Cantles special.jpg

We are no longer building saddle trees. We have two saddle fit videos available on our westernsaddlefit.com websiteWestern Saddle Fit - The Basics, aimed at riders, is available either on DVD or streaming on Vimeo while the six hour series Well Beyond the Basics, aimed more for professionals but understandable by anyone, is available by streaming on Vimeo. (We left this website up because we have had many requests to keep the information available.)

Special Cantle Requests

There are always variations on any theme, and cantles are no different. Bevel edges, “shovel” cantles, special shapes to cantles, no dish cantles and slots in cantles are some of the different things we have been asked to do – so far…

Bevel edges

There are a couple of reasons makers ask for a bevel on the edge of their cantle. They either want it large enough to affect the look of their cantle, or they want a small bevel which won’t be noticed in the final saddle but which helps them get the edge of their cantle binding set back just enough from the face of the cantle so it has less chance of wearing from contact with the rider. Here are some pictures of a few of the bevel cantles we have made over the years.

Please note – when making the bevel cantle, we build it so the seat length would be correct without the bevel. This means it will measure a bit longer with the bevel. Also, depending on the width of the bevel, you may wish to think carefully about the amount of dish you are ordering compared to the rest of the specs of the cantle. Our Cantle Conundrums page explains more about why.

Bev 1 .375 regular 35 3.25 x 12.25 0810145 bevel.jpg Bev 2 .375 regular 37.5 4 x 12.5 1205076 bevel.jpg
3/8 inch bevel on 3 1/4 x 12 1/4 regular cantle at 35 degrees 3/8 inch bevel on 4 x 12 1/2 regular cantle at 37.5 degrees
Bev 3 .375 taylor 40 5 x 11 1202028 .375 x .125 bevel.jpg Bev 4 .375 regular 37.5 5 x 12 0901009 bevel.jpg
3/8 inch bevel on 5 x 11 Taylor cantle at 40 degrees 3/8 inch bevel on 5 x 12 regular cantle at 37.5 degrees 
Bev 5 .5 regular 35 3.5 x 12.5 1205068 .5 bevel.jpg Bev 6 .5 regular 35 4 x 12 1308141 .5 bevel.jpg
1/2 inch bevel on 3 1/2 x 12 1/2 regular cantle at 35 degrees 1/2 inch bevel on 4 x 12 regular cantle at 35 degrees
Bev 7 .5 Taylor 37.5 4 x 12 1304063 .5 bevel.jpg Bev 8 .5 regular 40 4.5 x 12 0909113 .5 bevel.jpg
1/2 inch bevel on a 4 x 12 Taylor cantle at 37.5 degrees 1/2 inch bevel on 4 1/2 x 12 regular cantle at 40 degrees
Bev 9 .75 Taylor 37.5 4 x 12 1210131 bevel.jpg Bev 10 .75 Regular 40 5 x 12 0609102 bevel .75 x .1875.jpg
3/4 inch bevel on a 4 x 12 Taylor cantle at 37.5 degrees 3/4 inch bevel on a 5 x 12 regular cantle at 40 degrees
Bev 11 0.875 regular 37.5 4 x 12.5 1207091 0.875 bevel.jpg Bev 12 1.1875 regular 40 4 x 12.5 0802007 1 x 3 16ths.jpg
7/8 inch bevel on a 4 x 12 1/2 regular cantle at 37.5 degrees 1 3/16 inch bevel on a 4 x 12 1/2 regular cantle at 40 degrees

 

Spade shaped cantles

When we are asked to make a “shovel cantle”, our question is “What is your definition of shovel cantle?” There are a few different definitions we have heard: a Taylor style cantle, a very stood up cantle or a spade shaped cantle. We explain more about how making a cantle a Taylor style affects its look in the blog post Taylor versus regular cantles – see the difference. There are lots of pictures of regular and Taylor cantles at different angles on the other pages in this section, so what is left are the spade shaped cantles.

Therefore, here are a few pictures of some spade shaped cantles.  Generally these cantles are taller, more narrow than wide, and are ordered at a more stood up than laid back angle. Some have more “spade” than others, depending on height and width correlations and customer preferences.

sh 1 regular 37.5 4 x 11 1107077 shovel.jpg sh 2 regular 40 4.5 x 12 0911153 shovel.jpg
4 x 11 shovel shaped regular cantle at 37.5 degrees 4 1/2 x 12 shovel shaped regular cantle at 40 degrees
sh 3 regular 40 4.75 x 10 1210126 spade shape.jpg sh 4 regular 40 4.75 x 12 1303050 shovel shap.jpg
4 3/4 x 10 shovel shaped regular cantle at 40 degrees 4 3/4 x 12 shovel shaped regular cantle at 40 degrees
sh 5 Taylor 40 4.5 x 11 0908103 shovel.jpg sh 6 taylor 40 4.5 x 12 1201013 spade shaped (2).jpg
4.5 x 11 shovel shaped Taylor cantle at 40 degrees 4 1/2 x 12 shovel shaped Taylor cantle at 40 degrees
sh 7 taylor 40 5 x 10.5 0806066 spade shaped.jpg sh 8 Taylor 40 5 x 11 0904068 1.jpg
5 x 10 1/2 shovel shaped Taylor cantle at 40 degrees  5 x 11 shovel shaped Taylor cantle at 40 degrees 

 

Cantle slots

We occasionally are asked to put slots in the cantles, either for the look of an old Santa Fe style or because people like them for tying equipment through or just ease in handling their saddle. You need to be aware that it weakens a cantle to put holes in it like this, but we will build them if you order them.

Sl 1regular 37.5 4.5 x 13 1108085 wood cantle slots.jpg Sl 2 regular 37.5 4.5 x 13 1108085 wood cantle slots front angle.jpg
Sl 3 regular 37.5 4.5 x 13 1108084.jpg Sl 4 regular 37.5 4.5 x 13 1108085 cantle slots angle right.jpg
Sl 5 regular 37.5 4.5 x 13 1108085 cantle slots back.jpg Sl 6 regular 37.5 4.5 x 13 1108084 angle right back.jpg

 

Special shapes

Some customers have their own preferred shape or idea of a shape, either for aesthetic reasons or because it helps them construct the saddle the way they like. We will work with you to build the look of cantle you want. As we explain on our Cantle Conundrums page, the cantle needs to fit into the “box” to get the correct height, width and angle, but within that box, the shape can vary. Here’s a few of the “different than our normal shape” cantles we have made so far.

sp 1 Special shape - widest at bottom Taylor 35 4 x 10.5 0802008 shovel Cope.jpg sp 2 special shape Jim taylor 40 4.5 x 11.5 1304071 Jim pattern.jpg
Special shape on a 4 x 10.5 35 degree Taylor cantle Special shape on a 4 1/2 x 11 1/2 40 degree Taylor cantle
sp 3 special shape Taylor 40 5 x 11 0907094 special shove Fadeeff.jpg sp 4 Extra wide cantle regular 37.5 4 x 14 1210135.jpg
Special shape on a 5 x 11 40 degree Taylor cantle Extra wide cantle - 4 x 14 37.5 degree regular cantle
sp 5 Comfort cantle regular 35 3 x 14.5 1202022 comfort 1.jpg sp 6 Comfort cantle regular 35 3 x 14.5 1202022 comfort 5.jpg
3 x 14 1/2 comfort cantle at 35 degrees Comfort cantle from the side

 

Special cantles

And then there are the really different ones. We have done a few cantle modifications for riders with physical disabilities to enable them to ride more easily. Some we have made just for the aesthetics, either to be historically accurate or just because the customer likes the look of something different.

sp 7 no dish 27.5 3 x 12 1305094.jpg sp 8 no dish 27.5 3 x 12 0 1305094.jpg
No dish in this cantle!  3 x 12 at a very laid back angle. There really isn't any dish in this cantle.  It's perfectly flat...
sp 9 Assymetric cantle 1.jpg sp 10 Assymetric cantle 2.jpg
Asymmetric cantle built for a rider whose hip was fused after an accident. The saddle looked relatively normal when it was finished, but you could see the difference if you knew what to look for.
sp 11 Paraplegic tree side.jpg sp 12 Paraplegic tree front.jpg
Tree made for a paraplegic rider. 13 inches high, 14 inches wide.