Spanish Colonial Saddle, Late 1800's
About photo
Believed to be a Spanish Colonial
saddle from the late 1800's. This is a side rail saddle with
pitado stitching. Pitado is made from cactus fiber, and the work
was done by hand.
One this saddle, the side rail is removable. Note the extremely wide nearside flap to protect the riders clothing. Side rail saddles almost never have leaping heads, as the rail plus the leaping head would make mounting and dismounting very difficult.
The underside of the saddle shown the tree has "bars" like a western saddle, but these were padded and the saddle has longer tree points in the front, like an English saddle. It appears the saddle has only single rigging.
One this saddle, the side rail is removable. Note the extremely wide nearside flap to protect the riders clothing. Side rail saddles almost never have leaping heads, as the rail plus the leaping head would make mounting and dismounting very difficult.
The underside of the saddle shown the tree has "bars" like a western saddle, but these were padded and the saddle has longer tree points in the front, like an English saddle. It appears the saddle has only single rigging.
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