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Experience the Life
: Trades
: Saddler
An English-style saddle complete with
supplies necessary for travel rests on a tent. |
Click image to enlarge |
18th-century saddler sold several items needed for
care of horse
Colonial saddlers furnished 18th-century Williamsburg citizens
with hunt saddles, postilion saddles, racing saddles, sidesaddles,
and various "horse furniture," which included harnesses,
bridles, girths, surcingles, brushes, curry combs, and sponges.
Steer hide was the raw material used by a saddler. His primary
tools were the crescent-bladed round knife, the pricking iron, and
the wooden-handled stitching awl. Like his counterparts at today's
Harness and Saddle maker, the colonial saddler used two steel needles
to stitch pieces with waxed flax cord. Saddlers also had to show
skill at ornamentation to please customers who wanted a decorative
saddle.
Saddles custom fitted to rider and horse
Saddles were built on a wooden tree and were tailored to the customer's
measurements and those of his mount. The tree was strengthened with
iron plates and fitted with hardware to secure the stirrup leathers.
Harnesses were sewn from strips of leather cut on the premises and
mounted with rings, bits, and buckles from the founder and the blacksmith.
For further reading:
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Historic Triangle