Old very wide swell western saddle, probably hails from the 40’s, and has seen a lot of use. It has a 16 seat, which is very unusual for the time, and was probably custom made. As you look at the extensive hand tooling, you can note little differences, reinforcing the idea that it is all hand tooled. The saddle has a 7 inch gullet, again very unusual for the time period. It has very flexible skirts in the shoulder area, which should enable a fit on a number of different horses backs. The horn is brass, and very short, with a prominent swell that extends out beyond it quite a ways. Even the conchos appear to be brass, as do the cinch rings. The horn and tree are tight. The rigging appears solid, and it is double rigged, very early model. The stirrup leathers show the most wear. One has been repaired at the buckle, which is an old repair with brass rivets. It looks quite sound. The second has a single stitch over a small tear in the leather itself. This should probably have a better repair before the saddle is used for hard riding. The stirrup leathers do not show a significant amount of cracking or crazing of the leather, although there is some. It is noted that they are a little thinner than most, probably stretched thin from wear. There are a few stitches missing at the bottom of the near side of the piece of leather that covers the rim of the cantle. Allof the leather is still in place, and it is a small area which can be seen in photo 8 if you look carefully. The bottom of the saddle is old felt. It is attractively scalloped around the edges, and in pretty good shape for a saddle of its age, but there is some expected wear, and a couple of the little scallops no longer show. It is still quite usable, but the material should be protected with a pad… Well, that’s true of all saddles, I guess. The skirts curl under a little in the front, but are very flexible, and a tiny bit of pressure with a finger will readjust them. The back skirts curl upward a little, as can be seen. They also will push back in place with the pressure of a finger, and putting the saddle on a rack should allow the leather to settle back, and fix both of these things in a short period of time. This is a lovely old saddle, and really should be part of a display. However, with some reservation on the stirrup leathers, it is still quite usable. The item “VINTAGE 16 WESTERN SADDLE HAND TOOLING HUGE SWELL EXPOSED LEATHERS FQHB” is in sale since Friday, October 13, 2017. This item is in the category “Sporting Goods\Outdoor Sports\Equestrian\Western Saddles & Tack\Saddles”. The seller is “bubudawgs” and is located in Concord, New Hampshire. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Japan, China, Sweden, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Belgium, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Russian federation, Israel, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Saudi arabia, Ukraine, United arab emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Croatia, Malaysia, Antigua and barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint kitts and nevis, Saint lucia, Montserrat, Turks and caicos islands, Barbados, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Brunei darussalam, Bolivia, Ecuador, Egypt, French guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Jordan, Cambodia, Cayman islands, Liechtenstein, Sri lanka, Luxembourg, Monaco, Macao, Martinique, Maldives, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Reunion.
- Brand: Unbranded
- Saddle Type: WESTERN
- Color: Brown
- Saddle Size: 16″
- MPN: Does Not Apply
- Model: HUGE SWELL