. Another I know, a barrel racer, likes to do a similar setup but in red, white, and blue.

It's a matching outfit I guess.


----------



## ShyAnne (Jun 18, 2008)

I wouldnt buy it... But I dont think its all that bad. The teenagers around here would LOVE it lol!


----------



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I had visions of DD in pink like that, with her sweet little pink boots and hat. Of course, she IS 5.


----------



## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

No, this is an ugly saddle.


----------



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Wow, my fingers hurt looking at that...can you imagine how much work goes into keeping all the tooling clean???

Hold up hold up, wait a minute...is that a llama attached to that saddle??

I thought this was ugly:












then I saw this:











I am not so hooked on the idea of a pink saddle for DD any longer...


----------



## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

southerngurl said:


> No, this is an ugly saddle.


Beautiful tooling there. Of course this is nothing new. The old Gauchos covered their saddles with as much silver as they could afford.

I even heard a second hand tale about a "brass trimmed" saddle that turned out to be clad in pure gold.


----------



## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

That tooled saddle has a shag seat! LOL


----------



## wildhorse (Oct 22, 2006)

Yeah Ive seen some big nasty s on ebay.On one that was custom made the swells looked like the wings of an airplane its like they were trying do do a bear trap and something went horribly wrong. Makes you wonder if your horse had that on there backs and you hit a full run ...would you fly?:smack


----------



## rhaige9 (Oct 31, 2010)

Have you ever been to the blog tacky tack of the day?


----------



## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

I think its pretty my daughter has one just like it with a purple seat.


----------



## lamoncha lover (Mar 1, 2009)

I like the first one too. Just for an everyday nothing fancy saddle. It looks lightwt and I like the rounded skirt. 
I have had the same saddle for close to 30 years. Ended up trading up to a tucker. OMG I love that saddle, but wish I had something non fancy for plain ole trail riding.
NOw the others...gaudy..way over the top for me


----------



## Harmony_Meadows (Nov 4, 2007)

A lot of the gamers at the local club shows have saddles like that top one. They actually look really good. I like this one :











There is a pink one that is actually not to bad....for pink!


----------



## Jcran (Jan 4, 2006)

My daughter would give her eye-teeth for a pink saddle...it would be like pepto-bismol at the canter! That turquoise one reminds me of my aunt's 1960's turquoise naugahide kitchen nook with sparkly bits inlaid into the counter-top...heeby-jeeby time!


----------



## mistletoad (Apr 17, 2003)

I love the first one and it may be the first time I have ever said that about a western saddle. lol


----------



## mamahen (May 11, 2002)

My darling husband bought me a saddle off of one of the guys he works with.

Now I love my husband, and I tried to explain that saddles are like shoes, and not every one fits every horse (or mule  ) but said guy assured him that she will grow into it.:shocked:

It is black suede with a black, tan & goldish southwestern design - with a huge skirt. My mule is very short-backed and it is waaaaaaaaaaaaay to big for her!

Sorta like this one, only black: http://www.horsetacksupply.com/pics/lg/1700-1096316.jpg

I've used it to sack her out - and for that it's fine - now I have no idea on how to convince him it WILL NOT work to actually ride her.:smack


----------



## Texasdirtdigger (Jan 17, 2010)

Around here..... they are debuting the official "Super Bowl" saddle.


----------



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Becky beat me too it. I saw one of those hot pink saddles at a tack store. I almost tripped when I saw it.... it is soooo ugly! Blech.....


----------



## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I agree, those pink saddles are vile. The one that Mamahen's DH brought home isn't much better- I've seen them. 

The colored seats were popular when I was a teen in the '70s- I had a black saddle with a bright red seat. :ashamed: That was right before buckstitching was popular, there was buckstitched _everything_.


----------



## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

OK, I must admit, I deck my Appy out in red, white and blue. My saddle is just plain leather with star conchos on it, but then I have a bridle and breast collar with silver and stars and then my blanket is red and white striped with blue stars and he wears red boots. LOL He's a very patriotic pony.  

I love the tooling on that one saddle, but I could live without the poodle stuck to the stirrup. LOL My daughter would love the pink english saddle. LOL


----------



## HorseGirl31 (Apr 7, 2010)

The OP one isn't bad...but PINK ICK! Yuck, I cannot imagine riding in that. It looks like a poodle was sewn to that other one too. YUCKYUCK! Blech!


----------



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

I thought of this today, we were at the Horse Expo and I jokingly handed my friend a bright neon rainbow colored halter and lead rope (way uglier than it sounds), she said "Sometimes there is a reason people get thrown."


----------



## saanengirl (Apr 7, 2009)

Turquoise is very much an "in" color right now (pink is too because of fundraisers to fight breast cancer). I read an article a couple of months ago that talked about style in dressing horses/riders for show, and essentially it said that you can't go wrong with turquoise regardless of the color of the horse. For other colors, you had to have a certain color of horse, but the article said that turquoise was the perfect color for everything.


----------



## malinda (May 12, 2002)

I'll stick to my black and brown saddles and bridles, thanks. The gaudiest I'll get is a baby-blue saddle pad for schooling. My show pad is white with black piping (ooohh!). 

Though I have seen pink sheets and stable blankets, which I think are super cute on ponies.


----------



## levi1739 (Jul 25, 2003)

Ignoring the colors, full forward rigging is a sure sign of a cheap saddle. I like "Cactus" saddles but the wool seat and stirrups on the one pictured is rather distracting. I do suspect it's a bit expensive when compared to the others pictured on this thread.


Have fun, be safe

Jack


----------



## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

My EYES!!!!!


----------



## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

This would be a sampling from one of the very best saddlemakers in North America:

http://www.chuckstormes.com/custom-saddles.html 

The collector's saddles are actually museum pieces and his submissions to the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (he's one of the founding members).


----------



## Molly Mckee (Jul 8, 2006)

I guess I'm a saddle snob--or totally out of fashion! I like good quality, well broken in, leather saddles. I wouldn't be caught dead riding a synthetic saddle, and we were told by a saddle store owner that they would not stand up to the kind of riding we do anyway. The light weight would be nice tho.


----------



## Irish Pixie (May 14, 2002)

I'm a leather snob too, Molly Mckee. Even the red and black (shudder) saddle I had as a kid was leather. I worked at a tack shop when the synthetics first came out and have never liked them, then again I hate the "leather that is really cardboard" too. The pink western saddle that Beccachow posted is a prime example of cardboard leather.


----------



## bergere (May 11, 2002)

wr said:


> This would be a sampling from one of the very best saddlemakers in North America:
> 
> http://www.chuckstormes.com/custom-saddles.html
> 
> The collector's saddles are actually museum pieces and his submissions to the Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (he's one of the founding members).


WR, those are pretty saddles!


----------



## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

bergere, he's considered the best in the business but if one isn't already on his waiting list to have a saddle made, there's a very good chance you're not going to get one. He stopped taking orders because there is a 10 year wait for a new customer and existing customers will wait 3 - 5 years. 

My uncle has 2 of his saddles because he ordered a second on the day he picked up his first and the test pilot has a custom built from one of Stormes apprentices, who moved south and I don't think one can get on his waiting list either. Test pilot just got lucky and found his for sale because somebody had traded it in on a factory built.


----------



## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Perhaps some should be visiting their eye doctor! Heh heh!

I'll stick with my choice for many years, altho I took everything off the fork when I got it and put on my own cinch, billets, stirrup leathers, stirrups.

Haven't cared to look at saddles all these years.


----------



## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Rogo, that looks about my speed...lightweight, quick tacking. Do you do any distance riding in that? Does it slip and slide on hills?


----------



## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

=== Rogo, that looks about my speed...lightweight, quick tacking. Do you do any distance riding in that? Does it slip and slide on hills? ===


That's the Natural Ride Bareback by Colorado Saddlery. A REALLY safe bareback. 

I never had saddle problems until my Mammoth jack. As he grew up, his body kept changing and I don't mickey mouse with pads. To keep buying saddles gets expensive. A friend told me to try her NR. I thought she was nuts. No place to put britchin'. We do tough mountain riding.

We went on one of our short but hairy rides, only 3 hours -- sliding down lava rock while descending mountains, short switchbacks, etc., the thing didn't move.

Friend weighs 200 pounds and the NR doesn't slip when she mounts.

I bought one that week, have been riding it for 20 years, and have had no desire to have a saddle. I use a thicker saddle pad with any mount whose backbone goes beyond pleasure! )

Rides are about 6 hours, sometimes more, sometimes less, depends who I ride with. I do favor the tough mountain rides.

I can carry my "saddle," saddle pad and bridle on one arm!

Unfortunately, they re-did the NR, came out with a new model. Nothing like mine and I'm not impressed. I don't like it. When you search for it, you'll see.


----------



## Rogo (Jan 1, 2006)

Here's an UGLY pair of shoes to go with the ugly saddle. The shoes cost $635.00!!

You know who bought them and wears them.


----------

