Custom (Mule) Saddles
written by Vickie Tatum
True custom-made saddles are typically considered to be the gold standard for well-fitting saddles. The saddle-maker can take measurements of your mule's back and construct a saddle designed specifically to fit your mule. In addition, your custom saddle will also be designed specifically to fit you.
Be aware that some saddle dealers may advertise custom saddles that aren't truly custom-made. Some saddle manufacturers use a stock tree but allow the purchaser to specify some of the available options, such as cantle height, cheyenne roll, type of leather used on the seat, and type of tooling. Some saddle makers purchase a stock tree from a saddle tree manufacturer and build a saddle to your specifications on the standard tree. These may be referred to as custom saddles, but they are not manufactured specifically to fit your mule and are probably more properly referred to as semi-custom saddles.
You can get almost any kind of saddle custom made. The vast majority of custom saddle makers appear to produce western saddles, but some make endurance or english-style saddles. Some have even created their own personal styles, developed to meet their own particular needs or those of a specific niche market.
If you're ready to start shopping for a custom saddle, first try and get recommendations from other mule owners that have custom saddles. Then, spend some time talking to the saddle makers. Find out how much experience they have making mule saddles, the techniques they use to insure a good fit, and whether their previous customers are willing to recommend them to others. Custom saddles are expensive, typically starting around $1500-1700 and going up to over $3000.
Anne George is an endurance rider as well as a custom saddle maker. She makes some beautiful and unique endurance and trail saddles. Anne's web site has a page devoted to her mule saddles. The basic endurance saddle is priced at $1795.
Sharp's Saddlery makes a variety of different western-style saddles, including some light-weight and endurance models. Their web site has a page devoted to mule saddles and other mule tack. The base price for a custom mule saddle is $1700.
McClintock Saddle Works specialize in custom western saddles ranging from light endurance to heavy stock saddles. The web site has a page on fitting mules and if you look down at the bottom of the site's home page you will find a link to an article on saddles and mules written by Garry McClintock for the magazine Southwest Trails. The base price for a plain saddle is $2000.
D.R. Schrader Custom Saddles produces custom western saddles for horses and mules. The web site says they will build almost any type of saddle you want, but they specialize in working and mountain saddles and authentic old time saddles. The saddles start at $1800.
The Ralph Shimon Company custom western sadles for horses and mules. They offer a 2-hour video that explains the details of Ralph Shimon's saddle-making for $5.00.
The Reeds, of Reed Tack, are mule owners that produce custom western saddles for mules.
Nomad Custom Saddlery specializes in producing western and endurance saddles for hard-to-fit equines such as donkeys, mules, warmbloods, and draft horses. They also make some unique tack items out of exotic leathers and some exotic saddles, like African and Samuri saddles. The base price for a Nomad custom saddle is $2000.
Red Sky Saddle Company advertises custom old timer saddles for horses, mules, and donkeys. The basic saddle starts at $2150.
Loyd Hawley, of Hawleywoods Mule Farm (203 E. Bush, Praire Grove, AR 72753), makes a western saddle on a mule tree. You can see his ad in Mules and More magazine.
Tom Pritchard, at Coyote Creek Saddlery, in Berthoud, Colorado, makes mule saddles. Tom wrote an article on saddle fitting for mules in the January, 2004 issue of Mules and More magazine. He invited readers to contact him for a $5 saddle packet that includes his saddle fitting letter, "Zen, The Equine and The Saddle." The address of Coyote Creek Saddlery is 724 Gould Rd., Berthoud, CO 80513.
Breakin' Wind Saddle Shop advertises their custom-built mule saddles in Mules and More magazine. They have a web site address listed in their ads, but the web site isn't up yet. The address of the shop is PO Box 124, Bryant, AL 35958.
Max Harsha makes custom western saddles for mules starting at $1795. These saddles are made on a mule tree designed by Max Harsha.
Custom Tree & Saddle Company (www.steelesaddle.com) doesn't advertise saddles made specifically for mules, but they do custom-fit the saddle tree using a plaster cast of your animal's back. They make a nice variety of saddles from an english cutback to an Old Timer western and their web site has some interesting pages.
David Genadek doesn't advertise saddles made specifically for mules, but he does custom-fit the saddle tree to your animal using photos and drawings. David also has a video which sells for $25.00. The video helps to explain some of the mysteries of saddle fit in easy to understand language and examples. David's saddles are western style and he also makes a cordura model that is considerably less expensive than the leather models. The base price on these saddles is $1750. The cordura model is less than $1000.
Jim Robeson of Robeson Saddlery, Ltd. makes custom english saddles. He does not advertise saddles made specifically for mules, but he does custom-fit his saddles using a 3-dimensional model of your animal's back that he constructs using the detailed tracings you send. These saddles start at $2700.
Comments from Custom Saddle Users:
I enthusiastically and unequivocally recommend Sharp's Saddlery from personal experience. Beautiful, comfortable, highest quality mule saddles and a patient attitude with customers.
I have one of Tom Pritchert's saddles and it works great.
My mules were bare tree fit by master saddle maker, David Genadek at one of his saddle fit clinics. I own two of his Black Rhino Saddles. Many of my friends who ride mules also have had their mules bare tree fit by David and have found that his saddles fit their mules better than any they have tried thus far.
My husband and I got custom saddles made by Mike Merrigan (Benshine Saddlery, Leicester, VT). The saddles are beautiful, excellent craftsmanship. Unfortunately, they didn't fit our mules.
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