<b>[Music]</b> <b>For cowboys on the plains, the saddle was a tool of the trade</b> <b>that would grow to be a stylish heirloom of the American West.</b> <b>[Music]</b> <b>Among Don Rowlison's various pursuits, he also studies,</b> <b>collects, and restores western saddles.</b> <b>I do like the old saddles.

I had grown up with these old</b> <b>saddles when I was buying these for</b> <b>nothing because I didn't want to tear up my good saddle that</b> <b>cost me $113 and that was all my</b> <b>summer's wages.

And so I was going to farmers and stuff and</b> <b>finding old saddles that were hanging</b> <b>in the barn and I was getting them anywhere</b> <b>from $10 to $15, pretty good quality stuff.</b> <b>And so that's what got me started on the saddle and the</b> <b>restoration because I restored them on my own</b> <b>and I am not a professional</b> <b>restorer.

I have just picked stuff up.</b> <b>Here I have a variety of saddles and this isn't nearly the</b> <b>varieties as styles change through time</b> <b>all the way through.

But you can see the difference in what is</b> <b>called the swells or the pommels.</b> <b>This is called a slick fork.

This was very common in the 1880s</b> <b>and later.

And then as Rodeo came in,</b> <b>they kind of expanded on the swells to get a</b> <b>little bit of grip on them and then the extreme</b> <b>that was called a bear trap.

But this is where</b> <b>cowboys would be rodeoing and the thing is they</b> <b>had set in a saddle and they could lock their part of their</b> <b>thighs in the top and the horse couldn't</b> <b>get them out.

But these were very dangerous.

If a horse</b> <b>happened to rear and went over backwards,</b> <b>you're stuck.

And also with the saddle horns on them.

Some of</b> <b>them were brass, some of them were</b> <b>silver nickel plate.

But these are very hard to rope from</b> <b>because your rope slips on it and you</b> <b>can't build them up enough.

If you're roping, you want a bigger</b> <b>diameter saddle horn in the neck of</b> <b>it and you need it wrapped.

Now a lot of the ropers will just</b> <b>wrap rubber around it.

I found out that</b> <b>if it's rubber wrapped with inner tube rubber, that that has</b> <b>enough grip that when you dally or</b> <b>wrap your rope around the horn and it's really tight, it'll</b> <b>eventually tear it off.

So the old</b> <b>cowboys would wrap them in rope or string.

This string is more</b> <b>forgiving, but also the cowboys on</b> <b>the trail in the 1880s didn't have inner tubes</b> <b>for their wagon.

So they used strings or frayed</b> <b>pieces of rope to go around.

The smooth leather is which I</b> <b>prefer because it's easier to keep clean.</b> <b>This saddle was a is a Loomar made in</b> <b>Preston, Kansas.

They aren't making saddles anymore,</b> <b>but I tend to go for Kansas saddles.

This</b> <b>particular saddle is a rough out.

It's more</b> <b>of a suede than anything.

And then there's saddles too, such as the</b> <b>McClellan.

This is a cavalry saddle.</b> <b>It probably dates 1930s, 1940s, but it's a lot</b> <b>shorter because it has a band on it that says</b> <b>it's a 12 inch seat.

That's from here to here.

Well these other</b> <b>saddles, this one I know is a 14 inch</b> <b>seat.

This one's a 15 inch seat.

This one's a 14 and a half</b> <b>inch seat.

And so there were various</b> <b>seats, but the McClellan was made for the horse and not for the</b> <b>man.

You can see the big gap in</b> <b>the middle.

If you were out on campaign, your horse would get</b> <b>skinny.

You're riding them maybe</b> <b>30, 35 miles a day.

Their backbone would start to protrude</b> <b>after they got skinny.

And so this was</b> <b>to keep the saddle off the backbone.

Most of the saddles are</b> <b>built with a wool lining on the inside.</b> <b>This was put in a little bit for cushioning, but mostly it was</b> <b>used to hold the saddle blanket in</b> <b>place because the wool skin has a nap to it and even some of</b> <b>the artificial wools do.

So if you</b> <b>put it in wrong, the saddle blanket by riding will slip out the</b> <b>back or slip forward.

So when you cut</b> <b>the wool, you want to cut it oppositely so that the nap on one</b> <b>goes down and the nap on the other</b> <b>and in this case would go up.

And that holds the saddle blanket</b> <b>in.

But probably the most important</b> <b>thing to keep a saddle and as an heirloom,</b> <b>the main thing is to keep them clean and oiled.</b> <b>To clean a saddle, it takes a lot of time and you have to do</b> <b>it, but it's fairly simple.

A lot of</b> <b>people use saddle soap.

So with the saddle soap, you get a</b> <b>brush, you get it wet, kind of a soft</b> <b>brush or even a sponge and work up a lather on your saddle</b> <b>soap.

And that lather is transferred</b> <b>to your saddle and you rub that around because the idea of</b> <b>saddle soap is that it will add moisture</b> <b>to the saddle, it helps clean it, but with the lather it lists</b> <b>the dirt to the surface that brings</b> <b>it out of there.

But talking to leather preservationists out of</b> <b>museums and stuff, years ago they said</b> <b>the one thing that really worked was good old</b> <b>Murphy oil soap.

In fact, they say it has less</b> <b>acids in it than the saddle soap.

So with the Murphy oil soap,</b> <b>I will get a small container like</b> <b>a butter tub or something and put this in there and mix it</b> <b>depending on how dirty the saddle is,</b> <b>half and half or maybe a third saddle soap and two-thirds of</b> <b>water.

The most thing that I use is</b> <b>a toothbrush, an old toothbrush.

But then you need to use water</b> <b>to rinse it off and then take the rag.</b> <b>But you need to get that residue of any oil off that you're</b> <b>using.

The saddle next to me, I can tell</b> <b>that in the what we'd call the vacant spaces</b> <b>around the cowboy especially, when I used Neat's</b> <b>Foot oil on it, it came out, it brought the color out.

And so</b> <b>the Neat's Foot oil works well, but you want</b> <b>to use 100% Neat's Foot oil because there's Neat's Foot oil</b> <b>sold in stores that is Neat's Foot oil</b> <b>compound, which is less expensive, but the Neat's Foot oil</b> <b>compound has petroleum products in it.</b> <b>And petroleum products destroy leather.

But there's some great</b> <b>products out now made by Lexol,</b> <b>Lexol Leather Conditioner.

And the leather</b> <b>preservationists are saying this works quite</b> <b>well and I've used it for years and it is too.

But I still use</b> <b>the Neat's Foot oil on some of it.</b> <b>I'm kind of a traditionalist.

When you oil it with Neat's Foot</b> <b>oil, you don't want to put a whole</b> <b>lot of oil on because the leather might be dry and you'll</b> <b>think, well, we'll saturate it and get that in.</b> <b>You can't do that.

Well, you can do it, but it's going to ruin</b> <b>it.

You have to use very light coats</b> <b>on it, let it dry and then apply other coats until you get the</b> <b>right part.

But that's why it takes so</b> <b>long is to redo these saddles because there's a lot of</b> <b>application and a lot of drying time</b> <b>in between before you get back to them.

And then to restitch</b> <b>the saddle, it's really bad because</b> <b>you'll see stitching pulled on a lot of the saddles where the</b> <b>stitching is worn.

Well, a lot of the</b> <b>stitching on a saddle is eight stitches per inch or with the</b> <b>military saddles, they're 16 per inch.</b> <b>But basically, I consider of doing one inch per hour on these.</b> <b>And what I do is use one thread</b> <b>with a needle on each end of the thread and you go through</b> <b>every hole twice.

And that's called the</b> <b>saddle stitch.

When I used to work on other people's saddle, I</b> <b>would say there's no guarantee on when</b> <b>I'll have it done because I don't know the condition of it yet.</b> <b>Some of them I could kind of predict.</b> <b>This particular saddle, I think I worked on it by the time I</b> <b>got it oiled and up to what it is now.</b> <b>I think it off and on for three years.

So it does take a long</b> <b>time.

The cost can get up there</b> <b>pretty high, depending on the restorer, how bad the leather is</b> <b>and stuff.

So it's really better</b> <b>if you do want something restored, to do it mostly yourself at</b> <b>home and be satisfied with it and take</b> <b>a long time and you don't have to pay for all the labor that</b> <b>goes into these as the time because it's</b> <b>very time consuming and very slow work.

This</b> <b>particular saddle was made years ago for me.</b> <b>I designed it and it was made by a leather</b> <b>tooler in the penitentiary at Leavenworth.</b> <b>He was a tooler and so they didn't want to waste his time.

So</b> <b>he tooled everything all up.

And</b> <b>what's also neat too, what he tooled, is what I requested is a</b> <b>tooling of a buffalo skull on the</b> <b>back.

Now a lot of tooling was put on not only for decoration</b> <b>but also for friction because a saddle</b> <b>that you ride a lot and it gets slick and shiny but you don't</b> <b>have as much grip.

So they put the</b> <b>tooling on for decoration but also a little bit for grip</b> <b>because the tooling causes friction</b> <b>between your jeans or whatever you're wearing and the saddle</b> <b>and it's a better grip.

The tooling on</b> <b>a saddle is actually an art.

You have to be an artist to do it</b> <b>and there's a lot to do about it</b> <b>and that's one reason I'm not a tooler is I'm not an artist and</b> <b>I don't have the patience because</b> <b>it takes a lot of time to do it.

You have to do it right.

We're</b> <b>in John Steeples' weather shop in</b> <b>rural Rooks County.

I've known him for years and he is an</b> <b>artist and he's a craftsman as far as</b> <b>doing the patterns in them and stuff and the</b> <b>various sorts of saddles.

So today we're going</b> <b>to visit with him on things on how a saddle is</b> <b>actually built.

We'll talk a little bit about</b> <b>the tooling of the saddle and the work that goes into it.

So</b> <b>the saddle itself starts out with</b> <b>what's called the tree and it's usually wood and with the</b> <b>wooden trees they have bars on them</b> <b>and this is the bar.

It's very simple.

These bars but you see</b> <b>this gap in between.

Well to start</b> <b>the saddle out to make you need to to span that gap in there</b> <b>and that is what the saddle maker is</b> <b>called the ground seat.

So how do you start the ground seat</b> <b>John?

Well you take a piece of tin</b> <b>the tin actually has a rounded area in the back of it and it's</b> <b>nailed in around here like this</b> <b>and then you tap it in with a hammer to give</b> <b>it a little bit of dish or basically a place.</b> <b>And this is a dish in here.

Right.

Then</b> <b>you have to start bending it up like this</b> <b>and then down in order to nail it up to the</b> <b>front you know so it there's a lot of stretching</b> <b>of the tin that needs to happen just by tapping it with a</b> <b>hammer.

You'll feel any bump that</b> <b>that is in that even through two or three thicknesses of</b> <b>leather you know so it it needs</b> <b>to be smoothed and and have a nice dish for your tailbone.

Yeah</b> <b>so there's leather over the tin</b> <b>seat that's in here and so it is scived down or</b> <b>beveled down so it matches this and so that is</b> <b>very important for the comfort of the saddle.

That's the</b> <b>foundation the tree is the foundation</b> <b>but the ground seat is the foundation for this for the seat and</b> <b>basically the rest of the saddle.</b> <b>The tree of the saddle basically has</b> <b>four parts it has what's called the cantle</b> <b>the bars that we saw underneath and this</b> <b>is called the fork or sometimes the pommel.</b> <b>When we yeah when we talk about the</b> <b>swells it's on here because you can have a</b> <b>a wise fork or smooth fork but this has a swelled fork on it.</b> <b>This is this is what they call slick</b> <b>fork it's got nothing no bulge no swell to it and this is a</b> <b>Wade tree.

This is a Will James tree that</b> <b>typically has a 13 inch swell and a little</b> <b>bit undercut to it.

And this is the undercut in</b> <b>through here.

Aand both of these have wood post horns on them</b> <b>that are...

It's actually a piece of the</b> <b>the wood that goes into the front of it and it's been just been</b> <b>sculpted around and the neck of it</b> <b>And so yeah you wrap the horn and this takes a lot of patience</b> <b>too because you have to have the</b> <b>leather wet right?

</b> <b>It has to be just perfect .</b> <b>And you it has to</b> <b>be perfect and it has to be tight.</b> <b>If everything goes right you you soak</b> <b>your leather and you probably let it</b> <b>soak probably at least half hour maybe more.</b> <b>Oh you really don't want to soak it soak it.</b> <b>You just want it damp and pliable.

Yeah good and pliable and</b> <b>then letting it dry out for a little</b> <b>bit to where the color kind of comes back to it that's when</b> <b>it's perfect.

Yeah so you stitch your</b> <b>cap on it and that probably took it would take</b> <b>me a long time to do that.

If everything went</b> <b>if it was a perfect world and everything</b> <b>went right how long do you think that took?</b> <b>The total horn thing probably about four hours.

Four hours on</b> <b>that so it had a lot of time in it</b> <b>you did the ground seat and about how much time would that</b> <b>take?

Well the problem with that is</b> <b>the more you look at it the more you take out of it and dress</b> <b>it down trying to get every little</b> <b>bump you know that's showing up out of it</b> <b>just this one piece probably three or four hours.</b> <b>So this is a flat plate rigging and you know</b> <b>as opposed to say an end skirt rigging where the</b> <b>rigging is actually in the skirts underneath the tree.

And this</b> <b>takes time too because these have</b> <b>to be perfect also they have to be perfectly balanced because</b> <b>if you get one side longer than</b> <b>the other and cinch up the horse the saddle will set crooked on</b> <b>a horse's back.

Well we have the</b> <b>the cattle cover started on the outside it looks you know like</b> <b>a big fan shape deal but it depends</b> <b>on what you want to do with it because there's some saddles</b> <b>that have a Cheyenne roll and that is</b> <b>where this is folded down so it's kind of a handle on the back.</b> <b>If you were to put a straight up</b> <b>candle binding on it rather than lay it back for a Cheyenne</b> <b>roll you know you wouldn't have this</b> <b>much leather to be messing with.

And of</b> <b>course the seat isn't in this yet for the the final</b> <b>deal because all of this will be covered the</b> <b>person has to sit in here.

That's the pocket.</b> <b>That's the pocket and that those can be built up in various</b> <b>ways and even foam padded.

Do you do</b> <b>any padded seat saddles?

I did one that's the only one I ever</b> <b>built and and I hated it.

I never</b> <b>preferred them did you?

No.

I've never had one of my own that</b> <b>hasn't had a seat.

I had one I thought</b> <b>it was okay but that was before I really realized how</b> <b>comfortable a saddle can be.

That's right.

You</b> <b>know spending hours in the saddle it's nice to have a little</b> <b>slide instead of a lot of stick.

It is.</b> <b>How long will it take you to put the seat in do you think?</b> <b>That'll be a full day process for me.</b> <b>First of all you start with basically a rectangular shaped</b> <b>piece of leather.

Find the center of it and</b> <b>you know try and get it laying on your center</b> <b>line and usually you do one side at a time and</b> <b>then match it with the other side.

But the next step after</b> <b>after you get the seat in you can go</b> <b>ahead and start fitting your your skirts up you know and you've</b> <b>actually that's one of the first</b> <b>things you do is block the skirts and so then</b> <b>you take them off because there's no sense in</b> <b>having them on there while you're trying to do all this other</b> <b>stuff.

And the blocking is kind of a</b> <b>reinforcement in the leather to get all the underside of the</b> <b>saddle smooth and so the blocking</b> <b>usually extends from the edge up towards the tree a little bit</b> <b>because that's another big process</b> <b>in there to get that right before you put the the pelt in.

And</b> <b>once you get the skin the sheepskin</b> <b>on it then stitch it and then fit it back onto the tree again</b> <b>and make sure everything's where</b> <b>you want it.

And this is considered a jockey.

There's front</b> <b>jockeys sometimes and rear jockeys</b> <b>And it's this name, but this is the tree is in the</b> <b>middle of these and also the in skirt or the</b> <b>rigging too the flat plate rigging was on</b> <b>the inside also.

The leather that hangs on the</b> <b>stirrup you have stirrup leathers on the inside that are straps</b> <b>and then this part of the saddle</b> <b>is called the fender.

This one has a maker's mark on it.

Some</b> <b>saddles made in the factories don't.</b> <b>This is a maker's mark and it shows who made it usually or</b> <b>where it came from and this particular</b> <b>one says J.C. Steeples for John C. Steeples</b> <b>Zurich, Kansas and in the middle is a maker.</b> <b>This is absolute incredible craftsmanship and</b> <b>this saddle has been used a lot and it still</b> <b>retains its aesthetic beauty.

It still retains its sturdiness.</b> <b>This saddle has what's called the</b> <b>basket weave stamp on it.

Tooling has various</b> <b>functions but to tool the leather it takes a</b> <b>good quality leather to do it and it</b> <b>takes a lot more time to do that.

So with this</b> <b>stamped almost everywhere how many hours do</b> <b>you think it would take just for the stamping?</b> <b>I imagine there's probably 30 or 40</b> <b>hours just stamp work on that thing.</b> <b>It takes time.

When you talk about stamping</b> <b>and a lot of people consider that tooling,</b> <b>you don't have it pre-stamped or pre-tooled before you put it</b> <b>on.

So it has to be on your saddle.</b> <b>And that's where it gets really</b> <b>interesting when you're trying to follow</b> <b>it.

Make a stamp go over the top of a swell</b> <b>cover like that and keep your lines straight</b> <b>and make it look like something.

And so</b> <b>that's why the custom made saddles that really have</b> <b>the craftsmanship in them are so high priced because there's a</b> <b>lot of time and a lot of talent</b> <b>that goes into these.

So John you've moistened this leather</b> <b>right?

For demonstration.

What you</b> <b>really want to do is you want it to be cool to</b> <b>the touch.

What I've got in here is just water</b> <b>and a product called Carvey.

It doesn't take very much in it</b> <b>but it seems like if you're going to</b> <b>do any swivel knife cuts like this is a</b> <b>swivel knife.

It's got a sharp blade.

They come in</b> <b>different sizes and different shapes.

I kind of prefer the</b> <b>smaller knife like this.

You just pull</b> <b>it through your work.

You can pull it or push it.

You have to</b> <b>consider the thickness of your leather</b> <b>that you're carving on too.

And of course deeply carved leather</b> <b>looks pretty prettier than just</b> <b>kind of a superficial facial carve.

You know but you can cut</b> <b>through leather with these pretty easy.</b> <b>So it depends on what you're actually going to be doing.</b> <b>Whether you're going to be floral carving</b> <b>or basket stamping.

But if you're going to do a basket stamp</b> <b>you need the line to work off of.</b> <b>And you'll use a maul.

You can get these in several different</b> <b>sizes and weights.

If you're trying to</b> <b>get a deep impression like with a basket stamp or something</b> <b>you'll want something that's got</b> <b>a pretty good thump to it.

But you'll start on your line</b> <b>like this.

Go to the other side</b> <b>of your line and connect the two.</b> <b>And so you want to be consistent on</b> <b>you're just tapping it twice to get the depth.</b> <b>I mean you could probably do it in one but you know you need to</b> <b>give them all at least the same</b> <b>amount.

So it actually looks right.

But that works quite well</b> <b>where you have it on here.

But when you</b> <b>have the saddle going on the swells it takes</b> <b>quite a bit of time to be able to go with the</b> <b>curves in the lines.

You can't exactly spin it like this.

Yeah</b> <b>you can't really spin it and manipulate it around.</b> <b>And it gives it a basket weave pattern.</b> <b>That's why it's called a basket stamp.</b> <b>There's different kinds of stamps that</b> <b>you can do different things with.

This is</b> <b>kind of a snowflake pattern and you can connect it on the sides</b> <b>and essentially it forms a flower in the center.</b> <b>Like so.

This is a kind of a border</b> <b>stamp that you can use along long lines.</b> <b>You just connect it and it leaves</b> <b>kind of a scalloped look to the edge of it.</b> <b>I don't know.

Saddles were something that always fascinated me</b> <b>and I thought man if I could build</b> <b>my own saddle that would be awesome.

I think the thing I enjoy</b> <b>the most about is you're creating</b> <b>something.

You know you have the satisfaction when you're done</b> <b>looking at something that you've made.</b> <b>Here's a billfold that I made and it's just something about wow</b> <b>I made this.

I can't believe that.</b> <b>There's a satisfaction of creating something.</b> <b>Yeah but I see him as saddles as being tools</b> <b>and some of the tools you want to look as good</b> <b>as you can.

John being the cattleman that he is</b> <b>has ridden a lot of saddles so he knows what it takes.

He's</b> <b>ridden a lot of different horses and</b> <b>he always has had good horses.

You know how as a saddle fits it</b> <b>is a tool and he uses that as a tool</b> <b>in his occupation.

So you might as well have</b> <b>nice tools and nice horses and it makes the</b> <b>occupation just a little bit easier sometime.

You might as well</b> <b>be riding in style while you're</b> <b>doing it.</b> <b>[MUSIC]</b>