The Western Saddle is used for "western riding" and is the saddle used on working horses on cattle ranches throughout the United States and especially in the west.  The "cowboy" saddles are familiar to rodeo fans and movie goers and to those who have gone on trail rides at guest ranches.  The Western Saddle was designed to allow the cowboy comfort and security during long hours of work herding cattle in a time when that was their livelihood.

We give credit to the Spanish vaqueros for the design of the Western Saddle.  They were the early horse trainers and cattle barrens of the Southwest and Mexico.  A combination of the Moorish style saddle and the jousting style were employed with the added innovation of the saddle "horn".  The horn allowed the vaqueros to control the cattle with the use of a rope that could be quickly tied to the horn.

Today, there is not much roping of cattle except in competitions, but the saddle still has these features incorporated in to it from history.  There are a few variations on the western saddle design such as those used in bronc riding, endurance riding which have no horn.  The historical saddle was made for comfort and to be ridden for many hours every day of the week.  A working tool for the cowboy.  For the novice it may give the impression of providing a more secure seat, but this is misleading as the horn is not meant to be a handle for the rider to hang on to.  Seat, high cantle and heavy stirrups are meant to be all independent of each other in a control issue.

The most common "western style" saddles include the following:

* "Equitation":  A show saddle with an especially deep seat to keep the rider in place.

* Show: Saddle is characterized by the addition of leather and tooling with lots of silver decorations.  Can be based on roping,  cutting, pleasure etc. 

* Trail:  A comfort saddle for the rider as well as the horse. Deep padded seat for long slower rides.

* Endurance:  Lighter weight saddle often without a horn built in.  The tree spreads the riders weight out over a large area of the horses back.  Many times the stirrups are rigged slightly forward for fast dismount.

* Barrel Racing: Lightweight with wide swells and high cantle allowing rider quick dismounts.

* Cutting:  Has a deep seat and wide swells for control in quick turns and fast sprints.

* Roping: Heavy, sturdy saddle with a thicker horn for securing a rope.  Low cantle and a slick fork that allows the rider to dismount quickly when needed.

The history and romance of the Western Saddle makes it a favorite especially among the people of America where it was refined and expanded in to what it is today.