The development of the western saddle has a rich history of antecedents. This particular genealogy of material artifacts is deeply connected with the history of horsemanship and riders. Generally, it can be traced to some period around 3000 BC, when the use of horses was first recorded in the clay tablets of Ancient Mesopotamia. ¹ Since then, horses have been featured in many accounts in miscellaneous parts of the world with the exception to the New World, as the horses were brought there by the Spanish conquistadores at the end of the 15^th century.² As a result of such complexity and diversity, our group decided to focus primarily on the most relevant antecedents to the western saddle in the 18^th and 19^th centuries while excluding antecedents from the European medieval period, Asian steppes, etc. In particular, we are going to consider two types of colonial Spanish saddle, a Mexican vaquero saddle, and a flat English saddle.

To begin with, it is necessary to consider Spanish colonial saddles, as they became direct antecedents to the western saddle. The first saddle is called “estradiota” and the second one is “jineta”.  The origins of the former lie in the variety of technical traditions, including Roman, Celtic, Gothic developments. ³ Some researchers attribute the development of the estradiota saddle in its classical form to the heavy cavalry of the medieval period. ⁴ The underlying idea of this design was to ensure that the rider kept his legs straight and extended forward in long stirrup leathers, while remaining firmly seated against the high cantle. Thus, the rider was able to better absorb the shock of impact and maintain his position on the horse. ⁵

Since then, estradiota has been generally used as a heavy, combat saddle that can withstand multiple hours of riding. In terms of its parts, estradiota saddle possesses high bows, heavy construction, extensive leather housings, and long stirrup leathers.⁶ Such a saddle was perfect for extensive combat operations, but substantially lacked in agility. Historians do not possess any fully preserved and documented saddles from the period of the conquista and early Colonial Mexico, but some visual evidence is available for interpretation in various codices. ⁷ For example, some of the most vivid depictions of estradiota saddles can be found in the Codex Tlaxcala, written by Mexican Indians under the supervision of Diego Muñoz Camargo in the late sixteenth century. These images, in particular, demonstrate a combination of various saddle elements characteristic of the estradiota, including stirrup length and spur types.⁸ Moreover, they indicate the importance of attached leather armor, which served to make the saddle both sturdier and more intimidating – especially in battles against Indigenous peoples who lacked experience in horse combat. ⁹

For this reason, some conquistadores and colonial settlers preferred the alternative in the form of the jineta. ¹⁰ Initially, it was adopted during the period of Reconquista on the Iberian Peninsula, where the Spanish first took over and modified certain Arabic designs to satisfy their own needs.¹¹ Jineta represents a light, non-work-related saddle that sacrifices parts of comfort and stability for the speed and maneuverability. The general form of the jineta was adapted for prolonged expeditionary use, as opposed to short, intense battles against substantial forces. From the technical perspective, the jineta has a pommel and cantle lower and simpler than the estradiota.  It also has fewer confining bows, fewer trappings, and shorter stirrup leathers.¹² Such a design allowed the rider to easily reach various items while on horseback. The jineta style of riding also encouraged a more upright and balanced seat, which improved control over the horse during rapid movement or uneven terrain. This combination of lightness and agility made it particularly suitable for the landscapes of Central America.

By the 19^th century, the modified version of jineta became well-known as the Mexican vaquero saddle that was extensively used by Mexican cattle drivers. ¹³ The key part of such design was “Spanish Tree” composition that was made up of four wooden parts, which were covered with rawhide. In also included certain large, removable parts such as the mochila (leather cover that fits over a saddle and holds the stirrups) and the anquera (a wide piece of leather attached to the back of the saddle to protect the rider’s lower back and secure gear.)¹⁴ In addition, one of the major innovations in the structure of the Spanish combat saddle that led to the Mexican vaquero saddle was the vertical extension of the pommel into a horn. The purpose of this development was to provide a place for the lasso when catching different animals, as previously the lasso had been hard-and-fast tied to the horse’s tail, which was considered too brutal and inefficient. ¹⁵ The development of the vaquero saddle became a practical response to the more civilian life and practices of moving cattle across the open and wide landscapes of the Americas, as opposed to its earlier antecedents in the form of the jineta and estradiota.

This design became quite popular were the American settlers and pathfinders in the West, as it was used by fur trappers, parts of the American army, and explorers.¹⁶ For example, one of the earliest American descriptions of the Mexican vaquero saddle comes from Zebulon Pike, who encountered Spanish troops during his expedition in 1807. He wrote: “The equipments of the horses are, to our idea, awkward; but I believe them superior to the English.”¹⁷ According to Pike, the saddle’s structure included a tree “covered by two or three covers of carved leather and embroidered workmanship, some with gold and silver in a very superb manner.” ¹⁸ The saddle also featured wooden stirrups shaped like beasts and a high pommel. Altogether, this design created an impression that, once mounted, it became “impossible for the most vicious horse ever to dismount them.” ¹⁹ Moreover, some scholars assume that the Mexican vaquero saddle was already widespread by around 1830 in the Southwest in general and in the Texas region in particular.²⁰ From these areas, it may have influenced the development of saddles used by American military and ranching populations. There is some evidence to support this theory, as seen in the example of merchant Thornton Grimsley, who established a shop in St. Louis specializing in the production of “Spanish” saddles.²¹ These saddles were later carried by mountain men into the fur trade of the Rocky Mountains during the 1820s and 1830s.²² Essentially, a modified version of vaquero saddle became the major antecedent for the western saddle.

Besides Spanish-combat and Mexican-vaquero versions of saddles, there was another antecedent that influenced the creation of the western saddle. Namely, the English flat saddle. It was the most popular type of the colonial saddle that was directly imported from Britain. Overall, the English flat saddle’s tree is much lighter with a narrower profile that allows close leg contact and flexibility for jumping or dressage.²³ The English tree was reinforced by metal parts at the stress points, creating more stable and controllable surface. Such designs were often modified through the addition of certain elements from Mexican vaquero saddles.²⁴ However, the frontier population’s preference generally lay with the Spanish and Mexican types. The report of Lt. Col. Sir Arthur James Lyon Fremantle of the British Army is indicative of this tendency. While traveling through Texas as part of an unofficial tour of the Confederate States in 1863, he encountered a Texas cavalry regiment that used exclusively “Mexican-like” saddles, and none of the riders was able to use the English flat saddle.²⁵ This suggests that the role of the English flat saddle was comparatively minor when set against its Mexican counterparts. Nevertheless, its legacy should not be dismissed entirely, as many individuals continued to adapt and modify their saddles based on the English design.

Generally, these four antecedents directly impacted the creation and development of the Western saddle, presenting it as a culmination of various technological traditions that were adapted by Western settlers for their own needs. The estradiota and jineta saddles provided the structural and functional foundations of balancing stability with mobility, while the vaquero tradition introduced other practical innovations such as the horn for roping and the reinforced tree for endurance. Taken together, these influences seem to reflect a long process of cultural and material exchange that transformed the purpose of the saddle from the military weapon into a civilian tool of ranching life. The Western saddle thus stands not merely as a regional invention of the Southwest, but as a synthesis of Mediterranean, Central American, and English traditions.

1.  Russel H. Beatie, Saddles (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1981), 7.
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2. Beatie, Saddles, 8.
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3. Richard E. Ahlborn, ed., Man Made Mobile: Early Saddles of Western North America, Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, no. 39 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980), 18, 41.
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4. Beatie, Saddles, 34. ↩︎
5. Ibid., 34. ↩︎
6. Ahlborn, Man Made Mobile, 5.
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7. Ibid.,8. ↩︎
8. Ibid.,8. ↩︎
9. Ibid.,9-10. ↩︎
10. Ibid.,12. ↩︎
11. Ibid., 5. ↩︎
12. Daniel F. Rubin de la Borbolla, “Origins of Mexican Horsemanship and Saddlery”, in Man Made Mobile: Early Saddles of Western North America, ed. Richard E. Ahlborn, Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, no. 39 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980), 27-28. ↩︎
13. Ibid., 33. ↩︎
14. James S. Hutchins, “Western Saddles Before the Cowboy,” in Man Made Mobile: Early Saddles of Western North America, ed. Richard E. Ahlborn, Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, no. 39 (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1980), 40-41.
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15. Beatie, Saddles, 48 ↩︎
16. Hutchins,Man Made Mobile, 43-45.
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17. Zebulon M. Pike, The Journals of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, with Letters and Related Documents, ed. Donald Jackson (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1966), 2:87. ↩︎
18. Ibid., 87-88. ↩︎
19. Ibid., 88. ↩︎
20. Ahlborn, Man Made Mobile, 18. ↩︎
21. Hutchins,Man Made Mobile, 43. ↩︎
22. Ibid., 43. ↩︎
23. Ibid., 41. ↩︎
24. Ibid., 48. ↩︎
25. Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, The Fremantle Diary: Being the Journal of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur James Lyon Fremantle, Coldstream Guards, on His Three Months in the Southern States, ed. Walter Lord (New York: Capricorn Books, 1960), 9, 19. ↩︎