Anybody know anything about them? Came across them on Facebook and the saddles look nice. I am a little suspicious of custom starting at $1500, most other custom makers I have looked at lately start at $3500. Some of his work: http://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Jays+Custom&isNewKw=1&isRefine=true&mfs=GOCLK&acimp=0&_trksid=p2056088.m2428.l1313.TR0.TRC0.Xjays+custom&sqp=jays+custom
Seems to have a lot of happy customers on Facebook, but I also know they can delete unhappy comments if they want.
Well, there’s custom and then there’s custom. There are a number of places that make “custom” saddles that I would say are more properly called “semi-custom.” You pick from a predetermined list of choices (e.g. for the cantle do you want a Cheyenne roll or a pencil roll) to get a saddle that looks exactly the way you want it, but the saddle isn’t made specifically to fit you or your horse. Those saddles tend to be less expensive (not always).
Also, “starting at $1500” doesn’t mean you’re ever going to get out the door with a $1500 saddle.
There’s lots of “custom” saddle makers out there that don’t break the bank.
Corriente and Triple Creek are two that come to my mind.
https://corrientesaddleco.com/
http://www.triplecreeksaddlery.com/
Both of these makers have decent saddles. No, they are not high end, but they are good saddles for the price.
I looked on Jay’s ebay page and Facebook page, and what I personally would want to know is what brand of TREE he uses and what the warranty on it is. I could not find it listed (granted I didn’t look that hard).
[QUOTE=NoSuchPerson;8393748]
Well, there’s custom and then there’s custom. There are a number of places that make “custom” saddles that I would say are more properly called “semi-custom.” You pick from a predetermined list of choices (e.g. for the cantle do you want a Cheyenne roll or a pencil roll) to get a saddle that looks exactly the way you want it, but the saddle isn’t made specifically to fit you or your horse. Those saddles tend to be less expensive (not always).
Also, “starting at $1500” doesn’t mean you’re ever going to get out the door with a $1500 saddle.[/QUOTE]
Right I’m not expecting a Martin. Most of his work seems to be around $1750 for fully upgraded models.
[QUOTE=beau159;8393989]
There’s lots of “custom” saddle makers out there that don’t break the bank.
Corriente and Triple Creek are two that come to my mind.
https://corrientesaddleco.com/
http://www.triplecreeksaddlery.com/
Both of these makers have decent saddles. No, they are not high end, but they are good saddles for the price.
I looked on Jay’s ebay page and Facebook page, and what I personally would want to know is what brand of TREE he uses and what the warranty on it is. I could not find it listed (granted I didn’t look that hard).[/QUOTE]
I asked him what trees he uses, waiting for a response. I thought I read that he uses Steele trees somewhere, but I can’t find where I read that again. Corriente doesn’t offer a wide enough tree for us. Need an 8 inch gullet.
Here is the facebook page with more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/JaysCustomLeather/photos_stream
Looking at Triple C right now. I like the look of their saddles, and that they use Steele trees. Again though some of their pricing seems too good to be true. Going to have to google some reviews.
Looking again, Corriente appears to make their own trees? Maybe they could make something wide enough and still stay within my $2000 budget. This search is proving much harder than I had thought it would be. I need to find a rich cowboy to buy me the $4300 Martin saddle that I custom built myself on their website. Their saddles look so nice.
I’ve seen those two saddles in person and quite liked the looks/ feel of them. They seemed to have very nice leather and the tooling looked very neat and crisp/ not cheep. I’ve parted ways with the saddle owner so I can’t say how they’ve held up, but, I can say with certainty the the saddle owner is a pain in the ass and pretty hard to please. I’m also still friends with them on FB so I’m sure she would have showed off her newest tack if she decided it didn’t meet her ridiculously high standards. She rides gaited horses and her one horse has extremely wide shoulders and was getting sore in her Timberline (she was too big for the Timberline and sat in it too far back so that may have attributed to his back being sore) before she bought that saddle from Jays.
She said he was a little slow on her custom order but that he did all sorts of nice little touches that made the saddle very nice and in the end was glad he took his time.
[QUOTE=Draftmare;8394571]
Looking again, Corriente appears to make their own trees? Maybe they could make something wide enough and still stay within my $2000 budget.[/QUOTE]
Of course you can ask, but to my knowledge, I do not believe they customize their trees.
If you need a WIDE tree, I’d look into the Circle Y Flex2 trees in the WIDE. That’s what I use on my wide quarter horses and they fit wonderfully. I barrel race, so I have the barrel racing version, but they do make trail saddles too. New ones would be over your budget or close to it, but you could find a used one.
http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/cirlcey-flex2-trail-saddles.html#.VkI8179BlRA
It’s been a while since I measured the gullet. If I remember correctly, it was over an 8". And if I remember correctly, the bar angle is around 110 degrees. Again, for the WIDE version (not the regular).
[QUOTE=Stushica;8395245]
https://www.facebook.com/JaysCustomLeather/photos/pb.284478625006012.-2207520000.1447160437./669354749851729/?type=3&theater
I’ve seen those two saddles in person and quite liked the looks/ feel of them. They seemed to have very nice leather and the tooling looked very neat and crisp/ not cheep. I’ve parted ways with the saddle owner so I can’t say how they’ve held up, but, I can say with certainty the the saddle owner is a pain in the ass and pretty hard to please. I’m also still friends with them on FB so I’m sure she would have showed off her newest tack if she decided it didn’t meet her ridiculously high standards. She rides gaited horses and her one horse has extremely wide shoulders and was getting sore in her Timberline (she was too big for the Timberline and sat in it too far back so that may have attributed to his back being sore) before she bought that saddle from Jays.
She said he was a little slow on her custom order but that he did all sorts of nice little touches that made the saddle very nice and in the end was glad he took his time.[/QUOTE]
I just messaged a girl on FB that had one for sale, and she raves about it. Sold one and then bought another in a different style. I still haven’t heard back from the actual maker about what type of tree is in it. The girl on FB said it is a rawhide wrapped wood tree… Not a lot of confidence if I can’t find out some information on the tree.
Another custom maker within my price range that I just came across: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=447083828788214&id=315164255313506
They use a fiberglass covered tree made by Hadlock and Fox.
Is there anything to worry about in rawhide covered vs fiberglass covered?
[QUOTE=beau159;8395828]Of course you can ask, but to my knowledge, I do not believe they customize their trees.
If you need a WIDE tree, I’d look into the Circle Y Flex2 trees in the WIDE. That’s what I use on my wide quarter horses and they fit wonderfully. I barrel race, so I have the barrel racing version, but they do make trail saddles too. New ones would be over your budget or close to it, but you could find a used one.
http://www.horsesaddleshop.com/cirlcey-flex2-trail-saddles.html#.VkI8179BlRA
It’s been a while since I measured the gullet. If I remember correctly, it was over an 8". And if I remember correctly, the bar angle is around 110 degrees. Again, for the WIDE version (not the regular).[/QUOTE]
Sadly, the new wide tree Circle Y is too narrow. I would need to go with one of their extra wides, which severally limits my model options.
Pictures of the gorgeous Circle Y I tried: https://goo.gl/photos/6M2CV4P9En5nvAQj9
https://goo.gl/photos/HU9uwsKPpptPx7LZA
https://goo.gl/photos/geEUfLoDK2EFQynL8
I so badly wanted that saddle to fit. It was perfect for me. The older Circle Ys fit her much better, but finding an older Circle Y in a 17 inch seat is proving impossible.
[QUOTE=Draftmare;8396039]
Sadly, the new wide tree Circle Y is too narrow. I would need to go with one of their extra wides, which severally limits my model options.
Pictures of the gorgeous Circle Y I tried: https://goo.gl/photos/6M2CV4P9En5nvAQj9
https://goo.gl/photos/HU9uwsKPpptPx7LZA
https://goo.gl/photos/geEUfLoDK2EFQynL8
I so badly wanted that saddle to fit. It was perfect for me. The older Circle Ys fit her much better, but finding an older Circle Y in a 17 inch seat is proving impossible.[/QUOTE]
And that saddle in your pictures had the Flex2 tree in the wide?
Seeing the pictures, I remember your post although not any specifics on the post. I really wouldn’t say the saddle was too narrow. Your bar angle is just not right. The angle actually looks too wide. You’d need a narrower bar angle BUT a wider gullet.
Yours looks like this to me:
http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/thesaddleshop/gulletwidth.gif
Gullet affect:
http://saddlemakers.org/3e18efa0.jpg
Have you actually tried an extra wide in the Circle Y Flex2? Honestly, you’d just be making it wider and worse, as far as what I see in your photos.
Yes, that Circle Y was the Flex 2 wide. I have not had a chance to try the extra wide yet.
So a normal angle, but a wide gullet? Interesting. Western saddle fitting is much more complicated than I expected. I almost wish that I hadn’t sold the older Circle Y since it fit her so well, but the fit for me was pretty terrible.
Just came across Cactus saddlery. Appears to be another semi-custom maker, but a little more main stream. I was able to find actual reviews of their saddles and all of them were positive. They also claim that they can custom fit a tree.
Eyeballing this one as it has a very similar look to the Julie Goodnight I have been coveting: https://www.cactussaddlery.com/?product=cactus-flex-trail-250
Or possibly this one: https://www.cactussaddlery.com/?product=saguaro-rancher
I have found a new love of the look of ranch saddles.
[QUOTE=Draftmare;8396360]
So a normal angle, but a wide gullet? Interesting. Western saddle fitting is much more complicated than I expected.[/QUOTE]
Yes, very complicated!!
Have you looked at these websites? They’ve got good information about western saddle fitting.
http://saddlemakers.org/id193.htm
http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/tree-and-saddle-fitting/factors-that-affect-tree-fit/
I’ve fit both Western and English saddles, and I personally feel that fitting Western saddles is harder. It’s much more difficult to see exactly what the tree is doing along the horse’s back, and you can’t make modifications to Western saddles like you can to English saddles.
I took one of your pictures, I tried to draw on it (exaggerating) to explain it further, as best I can from a photo anyway without seeing everything in person.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/r_beau/General/saddle%20fit_zpse2pnqkxx.jpg
The red line represents your horse’s natural shoulder/body angle. This is the angle you need to find in a saddle tree, to match your horse.
The pink line represents the saddle you have on your horse’s back in the picture (again, exaggerating with my lines). The bar angle is actually too wide. If this bar angle is around 100 degrees (as an example) you maybe only need 95 or 90 degrees on the angle. (Here’s a picture on bar angle https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/bc/3b/16/bc3b16f5fbd4e2cc78b3b0c145f8dc5c.jpg )
The yellow line represents a correct bar angle for your horse BUT if you kept the same gullet, it would be too narrow. The bar angle would match your horse but then you’d get pinching at the top because the gullet would not be wide enough (where I circled in green) for your horse.
Does that visually make more sense?
So I truly think the extra-wide in the Flex2 would be way, way too wide for your horse, since it appears the wide is already too wide of a bar angle.
I personally have never had a Cactus saddle, but they are good saddles.
I would contact them and see if they send out bare trees that you can try on your horse.
When I was looking at a Triple Creek saddle, that’s what I had them do. Really glad I did because their wider tree actually bridged across my horse’s back.
Bridging: http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/r_beau/Saddle%20Fit/TripleCreekTree008_zps52caf33f.jpg
Looking at a bare tree also helps you to understand how it needs to fit all along the tree, without all that leather blocking your view!
I have a custom Cactus barrel racing saddle. Had it made six years ago, beautiful saddle, very well made, full tooling, ostrich inlay seat etc. full QH bars, it is pretty wide but I’m not sure if it’s draft horse wide enough. I would do a wither tracing and send to them to see if their trees are wide enough. Once you start making custom changes the price of the base saddle will go up. A saddle with a 17" seat and double skirts makes a very long saddle for a horses back. Have you tried a 16" seat to see how they feel?
[QUOTE=beau159;8397091]
Yes, very complicated!!
Have you looked at these websites? They’ve got good information about western saddle fitting.
http://saddlemakers.org/id193.htm
http://www.rodnikkel.com/content/tree-and-saddle-fitting/factors-that-affect-tree-fit/
I’ve fit both Western and English saddles, and I personally feel that fitting Western saddles is harder. It’s much more difficult to see exactly what the tree is doing along the horse’s back, and you can’t make modifications to Western saddles like you can to English saddles.
I took one of your pictures, I tried to draw on it (exaggerating) to explain it further, as best I can from a photo anyway without seeing everything in person.
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/r_beau/General/saddle%20fit_zpse2pnqkxx.jpg
The red line represents your horse’s natural shoulder/body angle. This is the angle you need to find in a saddle tree, to match your horse.
The pink line represents the saddle you have on your horse’s back in the picture (again, exaggerating with my lines). The bar angle is actually too wide. If this bar angle is around 100 degrees (as an example) you maybe only need 95 or 90 degrees on the angle. (Here’s a picture on bar angle https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/bc/3b/16/bc3b16f5fbd4e2cc78b3b0c145f8dc5c.jpg )
The yellow line represents a correct bar angle for your horse BUT if you kept the same gullet, it would be too narrow. The bar angle would match your horse but then you’d get pinching at the top because the gullet would not be wide enough (where I circled in green) for your horse.
Does that visually make more sense?
So I truly think the extra-wide in the Flex2 would be way, way too wide for your horse, since it appears the wide is already too wide of a bar angle.
I personally have never had a Cactus saddle, but they are good saddles.
I would contact them and see if they send out bare trees that you can try on your horse.
When I was looking at a Triple Creek saddle, that’s what I had them do. Really glad I did because their wider tree actually bridged across my horse’s back.
Bridging: http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/r_beau/Saddle%20Fit/TripleCreekTree008_zps52caf33f.jpg
Looking at a bare tree also helps you to understand how it needs to fit all along the tree, without all that leather blocking your view![/QUOTE]
Thanks for putting those pictures together. You pretty accurately predicted the spots that the Port Lewis pad said that we had pinching. Oddly enough she did move really well in that saddle in the rides that I did in it. I didn’t want to risk those good rides becoming not so good rides over time though.
I have skimmed over the Rodnikkel site. They have a lot of really good information, and I love their pictures.
16 is too small. Just sold my 16 inch Circle Y that fit my mare perfectly, but did not fit me due to this. The 17 inch seat saddles I have tried on her have fit fine lenth-wise.
[QUOTE=Draftmare;8394113]
. Corriente doesn’t offer a wide enough tree for us. Need an 8 inch gullet.[/QUOTE]
Corriente Has their Trees made In Mexico (the country), the same place their Saddles are made.
The have one tree size only, 7" Gullet with Regular QH Bars.
I have several friends who own a Corriente, for the money they are good Saddles, if you have the Horse that can use the only size Tree they make.
.
Duplicate…
Martin saddle
[QUOTE=Draftmare;8394571]
Here is the facebook page with more pictures: https://www.facebook.com/JaysCustomLeather/photos_stream
Looking at Triple C right now. I like the look of their saddles, and that they use Steele trees. Again though some of their pricing seems too good to be true. Going to have to google some reviews.
Looking again, Corriente appears to make their own trees? Maybe they could make something wide enough and still stay within my $2000 budget. This search is proving much harder than I had thought it would be. I need to find a rich cowboy to buy me the $4300 Martin saddle that I custom built myself on their website. Their saddles look so nice.[/QUOTE]
I have one of those custom Martin saddles you are talking about. 8" gullet, 16.5" seat. Its stunning. But it doesn’t fit my horse. It come with matching breast collar and headstall. Everything was over $5000. I am selling it for $3200. I know its a bit out of you budget and I don’t know if you’ve found a saddle. But if you want I can send you pictures.
[QUOTE=Tamtam64;8593751]
I have one of those custom Martin saddles you are talking about. 8" gullet, 16.5" seat. Its stunning. But it doesn’t fit my horse. It come with matching breast collar and headstall. Everything was over $5000. I am selling it for $3200. I know its a bit out of you budget and I don’t know if you’ve found a saddle. But if you want I can send you pictures.[/QUOTE]
I may be back to looking, sadly. However, that is still out of my price range. Some day I would love a Martin.
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