What’s A Custom Saddle?
By Caron Granger
Well I guess it’s normal to only look at the final product – the completed saddle. You throw it on your horse and swing a leg over it. In actual fact there’s a whole lot of important stuff that goes into making a custom saddle before it even looks like the finished product. Not only does it take many hours to make a custom saddle, it also takes years of practise to make a good one.

You may ask “what is a custom saddle and why choose a custom saddle?” Well, I’m glad you asked! A custom saddle is built by a saddlemaker according to your particular requirements. There may be certain aspects of your horse, style of riding or particular needs that you have identified as something that will assist you in training or showing your horse to its full potential. Normally these aspects cannot be incorporated in a factory made saddle or something “off the rack”.

A true custom saddle is built on a tree that is especially made for your order. The length of seat, slope of bars, height of cantle, type of swells and horn are all specific to you and your horse. That’s why it’s a custom saddle, its custom built for you and your horse. And the tree is the foundation, so it has to be good – just like building a house I guess.

So now you know. And if you’re in the market for a custom made saddle I know the exact person you should talk to, my husband - Ty Granger. You could talk to me but he’s the custom saddle maker. (I’m the support crew, still as important, but he’s the person in the know.)

Ty Granger And The Passion
Who’s Ty Granger I hear you ask - well he’s my husband first of all, but most important to you he is a saddle maker, dedicated to the craft of saddle making. Ty has worked in the horse and livestock industry for over 25 years and during that time has learned that whether you are competing in the show ring or working on the property, it is important to have a proper fitting saddle. Ty has been making saddles for over 18 years and very few people know it’s his passion (besides me of course).

Ty lives, breathes and loves the art and history of saddle making. It’s amazing, most good custom saddle makers from all over the world still hand craft saddles using patterns and designs which have been tried and tested over the years and proven to last the test of time.

A Custom Made Saddle’s Story
It all starts with the designing process, which to my mind is the most fun. This normally involves lots of input from both saddler and client and is always based on the bottom line – the good old budget! From there design, size, fit, leather colour, carving, stamping and amount of silver, if any, is chosen – it’s just like starting with a blank canvas. Once the saddler has the plan it’s time to build the creation from the inside out.

The Tree Which Has No Leaves
The tree, which is the foundation and most important part of the saddle, is made to each client and horse’s size and build. There are 4 sections to each tree and all are made to your specifications - two bars, (which sit on your horse’s back), the swell and the cantle.

Each section is carved from timber using patterns which are based on styles which have been tried and tested over the years to ensure a perfect fit to your horse’s back. Each section is then glued and screwed together and hand sanded to ensure a smooth finish. The tree is then covered with rawhide for strength and set to dry. The drying normally takes about 2 weeks, depending on the weather and then it’s ready to build on.

Ty’s Creation Is Born
Once the tree is dry a ground seat is then shaped by hand according to the riders shape and size. The ground seat is made up of layers of leather which are shaped with a spokeshave, rasp and knife to give the required seat for you particular riding discipline. This ensures your bottom sits where it should in the saddle.

From there the saddle is put together. Each section is cut out from the sides of leather - fenders, seat, swells, back jockeys, skirts. Normally 2 sides of leather are required for a saddle.

Silver is positioned, carving and stamping completed and then it all goes together. It is important to note that all our saddles are made with sheepskin skirt linings which allows your horse’s back to breathe and resists compacting unlike synthetic linings.

Ty then puts the final touches on the saddle with hand covered stirrups, a Nevada twist to the fenders, and a quality cinch. Then a photo is taken for our saddle album and off it goes to its new home, all taking around 7 – 10 days.

Have You Checked Your Saddle?
It’s important to make sure your saddle isn’t hurting your horse’s back, a common problem with ill fitting saddles is the tree is too narrow, especially now we are breeding our horses much bigger and stouter than years ago.

Some saddles may even have broken trees or weak spots and therefore will not be supporting your weight evenly. Sadly, an ill fitting saddle, sometimes unbeknown to the rider, can cause a horse to perform well below its potential.

And There’s More
Besides custom saddles we also offer clients a great range of custom made gear for showing and training - bridles, halters, chaps, saddle cloths and spur straps, what ever you need. We aim to provide horse owners with quality custom made gear at very competitive prices. You can honestly see the difference in the final product and you know our gear is made to last.

Kathy’s Silver
We are also using the ever popular Kathy’s Silver for our show gear. We have access to Kathy’s whole range so if you are after a new show halter or bridle, just give us a call and we will email or mail you a catalogue of the different styles and coloured stones.

Good Luck And Good Shopping
I hope our story has given you some understanding of the custom saddle. If you are in the market to buy one it’s always better to be as informed as you can, then you know you are getting the best for you and your horse.

Thanks to all the people who have ordered and received our saddles and gear. We are seeing more and more of our saddles in the show ring every year and are very proud of the owners when we see them in the winners circle too.

If you have any questions or require any further information, please give us a call and remember to visit our website www.tsgranger.com to look at some of the gear we’ve made so far.

Best regards

Ty, Caron, Cody & Ellie Granger
TS Granger Custom Saddles

** Ty is working on Mel Cruden's custom made saddle in the lower 3 photos above**
**Final product is shown below!**
This saddle is just what I always wanted, comfortable, holds you in the correct position, and fits my horse perfectly. Thankyou Ty & Caron for creating a masterpiece! I recommend Ty Granger to anyone looking for that extra special custom made saddle. You won't be dissapointed!

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WIN A FABULOUS
HANDCRAFTED
TY GRANGER CUSTOM SADDLE
to the value of $3,000

Purchase the magazine then fill out the entry blank on this page below & return it
to the address on the coupon.
Only entry blanks cut from the magazine will be accepted.
Facimilies or copies of any description will be rejected.
Multiple entries are welcomed provided each entry is a WHBA magazine original.
Drawn February 2008.

ALSO IN THE DRAW
This edition’s display advertisers receive an automatic entry into the draw.
If you haven’t already, here’s just another very good reason to put the
2007 WESTERN HORSE BREEDERS ANNUAL
at the top of your advertising schedule.

A very special thankyou to Ty & Caron Granger for their offer to create some lucky magazine reader the chance to win this awesome prize
Check out their website www.tsgranger.com
to see what else they can create for you