Monday, November 16, 2009

Big Horn Saddles are still being made!

I can’t tell you how many times customers have called us and said that they heard Big Horn saddles are no longer being made (it happened twice while I was writing this blog!). Well I’m here to tell you that this just is not true. We have known all along that they were being made, but recently we were privileged to visit Big Horn and see the production happening with our own eyes, hear the sound of the cutters cutting leather, smell the hides in air, and feel some of those saddles that so many people are looking for.

Some of the rumors about Big Horn come from the fact that in November of 2008, Big Horn was purchased by American Saddlery, another saddle manufacturer just down the street from Big Horn. American brought over some of Big Horn’s best people to ensure that the quality continued in the Big Horn products. During the transition of moving operations into the American Saddlery facility, there was of course some slowing of production. There are still sometimes delays in getting saddles, but during our visit, we saw enough saddles in production and inventory to make any saddle-seeker smile.

The people at Big Horn were very welcoming and several of them took Chuck and I (Charlie) on a very thorough plant tour. In addition to the many Big Horn saddles that have been around for years, Jack Hughes (president/owner) & Mike Stocker (previous owner of Big Horn) were excited to show us the relatively new Sil-Cush line of saddles. These saddles are built on a Steele Equi-Fit Flex tree. We got a hands-on demonstration of the raw tree showing just how it flexes. Big Horn lines the tree bars with Sil-Cush breathable silicon foam which molds to the horse’s shape as the back and shoulder muscles move. And the Memory Foam Extra Soft Seat just makes you want to stay in the saddle.

The Big Horn team with Chuck














Jack, George, Mike, Bonnie, Andy and Chuck


Chuck checks out a Big Horn Endurance saddle
















Thanks to everyone at Big Horn for making our visit informative and enjoyable!


Here’s a true story...
A customer recently called us and said she is still trying to get her money back from a particular online store that will remain nameless (I just wonder why someone would purchase from someone that has to put "Honest" in their name). She had bought and paid for a Big Horn saddle over 6 weeks ago via Paypal, but still didn’t have her saddle. She wanted to cancel her order and get the saddle from us since we had it in stock, but she was told that once you get past 6 weeks, you can't get your money back. She went ahead and purchased the saddle from us. We only hope she was able to get her money back.


So what’s the bottom line with Big Horn?
1. Big Horn is still making quality saddles.
2. Deliveries dates aren't always what Big Horn plans but you WILL get your quality saddle.
3. Buy from HorseSaddleShop.com where we keep LOTS of Big Horn saddles in stock so we can ship when you order.