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Chickshunt2
Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 134
Location: North Dakota
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 Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 6:19 pm Post subject: Cactus Brand Saddles?? |
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| Anyone know anything about them? I had never heard of them and I saw one that I just love, but it has a steep price tag, so I'm wondering if they are worth it? Anyone have one? what do you like/dislike about it? Thanks everyone for any info about them.
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Heel Fly
Member
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Posts: 179
Location: Eastern MT
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:37 pm Post subject: |
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| I saw a deal on RFD where they were the trophy saddles and the guy said that they were all hand made, hand stamped. Looked like a nice saddle, but if you want a good fit for your horse sad but true(only cuz they are expensive) you need to go to a good saddle maker.
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Jerry H
Member
Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 421
Location: Las Vegas,New Mexico
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| Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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hello
a fellow that works on a place next to us has one that is about a year old and he rides it every day all day and ropes and doctors lots of cattle
he loves his and it seems to be holing up real well
they are pricy i thought about getting one but i found another company that is comparible and bout one from them instead
the one i bought is from tesky's in weatheford tx.
they have a web site but the only way i know to find it is to do a search
hope this helps
until later
jerry
by the way welcome to the boards
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Chickshunt2
Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 134
Location: North Dakota
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| Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 9:01 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the info on the saddles. I do believe in having a saddle made to a horse but to be honest, I just spent way to much on a custom saddle for MY horse.( the other horses here just get rode in whatever saddle fits em) I was looking at this brand of saddle for a spare for when friends come over or just to have around as a back up. And as much as I like my friends NO one is riding in MY new saddle, not only was a mold taken of my horses back, one was also taken of my rear end! It's 100% custom, I just couldn't stand to see one of my unhorsey friends scuff the crap out of it getting on or off,or in any other way mess it up...I know, I'm spoiled I don't like to share, Comes from being the only girl in a house of 5 boys! L.O.L.
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Heel Fly
Member
Joined: 29 Apr 2006
Posts: 179
Location: Eastern MT
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| Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2007 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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| So do tell who made it and what are the specs. and if you are feeling brave can we know how much it was. I know that is not a polite question so don't answer if you don't want to. Post some pictures, I love to see what everyone else is ridding and I am gathering info myself for a custom saddle. Right now I ride a Colorado and I do really like it.
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Chickshunt2
Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 134
Location: North Dakota
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:36 am Post subject: |
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| Well you'll get pics as soon as it gets here...should be this coming week or so. WOOOO HOOOO, sorry I have been waiting on this saddle for umm 5 months now, I'll calm down until it gets here...hehehehe the price of it is 3700.00 I know, I know am I nuts! Naww not really I'm young still and This will be the saddle I'll ride until im dead and gone...if I can still lift it in my old age. I know I'll take some s*** here but I have ridden mostly english for the last 15 years, I'm just getting back into western. Fully rigged my english saddle weighs 17lbs(with my cinch and pad)...this new saddle weighs 47 without a cinch or pad. Thank goodness I only plan to use it on my short 15 hh QH and my even shorter 14.2 paint. I don't think I could get it on my 18.2 percheron,but I have been tossing around the idea of getting a lady wade for him. I guess they are lighter?
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Jinglebob
Rancher
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 5974
Location: Western South Dakota
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 11:32 am Post subject: |
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| Chickshunt2 wrote: |
| Well you'll get pics as soon as it gets here...should be this coming week or so. WOOOO HOOOO, sorry I have been waiting on this saddle for umm 5 months now, I'll calm down until it gets here...hehehehe the price of it is 3700.00 I know, I know am I nuts! Naww not really I'm young still and This will be the saddle I'll ride until im dead and gone...if I can still lift it in my old age. I know I'll take some s*** here but I have ridden mostly english for the last 15 years, I'm just getting back into western. Fully rigged my english saddle weighs 17lbs(with my cinch and pad)...this new saddle weighs 47 without a cinch or pad. Thank goodness I only plan to use it on my short 15 hh QH and my even shorter 14.2 paint. I don't think I could get it on my 18.2 percheron,but I have been tossing around the idea of getting a lady wade for him. I guess they are lighter? |
Yes a Lady Wade is some lighter. Less leather equals less weight.
Had a neighbor try one out but didn't seem to like how it fit him, tho' others I've talked to seem to like their saddles, made by the same company.
The company that makes them has about 5 or 6 guys working there, who all do what they do best. One stamps, one does the ground seat, etc...
When I make a saddle on a foam tree wiyth a cable rigging, the tree is guarenteed for life and they will weigh around 30 pounds, with smaller skirts. I never put a peice of leather on that I don't have to, so as to make a lighter weight saddle. Why make your horse and you pack all that extra weight? 
Oh, I sure hope that new one is full flower carved, for that price. 
Tho', that is about average for most custom made saddles. I try to keep mine cheaper than that. By quite a bit. 
But then I don't have the costs, many do. And I only build them them pretty much when I don't have stocker cattle in, to take care of.
Check out the website if you'd like to see some. www.dennisranch.com
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Chickshunt2
Member
Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 134
Location: North Dakota
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:06 pm Post subject: |
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| Thank You for the info! I'll have to look up your site. The saddle is fully carved just not flowers lol I might be a girl but I'm not that girlie...I'm going to be looking into another saddle within a year to fit my big guy. I know I would like something western and with a wade type seat,deep,centered,etc. I just need to drop as much weight off of it as I can. I would like to do LD rides with him and as you said why make him carry that much more weight? The thing I find hard with him is that he is a percheron so he has a wide, short back when you start taking away skirting I loose weight distribution. I'm still waiting on him to stop growing for now and once he does I can't wait to mold his back. It will be fun finding something to fit him I'm sure.
Last edited by Chickshunt2 on Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:15 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Jinglebob
Rancher
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 5974
Location: Western South Dakota
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 1:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Chickshunt2 wrote: |
| Thank You for the info! I'll have to look up your site. The saddle it fully carved just not flowers lol I might be a girl but I'm not that girlie...I'm going to be looking into another saddle within a year to fit my big guy. I know I would like something western and with a wade type seat,deep,centered,etc. I just need to drop as much weight off of it as I can. I would like to do LD rides with him and as you said why make him carry that much more weight? The thing I find hard with him is that he is a percheron so he has a wide, short back when you start taking away skirting I loose weight distribution. I'm still waiting on him to stop growing for now and once he does I can't wait to mold his back. It will be fun finding something to fit him I'm sure. |
The bars of the tree are going to carry 99% of the weight, so unless you get bars that are wider or longer or both, you really aren't going to change anything, in my opinion. And if the bars are wider, then they will "spread" you out more and not be comfortable to ride.
By the way, unless you want to be right up against the fork of a swellfork saddle, there is no difference between the feel of a slickfork and a swellfork. What makes a saddle feel narrower is a good job on the ground seat to match a certain body type.
When you buy one off the rack, your getting one that is supposed to fit the average person, or at least what that company thinks is the average person. When you get a custom built one, your getting one made just for you.
When you get the back mold on your horsae, is he going to stay the same weight for the rest of his life? If not, then your saddle is only going to match his back when he is at that exact same weight and size.
My horses backs change quite a bit from when they are soft in the spring to rode down hard in the fall. And also as they age. Make a match when they are fat and young and it's ain't going to be the same when they are old and thinner.
We just have to shoot at averages and then pad accordingly.
That's why I like the foam trees, tho' I build them on wood and rawhide also, but the great thing about these "foam" trees is that they have a bit more give and seem to almost custom fit a wide variety of backs.
I built one for a young feller who was worried about the crap he was going to get from his friends about his "plastic" tree. I told him to ask them what they use to rope with. If they aren't using a rawhide reata, then he should tell them to stick it!
I like "traditonal" but most people aren't as traditonal as they really think. If we all stayed treaditional, we'd still be riding saddles like the very first ones invented and there wouldn't be any stirrups.
And we'd still be riding the horses that were built like they were hundreds of years ago.
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Jerry H
Member
Joined: 22 Nov 2005
Posts: 421
Location: Las Vegas,New Mexico
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| Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2007 8:07 pm Post subject: |
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that was very welll put jb
i don't think i would ever have a saddle made to fit just one horse as i ride alot of different horses and could not afford to have a saddle for every one of them so i'm with you fit your saddles as close as you can and pad the horses up as needed
i just got the new saddle from tesky's last night and rode it today for the first time i like the way it fit the horse i rode today and i roped some to doctor out of it and i shure liked the way it sits on a horse didn't have to cich it up as tight as the saddle ive been ridin latly
until later
jerry
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Jinglebob
Rancher
Joined: 14 Feb 2005
Posts: 5974
Location: Western South Dakota
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Sunraven
Member
Joined: 20 Jan 2007
Posts: 45
Location: Brookville, IN
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| Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2007 4:05 am Post subject: |
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| I'll agree with that, I want a saddle that'll fit a variety of horses/mules, I ride so many different animals to make it pointless to have a saddle made for one. Also, Robert, what you're saying about slick vs swell & which is narrower- I agree completely, it's all to do with how built up the seat is and not the fork. Grandma loves the saddle I bought a year or so ago so Grandpa set about finding her a slick fork saddle... I tried explaining it has nothing to do with not having swells but is the seat but I'm not sure he's got this figured out yet, he just bought a fourth saddle to try yesterday since she's uncomfortable in the first three. Heck, I didn't like the first three either and I don't think the next wade that's coming is any different. For the money he's spent on all these saddles he could have had the company mine came from make him a brand new one. I bought mine used for ridiculously cheap and he thinks he's going to find the same deal somewhere...
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