10 Most Popular Saddles of 2013: #8

This post is part of a series exploring the 10 most popular saddles from Horse Saddle Shop over the first half of 2013.

#8: Billy Cook 2010 | Price: $1,362.50

Yet another Billy Cook saddle to add to our Top 10 list. If you aren't familiar with Billy Cook saddles, take a look at our previous post detailing the art and craftsmanship that Billy Cook brings to saddle making.

If you're looking at the Billy Cook 2010 barrel saddle, you either want to go fast or feel secure in the saddle. The 2010 will fill both roles whether in the arena or on the trail AND make you look good in the process.

When we talk barrel saddles, most American made, quality saddle manufacturers have similar designs and specifications. The difference is in the details.

So what can you expect from this 2010 barrel racer? Well, before we get to anything else, we have to address the incredible hand tooled half-breed Texas Oak tooling. "Half-breed" refers to the roughout fenders and jockey with grain out leather covering the rest of the saddle - pretty standard on a barrel saddle. But when you look closely, the tooling is very deep and detailed - the oak leaf pattern on the skirt has almost a 3D effect.

The tooling continues to the pommel and cantle where you'll find a thick, sliver rawhide lacing. We also noticed the straight stitching, showing the quality and craftsmanship of a Billy Cook saddle. We love the crisp, large Billy Cook stamp on the cantle just incase someone forgets what you're riding in!

Moving up to the seat, you'll find a black suede seat with a very detailed, white, quilted stitching pattern and a silver Billy Cook plaque. The suede seat, roughout leather, and 5" cantle team up to keep you in the seat around the turns.

You'll also appreciate the 1.75" laced horn with yet another Billy Cook cap on the top!

Not typically found in other barrel saddles is a C.J. rawhide covered tree for strength, durability, and a saddle that will last for a very long time. We also like the in skirt rigging for extra strength.

As far as barrel saddles go, this is one of the best. And for the price, you won't find many other saddles that match the quality of a Billy Cook.

You can get more information on this saddle over at HorseSaddleShop.com.

10 Most Popular Saddles of 2013: #9

This post is part of a series exploring the 10 most popular saddles from Horse Saddle Shop over the first half of 2013.

#9: Billy Cook 2181 | Price: $1622.50

We should start by saying that five out of our Top 10 saddles are from Billy Cook in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Horse Saddle Shop is the largest dealer of Billy Cook saddles in the world and proud of it. Sure, a custom saddle from Billy Cook can take some time to get your hands on, but what you're getting is much more than a saddle. Made by hand in the U.S.A. from some of the most talented craftsmen in the business, what you receive is a useable piece of art that will last you a lifetime.

The Billy Cook Wade Tree Ranch Saddle 2181 comes in at #9 on our list of Top 10 saddles for 2013.

If you’re looking at this saddle, chances are you’re going to be doing work in it. So let’s start by looking at what makes this such a sturdy ride.

Billy Cook built this on a Wade rawhide covered tree for extra strength and shock absorption. The rawhide also works to protect the wood tree from moisture. It’s built with a wrapped post horn and comes with 7/8 position flat plate rigging with brass hardware. The flat plate rigging is a compromise between on-tree and in-skirt rigging. It's meant to provide the extra strength that you'd get from on-tree rigging with less bulk that comes with in-skirt.

The 2181 is built with a hard seat, a source of some debate especially for those used to trail saddles. Though a soft seat may be preferable on the trails, the hard seat gives a working rider a slick surface for easily mounting and dismounting and is a cooler ride – meaning less heat, less moisture, and, in-turn, less discomfort during a long day in the saddle.

The 4” cantle is just high enough to provide the necessary support and is adorned with deep leather tooling, rawhide binding, and a large Billy Cook stamp so everyone knows you’re riding in the real thing!

You’ll appreciate the roper stirrups this saddle comes with, although many of our customers switch them out with 4” leather lined bell or moran stirrups.

Like we said before, this saddle is truly a piece of American Made craftsmanship. We love the deep 3/4 basket stamped tooling in high quality chestnut, russet, and pecan leather. The saddle strings provide extra room for your daily essentials.

Plain and simple, this saddle made the Top 10 because it is a tough, well built workhorse that looks and rides like a custom saddle. And for the price, you’re getting more than what you pay for.

You can get more information on this saddle, including a video review, over at HorseSaddleShop.com.

Taking Care of your Antique Horse

Our horses are part of our family, joining us at a young age and becoming an equine senior citizen as a cherished family member. Just as your horse has taken care of you along many miles of trail riding, it is now your turn to take care of him in his twilight years.

NUTRITION AND HEALTH

Nutrition and health care needs for an elderly horse are different than those of a younger horse. You can place an elderly horse in a wonderfully lush pasture; however, if he is smooth mouthed or has missing teeth, he cannot properly chew the grass to get the optimal nutrition from it. Also, improperly chewed grass can cause impaction colic in older horses. Hay cubes may be the best thing to feed your elder horse because the fibers are smaller than those in regular hay and can be digested by an aging system. Along with the hay cubes, other smaller fiber foods such as beet pulp, soy husks, and bran can be included in your horse’s diet. Pelleted senior feeds can be incorporated into the diet to aid in easier digestion and absorption. All of the above items can be soaked in water for those horses that are pretty much unable to chew anything due to many missing teeth.

Always make sure there is an ample supply of clean, fresh water for your horse, which helps prevent colic. Flavoring the water and keeping a salt block available for your horse will encourage more water consumption.

KEEP THEM ACTIVE

Exercise is important for your older horse, both for his mental and physical health. Continue riding your horse if there are no health concerns preventing it. As long as he is healthy, a horse can be ridden through his 20’s and even into his 30’s. Be mindful not to over-tax him with a work out that is too strenuous.  Keep in mind that you want to keep him in good tone and body condition in correlation with his age and not with how he looked as a six-year old.  A leisurely ride down the road and back is better than having him stand in his stall or hang out in the pasture. This will exercise his body and his mind. Horses always enjoy having a job.  If riding your miserly mount is not an option, you can hand walk him 20-30 minutes two or three times a week to allow for some exercise.

It is very important to keep our elderly horses properly vaccinated for common equine diseases. Advanced age will weaken and suppress the immune system, making our senior equines more susceptible to illness.  Dental care is equally important to take care of any teeth that may be remaining.

BE OBSERVANT

Be keenly observant of tell-tale signs that there may be some underlying problem with your elderly horse. Watch out for markedly increased water consumption and frequent urination, gait irregularities lameness or other mobility issues;   change in shape, color, and smell of manure; retention of winter coat. All of these things may indicate a potential health problem for your geriatric guy.

Older horses are easily stressed during colder weather, most likely because they are not able to process hay as easily through their hind gut, which is how they generate heat; or because they are not in optimal body condition. You may want to blanket him during the coldest of days and nights to make sure he is warm.

As hard as it is to even think about, be aware of when your trusted treasure and old friend is reaching the end of his journey. While it is never easy to say goodbye to a dearly loved horse, it is even worse to keep him languishing in poor health. Discuss with your veterinarian when the appropriate time may be to help your horse with his journey across the Rainbow Bridge.

Happy trails!

By: Darlene M. Cox (kyhomeagain@gmail.com)

10 Most Popular Saddles of 2013: #10

This post is part of a series exploring the 10 most popular saddles from Horse Saddle Shop over the first half of 2013.

#10: Circle Y 1528 Barrel Saddle | Price: $1545.99

If you need to go fast and look good doing it, the Kelly Kaminski 1528 barrel saddle is a good choice.

You cannot miss the bling on this saddle. It starts with the clear crystal mosaic conchos from the skirt to the Cheyenne roll cantle. Circle Y has also included decorative flank plates for a little extra shine around the back.

We love the impeccable deep flower tooling and the soft quality leather. You’ll also notice straight stitching around the cantle and skirt. Topping it off is a beautiful rawhide-laced horn for a little extra strength and a nice finished look. “Quality” on this saddle is an understatement.

Customers are always impressed with this saddle’s “sticking power” in the seat. Circle Y created this with a 5” cantle and sued seat. Couple that with the smaller seat sizes desired by most barrel racers and this saddle gives you the impression that you’re Velcroed in.

Kelly helped design the horn so that both height and style help you lock your elbow into your hip around the barrels for consistent turns.

We were impressed by the minimal 21lbs. that this saddle weighs in at – in part made possible by the extra light Flex2 tree.

Between the Flex2 tree and the thick synthetic blend fleece, your horse should be just as comfortable as you in this saddle – one of Kelly Kaminski’s requests when developing this design.

Overall, this is one of our best barrel saddles at a fantastic price. You can get more information on this saddle over at HorseSaddleShop.com.

How to Market and Sell your Horse Trailer

Photo: GM.com

If you are in the market to buy a new-to-you horse trailer but first need to sell your old trailer, following are some things to consider when preparing your ad whether it is going to be placed on a bulletin board at the farm supply store or placed on an online social network, such as Craigslist or Facebook.

Pictures sell

Take as many pictures needed to define just what your trailer REALLY looks like. Good, quality pictures with plenty of light are best. All sides of the trailer should be shown, as well as the floor, topside with mats pulled back or removed and the underneath side. Don’t forget to include a picture of the roof. If you have a living quarters or dressing room in your trailer, take pictures of any appliances or creature comforts you have installed. Potential buyers want to see exactly what they may be buying. If your trailer has an identification or “Vin” plate, include a picture of it showing all of the information it contains.

Include Specifications
Provide as much information as possible about your trailer: Model year, brand name, loading standard (straight, slant, head-to-head), number of horses it will carry, gross trailer weight, air conditioning/heat, etc. 

Box and Living Quarters

Include information on the box length (where the horses load) and the living quarters or dressing room length. Examples of this are 10’ box with a 6’ living quarters, which makes the entire floor length 16’ long. All bulkheads are pretty much standard at an approximate 7’ length. It is also important to include the height of the box and the width. Some buyers may have larger horses and will need to know if they will fit on your trailer comfortably.

Include Maintenance Information

Potential buyers will be interested in the age of the tires and how much tread is left on them, the date the wheel bearings were last loaded, condition of the brakes, the date the trailer was last painted, and whether or not all of the running lights are working. 

Be honest about blemishes

Unless you are selling a new trailer, any interested buyer is going to know there may be some dents or rust on the trailer. Providing a picture of these areas is also helpful. 

Set your price and know your range

If you are not really sure what to ask for your trailer, look online to see how other trailers similar to yours are priced. If you are firm on your asking price, include this in your ad. This will let potential buyers know up front.

Title Transfer

Indicate whether or not you hold a title on the trailer or if you will issue a bill of sales at purchase.

Method of Payment

If you only want to deal in cash and no checks, define this in your ad. If you don’t, an interested buyer may appear with checkbook in hand and put you on the spot about accepting a check when you really don’t want to.

Happy trails!

Darlene M. Cox (kyhomeagain@gmail.com)

May Boot Giveaway: Ariat Showdown

We're giving away the most liked out of these two Ariat boots on May 31! Add a pop of fashion forward style to your spring wardrobe with the Ariat Dahlia, or enjoy the fashion/function versatility of the Ariat X-Toe.

How does it work?
1) Head over to our Facebook page and "like" us.
2) Enter the giveaway
3) Cross your fingers!

 And as always, you can shop our entire line of Ariat boots online 24/7.

Let’s Ride! Planning for the Upcoming Riding Season

Photo By: www.garyascott.com

Spring is here and now is the time to begin planning for the 2013 riding season. The possibilities may be endless of where we can ride. We all have our tried-and-true spots that we love to ride, but could there be some riding venues that you have yet to try? The most difficult part of the equation is when we can ride. Life sometimes gets in the way of our riding when our responsibilities to home and work get in the way.

OFF-SEASON PLANNING

If you ride with a group of folks, as many of us do, you may want to have some off-season conversations about where they would like to ride and possible dates that they would be available to ride. This is particularly important when you are talking about rides that are longer than a weekend. Many horse folks plan their vacations for camping and trail riding. 

WHERE TO RIDE
Once you have the dates in mind, you have to decide where your riding venue will be. A good rule of thumb is to ride closer to home when you have fewer days to ride and venture out when you have more time to invest in travel. It doesn’t bode well if you spend more time on the road than in the saddle.

When investigating a new riding venue talk to folks who have first-hand experience of riding there and get their opinion of the trails, the camp, accommodations for horse and human alike. Does the camp have full service sites with electric, water, and shower/bath facilities? Are there stalls for the horses or hitching rails? What are the camping fees and riding costs for bridle tags, etc.? Contact the establishment and ask for brochures or any other printed information, or just have phone conversation to get a feel for the place. Always inquire about what kind of trails are available for riding. If you don’t get this information, you may show up at a venue with very challenging trails and a green horse or rider – not a good combination.  After you have all information available, share what you have learned with your riding partners to get their take on how they feel they would like the area. 

BOOK EARLY
Once you know if the new riding venue will work, it is a good idea to book reservations early, particularly if you will be riding during a popular time of year. Horse camps will fill up quickly and you won’t want to wait too long to risk not getting a spot.

When planning your riding season it is best to have a good mix of locations, including those you have ridden before and new ones you would like to explore.  Making plans early will insure you will get to spend some great time in the saddle enjoying the surroundings of some wonderful trails.

Happy trails!

By: Darlene M. Cox (kyhomeagain@gmail.com)

RECOMMENDED TRAILS

Check out this blog post to see what trails our fans are riding.