The western saddle is deeply embedded in the historical fabric of American culture. Its usage, in collaboration with similarly massive technological breakthroughs such as the horse-drawn wagon, can claim responsibility for the earliest large-scale transportation which equipped pioneers and pilgrims to explore the vast stretches of American wilderness. Today, technology rushes forward to faster and more efficient modes of transport. The tradition of saddle-making, however, has not stagnated into irrelevancy. \u201cCompanies that have deep enough pockets for research and development will always be innovating and developing new concepts,\u201d Christian Lowe, a modern saddler, proclaims. While redundant by modern alternatives such as the gas or electric car in conventional regards, saddle-making remains unique in its interaction with equestrian culture such as with sports, leisure, and even some industrial applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To fully understand the history of the saddle, it is important to call upon its antecedents. Clarence Percifield filed for a patent in 1896 for a design of saddle that \u201chas for its object to simplify and\u2026 increase its durability.\u201d The key word here being \u2018increase,\u2019 as in, improve. To the same extent, John Hasting rushed his own patent to the government five years later in 1901, claiming that \u201cthe same is to provide a\u2026 strong and durable construction.\u201d These two men are not the only of a flock of inventors who were eager to innovate. The unique complexity of the saddle provides it the potential for numberless modifications. Throwing in a profit incentive and fervent work took the stage. Many iterations were redundant, however. Hasting and Percifield both set out and accomplished the same thing in the end and no advance was made besides a variation of words for a synonymous patent. It was this slow, winding approach which graduated the saddle from its antecedents over time. Far from the models that Hasting and Percifield iterated from their beginnings. Spanish or English saddles, primitive antecedents to the western saddle, became outdated due to such iterative invention. It is not so speculative to say that this means of improvement was not as effective as a coordinated team of funded researchers and that these patenters, driven by profits, were not without their shortcomings. Without them, however, the stepping stones for modern improvements would never have been laid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is now the twenty-first century, and saddlery has done nothing but refine its craft. \u201cSince then, saddles continue to evolve,\u201d Tania Millen supports on behalf of HorseJournals. Though not for the same journeys as before, the saddle retains its evolutionary advantages and aesthetic presence in America. No other country sustained the fantasy of the Western movie genre, for example, which was hallmarked by the iconic cowboys riding on their western saddles into that Western sunset. It is a cultural touchstone for most and a practical tool for many. Practices such as ranching and rodeo still prefer the logistical advantages of saddle riding compared to modern alternatives. It has become a specialized utility that works with streamlined effectiveness and to a degree that does not justify funding a replacement, but rather, improvement on the near-solidified foundations of its design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The western saddle is deeply embedded in the historical fabric of American culture. Its usage, in collaboration with similarly massive technological breakthroughs such as the horse-drawn wagon, can claim responsibility for the earliest large-scale transportation which equipped pioneers and pilgrims to explore the vast stretches of American wilderness. Today, technology rushes forward to faster and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-with-title","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-45","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116,"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/45\/revisions\/116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/historyoftech.mcclurken.org\/westernsaddle\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}