Texas Horse Saddles of the 1830s

By Will Ghormley

As social and political turmoil in 1830s Texas gave birth to The Republic of Texas, the growing cattle industry in Texas brought about the modern stock saddle.

Texas in the 1830s was the epicenter for stock saddle evolution. Anglo immigrants in Texas took up tending cattle from horseback, as Mexicans had done since Spanish colonization. These new Anglo vaqueros, who would come to be known as cowboys, brought with them their own way of doing things.

Adopting much of the traditions and equipment of the vaqueros, the Anglos adapted these to their own needs. One of the first innovations was the saddle horn. Since Mexican vaqueros used a saddle evolved from the Spanish war saddle, it was designed for a warrior and not for roping rough stock. Initially, vaqueros tied their riatas to their mount’s tail. Lassoed stock could then be towed behind the horse. Over time, vaqueros began tying the riata to a ring attached to the saddle, instead of the horse’s tail. Anglo immigrants adopted the Mexican’s tied-off roping technique. Sometime between 1820 and 1830, a saddle maker on the Texas frontier started adding horns to his saddles.

The term “saddle horn” originated from the practice of attaching deer, antelope, or elk horns to the fork of the saddle. The animal horn was attached fork down on the pommel. The base of the horn, where it had attached to the animal’s skull, acted as a stop to keep the rope from sliding off the end. The practice didn’t last long, but the name stuck.

On the frontier, the pommel of the saddle was called the fork because it was often carved from the branching fork of a tree. It wasn’t long before the wooden horn was being carved out along with the saddle fork. It was a practical and useful innovation. The one-piece wood horn and fork didn’t break as easily as an animal horn. The practice rapidly spread through Texas among Anglo and Mexican saddle makers alike.

In the 1830s, a Mexican saddle maker on the Texas frontier would make a fancy saddle much like the one in photo #1. A saddle of this quality would be owned by landed gentry or a wealthy rancher. It would have a small horn. This one is decorated with a 3” silver and brass medallion, commemorating Mexico’s liberation from Spain, (photo #2). The saddle would be single rigged in the Spanish style. It wouldn’t have skirts or fenders, but the tree and riggings would be cover by a large leather apron called a mochila. The horn and cantle would stick out through openings in the mochila. Behind the mochila would be the anquera. It extended back over the horses rump. Originally the anquera was leather armor for a Spaniard’s warhorse. In the 1830s, it kept the riders coat off the horse’s sweaty rump. On romantic outings it provided a rumble seat for the vaquero’s señorita.

On the Texas frontier of the 1830s, technology to steam bend stirrups wasn’t prevalent. Iron and brass stirrups were expensive and hard to come by. Mexican saddle makers used what was at hand. Stirrups were often carved from a single block of oak or other hard wood, (photo #3). Mexican craftsmen would filigree or decoratively carve the stirrups. A round flap of decorated leather often hung from the stirrup leather in front of the stirrup. This protected the rider’s toes from mesquite and cactus. It’s believed to be the earliest style of tapadero made in the Americas.

Anglo cattlemen found the horn the perfect tie-off post for hard-and-fast roping. This led to another Texas innovation, the rear cinch. Up to this point, most Texas saddles were rigged in the Spanish position, with a single cinch in the front, aligned with the fork. Roping a thousand-pound longhorn with a Spanish rigged saddle had its consequences. When the riata played out it would jerk the horn. The back of the saddle would fly up, often with critical results. The solution, tie down the back of the saddle with a second cinch. Soon, Texas saddle makers were incorporating a rear cinch in saddles built for working stock.

While many saddlers practiced their craft on the Texas frontier, one name would become synonymous with early Texas saddles styles. Adolphus Hope was a saddle maker, from what would become Washington County, west of the Brazos River, in eastern Texas. Some accounts have him building saddles as early as 1820. The style of saddle he became known for bears his name to this day. He is known to have built saddles into the 1850s. By the time of the American Civil War, Hope may have been retired, but officers both north and south sought Hope-style saddles for themselves and their mounted troops.

The Hope-style saddle sported a short thick neck and broad flat saddle horn. While slots in the bars of the tree accepted the saddle’s original narrow stirrup leathers, these were often replaced by wider leathers, passed over the bars, when the original leathers gave out. The broader stirrup leathers lasted longer under the extreme conditions of working cattle on the Texas frontier. The Hope had short skirts, wide fenders, and often incorporated a variation of the Mexican anquera behind the seat, (photo #4). During the 1860s, Texans driving cattle north, introduced saddle makers of the plains to the Hope-style saddle. Exposure to Texas saddles changed the saddles of the western frontier and defined the western stock saddle as we know it.

Saddle Technology in 1830s Texas

Texans are credited with the innovation of wrapping the wooden saddletrees in rawhide to add durability. This allowed the tree to flex with the horse and maintain strength.
Leather was colored, not with dye, but by soaking in rusty water. The iron oxide in the water darkened the leather. The longer it was left in the water, the darker it would get. An experienced saddler could color batches of leather from saddle tan to blue-black.
Incising, that is, cutting the surface, was the primary form of leather decoration. Mexican craftsmen excelled in intricate patterns. The designs of native Aztec Indians were used to ornament early saddles. Our modern floral patterns stemmed from the combination of Spanish and Aztec designs. Stamping was also used, but primarily along the borders and as accents to the incising. Stamps were home made from iron bands, nails and other found metal items. They varied widely and resembled what we call veiners and seeders.
In 1830s Texas, most saddles weren’t held together with saddle strings. The leather was nailed to the wooden tree. Where the saddle would experience great stress, metal conchos were made by hand and nails driven through them to hold the saddles together.
Common stirrups were made of iron, brass or wood. Frontier saddle makers often carved their own stirrups from local hardwoods. Mexican stirrups were usually decoratively carved or filigreed. Anglo saddlers favored large sturdy stirrups. The heavy stirrups were used to thump the horses ribs, encouraging them to greater speeds.

Will Ghormley is self-employed working with leather. He specializes in cowboy equipment and carved leather paintings of the old west. His carved leather paintings are unmatched and belong in the collections of such notables as: President George W. Bush, Paul Harvey, Charlton Heston, Dusty Rogers and The Roy Rogers – Dale Evans Museum. His saddles include a reproduction of Roy Rogers’ saddle, made to raise money for Happy Trails Children’s Foundation, and two recently completed saddles, representing the Anglo and Mexican influences in saddles of 1830s Texas, (pictured in this article.) Ghormley’s holsters and cartridge belts are prized among Western Action Shooters and Living Historians for their authenticity.

To learn more about the leather products offered by Will Ghormley, contact him at:

Will Ghormley – Maker
1050 25th Street
Des Moines, IA 50311
(515) 274-3917
willghormley@aol.com

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