We appreciate spring...

I have written before (more than once actually) about the fact that it is perfectly OK for the loin of the horse to bear weight.  This is a fact not even questioned by people who have strictly ridden western since almost every western saddle out there extends onto the loin, and all our horses have not been crippled as a result.  The idea comes from transposing English "rules" onto Western saddles without understanding the differences in design and how they work.  But is there a good reason western trees are built this way?  What happens if you shorten the bars so they don't go as far back?  Well, there are two main problems that occur when you try to shorten the bars excessively.

Last Sunday there was a lot of wind, and our internet has been out since.  So...  I'm over at a neighbours to check e-mail and put up a blog post.  Isn't that dedication??  (Actually, the real reason is my mother mentioned to me in a phone call today that she kept checking for an update.  Here you go, Mom!!)

We had four trees past the crucial drying stages when we went away, so they were thoroughly dry when we got back Wednesday night.  Rod did the final once over to reset a few nails, then they were varnished Wednesday night and Thursday morning.  So today, three of them were packed up and shipped off.  This week the offerings were, from right to left, a 14" wood post Arizona Roper going to Oklahoma, a 12" wood post Bowman going to Idaho and an 8 1/2" Wade staying right here in Alberta.

Here's a picture of a couple of trees we left hanging around the shop to keep an eye on things over the past couple of weeks while we saw a few other things...

See!!!  We have twin trees in the shop right now.  Aren't they CUTE!!!  (Well, everyone says that about newborn human twins.  Why not about new-made saddle tree twins??)  Here are a couple Wade trees with exposed, guadalajara shaped, Jarrah wood horn caps.  And they are totally identical!!

Continuing on in the saga of all the things we measure and keep track of, we next get to the cantle and horn, and finish off with miscellaneous bits and pieces.

Today I took the camera out to the shop to take pictures of something new and different to put up on our blog.  Here’s what I came up with...

With some different light today, I got some better the pictures of the exposed Jarrah wood horn I wrote about yesterday.  So I thought I would share them with you...

We've been doing a fair number of exposed wood cap horns, but haven't done a whole exposed horn for a few years.  This one is Jarrah wood, and the photography doesn't do the beauty of the wood justice.  Not by a long shot...