New Materials and Methods for Western Saddlery

Abstract

Western ranchers have been making saddles in largely the same fashion for the past two hundred years. While some new technology has made its way into English or riding saddles, Western saddles are made from leather and are often still made by hand. Western saddles are also different than English saddles in that they have to accommodate the diverse work needs of ranchers. This paper aims to see if an analogy to climbing harnesses or backpacking backpacks could provide a saddle design that better leverages modern materials and manufacturing to make a Western saddle that performs better. Given that a saddle is a product that exists within two different sets of needs (the rider’s and the horse’s), data-driven design will be examined as a possible method of generating forms that would successfully bridge between both sets of needs. The goal of these new material and manufacturing approaches is to double the breathability, cut the weight in half, and retain equal horn grip performance in a new saddle prototype when compared to a benchmark saddle.