"Rehoming" some Western saddles

[The_FairLadyAside]

Greetings all! I’m not a Western rider (as will soon be abundantly clear ) so I’m reaching out for some advice…

A colleague of mine has asked for help in “placing” some Western saddles his father has. Preferably sold but possibly donated. I haven’t seen the saddles, only photos, but they appear to be well cared for and all are stamped with the maker’s brand (one is a “Simco”, one is marked “Pioneer Bighorn 1616” and the last one’s hard to read…".t.erford", maybe “Rutherford”?). The “Simco” one is pretty plain but the other two have a lot of fancy tooling and “quilting” on the seats, so may have been show saddles.

Are these worth trying to sell? Where might be the best place to market them if so? How would I go about determining how much they might be worth? If these aren’t something that anyone would want to buy, can anyone suggest where they might be donated?

The saddles are located in SE PA (greater Philadelphia area). Not sure to what extent my colleague’s father wants to invest the time or energy in marketing them (in terms of shipping them, that is - no small feat!) Any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

[clanter]

these saddles may be of greater use being donated . There is an inner city riding club on the northside of Philadelphia that might have need for these saddles

The Fletcher Street Riding Club is a 501©(3) non-profit organization devoted to inner-city horsemanship in north Philadelphia.

Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club

(Western Show tack can be trendy and trends change rapidly)

[Paint_Party]

@The_FairLadyAside

…they appear to be well cared for and all are stamped with the maker’s brand (one is a “Simco”, one is marked “Pioneer Bighorn 1616” and the last one’s hard to read…".t.erford", maybe “Rutherford”?).

I believe those are all saddles that were popular in the 70s and 80s. Simco was a decent saddle back then. The Pioneer Bighorn is probably a 1606, not 1616. As for the third one, could the name be a Textan Hereford (not Rutherford)? That, too, was once a popular brand.

Unless they have a lot of silver embellishments, they were probably not show saddles, but reliable saddles for recreational riding on the trails or light ranch work. If they are in decent condition, and both the leather and the fleece underside are in good repair, they can still sell for a couple hundred dollars a piece. To get an idea, you can just Google the maker names. Also, search Ebay and Etsy. Or lug them to a tack shop that sells used western tack and get an appraisal of sorts.

The tricky part is listing the saddles for sale. whether that’s on Ebay, Etsy or a Facebook site. You’ll need to rely on help to measure and describe each saddle properly. To ship, I’d take each one to UPS and pay them to box, pack and ship. It’ll run you about $100 total (ballpark estimate) for each saddle. Though the buyer typically pays for shipping, there’s always the possibility they get the saddle and it doesn’t fit them or their horse and they want to return it. Which is not fun.

So… All this probably makes donating the saddles more appealing. Where I live, the county humane society has a thrift store that includes a separate room for horse-related items. @clanter, the poster above me, also made a good suggestion. Finally, someone might want one (or more) of the saddles for decor. Perched on a rustic saddle stand, they add a certain vibe to a place of business or even a western-themed home. If you choose this route, you can simply list each saddle on your local craigslist at a modest selling price.

I’m sure you’ll get more posters chiming in. They might have other suggestions. Good luck!

[cutter99]

Fletcher Street Urban Riding Club would probably love a donation.

[Paint_Party]

That’s the same place Clanter recommended. So maybe they’ll end up there. If they’re in decent shape, they’d be appreciated. Especially the Simco. Those were nice, durable saddles back then.

[LCDR]

On my iphone mini I read this as REHORNING.

[The_FairLadyAside]

Thanks, guys! All good suggestions and the input is greatly appreciated!

@clanter - I totally forgot about Fletcher Street! And there’s also another group in that same neighborhood (Work to Ride) that maybe can use them. Even if they get sold for a fund-raiser as opposed to being used directly. Local enough that they can be delivered rather than shipped. That’ll be my first suggestion, and something I’d be willing to get personally involved in making happen. There’s also a three-saddle rack that “goes with” that I’m sure will be an asset to an overloaded tack room.

@Paint_Party - I looked at the photos again and yes, I can make out “Hereford” on the one with the worn stamp (ah, the power of suggestion !). I can’t speak to the fleece underside but the seats and the tooling that would be under the thighs are barely worn, so I have to believe they weren’t used much and the undersides are probably just as pristine. All good points about marketing them on line, and there aren’t many places in this immediate area that accept Western tack for consignment. I think it’s a safe bet that my colleague’s father isn’t that interested in investing the time in getting them sold or shipped - and not a project I need, either .