Why Finding a Western Saddle for Icelandics is so Difficult

Why it is difficult (but not impossible) to get a properly fitting saddle, especially a Western one, for
an Icelandic horse. Below are wither tracings for 8 horses. The top tracing is for:

A. Blessi, my 14.1 hand Icelandic. Note the upside down U-shape which typical for an Icelandic (there are exceptions). His gullet (width of tracing measured 3 inches from top) is 9 1/2 inches.
B Clydesdale 18 hands gullet = 11 inches
C Mustang 15 hands gullet = 6 1/2 inches
D Warmblood 17 hands gullet = 8 inch
E. Quarterhorse 16 hands gullet = 6 3/4
F. Grade pony 10 hands gullet 9.5 inches Blessi's saddle fit him through the shoulders but the saddle was too long on the back
G. Paint stallion 17 hands gullet = 6.5 inches
H. Quarter horse 16 + hands gullet = 6 inches

Most manufacturers for trees used in Western saddles are designing them for A-framed horses like Withers example E. Saddle manufactures may call a tree used that would fit this gullet size semi or full (there is no standard from saddle manufacturer to manufacturer). Blessi would theoretically take a draft horse size Western saddle but the rock, angle of the bars, flatness of the back, etc., would not fit him. Blessi has a custom made Western saddle.

If you are looking for a Western saddle for your Icelandic, Crest Ridge Saddlery explains how to do a 3-D mapping using wire for your horse. You can take this mapping and lay it on top of the saddle to find a few saddles to borrow for fitting.

http://www.crestridgesaddlery.com/build-a-back-map.html
And some people have found off-the-rack Western saddles that fit their Icelandics.

Wicking ability of wool pads

Several years ago I decided to make my own saddle pads entirely out of wool or wool blends (or a
layer of cotton over one or more layers of wool). Almost all commercial English saddle pads have a layer of foam between the cloth interior and exterior, which does not wick away sweat and heat as well as wool. As you can see by the photos, Blessi sweated quite a bit during his workout (need to renew his hunter trim) but his back was dry and not overheated. Let's hear it for those lovely sheep!

Strangest horse cart I have ever seen

Have you ever wanted to surf, ride a bicycle, and drive a horse at the same time plus take your dog along?  Somebody has invented a "vehicle" to do just that.



Here is a link to the Craigslist ad in case you are interested.  More photos appear in the ad.
http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/grd/5286343990.html

Challenges of finding a saddle for pony

Just for fun, we took wither tracings of Max, the 11-hand grade pony, versus Tucker the 16 hand muscled Quarter horse, and Diesel, the 17 hand Paint stallion.  Max's wither tracing displays at the top of the photo. As you can see, Max had the u-shaped withers typical of the pony.  Diesel and Tucker have V-shaped withers.

Max's gullet width measured three inches down from the top of the withers was 9.5 inches versus 6.5 and 6 inches for Diesel and Tucker respectively.  Blessi's saddles fit Max through the shoulders--even though they were way too long for Max's back.  Another illustration of why saddle fit can be so challenging.

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction --Part 11 of 11

Here are the two circingles that I bought for Blessi.  They were in a bucket of goodies--3 bridles, 4 sets of chaps, martingales, 2 halters, saddle soap, brushes, and a bunch of other stuff--that I bought for $40.

I got Blessi two sets of harnesses.  This is a show harness which I got for $120. 

This sleigh went for $500.

Surrey--highest bid was $4500 but was no sale.

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction--Part 10

This was a modern California version of a Meadowbrook.  It went for $500.  The
large version went for $1200.

White vis-a-vis by Roberts used for carriage rides in Seattle.  Distressed sale.
Went for $2500

Carriages being pulled up to the auction area.  People were allowed to sit in carriages and
audience members volunteered to sit in the carriages.  Kids had a blast.

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction Part 9

This original and pristine carriage was owned by one of the Washington railroads.  It was used to carry passengers from
the railroad stop to an associated hotel  This thing came bubble wrapped on a trailer.  Final bid was $22000.  It was bought by an
agent who buys carriages for use in Western movies.

Close up of the back window.

Some Oregon ranchers

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction--Part 8

I loved the new and antique sleigh bells that were auctioned off periodically.  They always went for a high price.  The auctioneer called them out as "for two" meaning that whatever you bid was multiplied by two since the bells came in sets of two.   It is easy to how you can be surprised at how much you spend at an auction.

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction --Part 7

More harness and lawn ornament

Ball and chain used at one of the Washington prisons.

Hand hitched shoo fly.  Made in one of the Washington prisons.  Sold for about $250

2014--Small Farmers Journal Auction --Part 6

McCellon style saddle,.  There was also a Japanese military saddle and a Russian military saddle.

Dog cart--I did not catch the price

More harness

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction --Part 5

This is the old Welsh spotted harness.

Horse collars in different styles.  These went from $40 to $150 depending on style and condition.

One of the assistants who helps the auctioneer spot bids and help entertain the crowd.

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction--Part 4

This was the wagon that I was thinking of getting for Blessi.  One of these years, I would like to
drive Blessi on the John Wayne trail and be able to haul a tent and food for several days.  I did not bid on this
wagon.  It went for about $200 but would have required a lot of renovation.  Whoever bought it took it home
and relisted it on Craigslist for $600--with no restoration.

Some of the antiques and Americana

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction--Part 3

This was absolutely my favorite--a courting carriage.  Don't you love the upholstered heart.  The small driver's seat
in the front folds down so that the gentleman can drive from the shared seat if needed.  Price $2800.

Since this is a high pace auction, you really do have to be careful of how you move your head and hands.  I inadvertently nodded my head and the auctioneer took it as a bid.  He was kind enough to let me out of the bidding process.  I went to the upper level of seats to find my friend Nancy.  I spotted her and smiled.  She waved at me and ended up buying harness piece covers used in the salt mines.  She kept them.

Reproduction hearse  Final bid was $5500 but there was no sale at that price.

This is a buckboard.  To qualify as a buckboard it has to be constructed like this--I think the floor needs to be on springs.
I am unsure of the finer points of vehicle identification. Price $1950.

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction--Part 2

Vendor wagon--went for $1300

Unrestored shephard's wagon

Inside of restored sheep camp wagon--This went for $4500

2014 Small Farmers Journal Auction--Part 1

Last year, some friends and I went to the Small Farmers Journal Auction in Madras, Oregon.  What a piece of Americana!!!  Sponsored by the Small Farmers Journal, a beautifully produced publication geared towards the independent farmer, some of whom still use horses, the auction contains items from 6-team draft harness to farrier tools to hand-hitched bridles to antique tractors.  The draw at the auction is the amazing collection of carriages, sleighs, hearses, marathon carriages, wagons, chariots, and training carts that are brought in for auction.  Over the next few days, I am going to post some pictures with the winning prices for the items.

In 2015, there will be no auction since the Small Farmers Journal is considering if it makes economic sense to continue with this event.
http://smallfarmersjournal.com/articles/

This chuck wagon and pup wagon went for $4500.

This is only one area in which tack to be auctioned off was stored.

The highest bid for this reproduction stagecoach was $15000.  It went for no sale since the owner would not take the bid.

Saddlepad as Work of Art

This all started with some friends dragging me into a quilting store.  We all got so enthused about the beautiful quilts hanging on display--real works of art--that we urged each other to buy quilt patterns. My friend Gretchen bought the Dancing Chickens pattern.  Similarly inspired, I purchased the Cobbled Crow design, got the material, and actually made the wall hanging. 

There was quite a bit of hand-dyed batik left over--too much to throw away.  So I decided to make a coat for myself using the same design elements.

And still some of the gorgeous material remained so I decided to hand quilt a saddle pad for Blessi.  You can judge the results for yourself.  So far, I haven't found any venue good enough for this saddle pad but something will come along.

And if you like to sew be sure and check out Suitability patterns--patterns for both English and Western riding apparel, saddle pads, costumes, helmet covers, saddle covers, and much more.
http://www.suitability.com/

Blessi and the Western Saddle--What not to do

I finally got a custom made Western saddle for Blessi.  Finding a Western saddle for an Icelandic horse is very challenging.  Blessi has a gullet measuring 8 1/2 inches which is draft horse size but a back length of about 23 inches.  He is boulder-shouldered and mutton withered.  And performance of the tolt results in huge shoulder movement which requires a lot of saddle flair.  Blessi is relatively flat backed but requires some flair to the saddle.  Ideally the saddle should weigh around 25 lbs.  And I have it lucky.  I know somebody who has a 13.2 Icelandic with a gullet of 12 1/4 inches!

So I tried the new saddle on Blessi.  I believe it fits him--this is the third or fourth time that he has had a Western saddle on. Anyway, we were riding in the arena all by ourselves in the new Western saddle. Blessi seemed happy in the saddle and I loved the fit.

So I go to dismount and do the typical tyro Western dismount--I get my shirt and coat--but not the bra thank goodness-- hooked on the saddle horn. Now it's a real burlesque show involving both ribald comedy and partial nudity.

I am short and Blessi is short but I still ended up with my feet dangling about six inches off the ground. Blessi has my not-inconsiderable weight hanging off the horn hanging off his left side. I am struggling to get unhooked but there is nothing to push against for leverage to get the clothing off the hook.

Well Blessi stood like a stone for the 2 to 3 minutes that it took me to figure this out. I showed off my bra and untoned stomach to the neighborhood--and it was cold on Sunday. As soon as I dismounted and got my clothing rearranged, Blessi started to bow. He kept bowing. I think he thought that this one of the weirder bomb proofing exercises that I came up with and I had forgotten to feed him his carrot. Thank goodness I had a peppermint in my jacket--he really deserved it.

However, I am going to tell people that I dangled off the saddle horn just to see how Blessi would react to roping a calf.

What Blessi is getting for Christmas--A Hand Hooked Saddle Pad

One of my hobbies is felting and needle work. So I decided to make Blessi a saddle pad for Christmas.   I found these neat on-line directions for an old style cowboy hooked saddle pad made with roving and burlap. I have been working on getting a Western saddle to go over the pad.  I ordered the wool roving from this site:

http://www.thesheepshedstudio.com/Roving.html

I ordered five pounds of roving in chestnut and cream--to match my pony. The roving was high quality and easy to work with. Well, the saddle pad turned out beautifully!!! Here is a picture--please note nobody was at the stable that day and my horse Blessi thought it was silly to hold up his head just for a picture when there was grass to eat.
Here are the online directions for making a pad:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5024333_make-hooked-wool-saddle-p...

If you are making a 32 X 32 inch pad, you need all 5 lbs of roving. The pad is about 2 inches thick but will compress down to slightly less than 1 inch under the saddle. I did not have enough left over roving to finish the cat bed that I started. And the process takes a lot of time. If somebody wants to do a more precise pattern, they will probably want to order more wool to make sure they have enough of a certain shading.

WASU on his favorite bed.

Everyone (including my cats) want to snuggle with the pad and take a nap on it.

I just reordered more roving to make a black and cream English style saddle pad.