15.5″ Morgan’s Saddlery Gaited Western Trail Saddle

This saddle is literally a piece of history. Not the well published history, more the quiet history that isn’t talked about nearly enough. This saddle was made by the late Veldon Morgan of Morgan’s Saddlery, which called Hot Springs, SD home. Veldon did many things in his life–champion bronc rider, expert cowhand, saddle builder, inventor, and more. He developed many specialized tools for grooming horses and livestock, with a significant part of his business eventually purchased by Weaver Leather. His real love was saddle building. While many of his saddles were works of art such as the Charlie Russell saddle and Spade Ranch saddle, his goal was to make a quality using saddle that would outlast him. Well sir, you certainly did exactly that. This Gaited Trail saddle was made in 1997, built on a wood tree that would stand up to hours of riding and a bit of harder work. Build on a 16″ tree, fitting like 15.5″ with a deeper seat bed and higher cantle. Yes, this one is built on a Gaited tree, but don’t let that shy you away if you don’t ride a gaited horse. All that means is that it has shorter bars in the front, more rock to the tree and a shorter tree overall. This one fits WIDE, measuring 8.5″ with wide shoulder flare. This is a great option for a wider, shoulder horse with some angle to their topline. Slightly dropped rigging to help open up the shoulder. This is a simple saddle in design. No tooling, no fancy details, but is still incredibly well built. Has real wool shearling, very short skirt, nice padding on the seat, pencil cantle roll, plenty of rings and a few strings for your packs. Also has a crupper ring. While older, this one has been incredibly well cared for. Has very soft leather, showing far less use than you’d expect. Has a few scuffs here and there, but overall it’s in excellent condition. Has a newer set of engraved barrel stirrups added to it. This one does have a wood tree, but isn’t as heavy as you’d expect since it has such as short, single skirt. This is an outstanding saddle, one that embodies a lifetime of knowledge, of history and is ready for so much more. Veldon Morgan passed in 2022, with very few saddles made in the years before he passed, so these quality saddles are hard to get ahold of. This is one to grab–and one you can be assured will last!

• Seat: 16”, fits like 15.5″
• Tree/Gullet: Wide Gaited Bars, 8.5”
• Skirt: 24.5”
• Horn: 3”
• Cantle: 4”
• Thigh Space: 9.5”
• Weight: 30lbs
• Serial Number: 9790