McKinley Mother Hubbard

Seidel’s Saddlery “McKinley Mother Hubbard” custom “Collector Grade” saddle.  Specs include:  56 Wade, 15 3/4″ seat, round Wood post horn (small neck), 4″ cantle, 4 button seat, In skirt rigging, small round shaped skirts, Mother hubbard front and rear, fully hand carved with multiple flowers and acorns, 2 tone (dyed background).  The overall design of this saddle was for a lady—sleek, simple lines, elegant, lightweight, and drop dead gorgeous!

This mother hubbard saddle incorporates the swell, rigging and skirts into one piece of leather, and then they are laced together at the back on top.  While this is a simple look, the construction is not simple at all.  That one piece of leather has to be wet, shaped, made flat for tooling, riggings fit and hardware installed, and then re-shaped, lined with sheepskin, stitched, and hope to heaven that it all fits in the end!  The seat is recessed into the swell, so that there is no bump where the seat would normally lay ON TOP of the swell.  This feature is a Keith Seidel signature feature that he started doing on his saddles long before anyone else was doing this.  Keith has always been a leader in the saddle making industry, and the inlaid seat into the swell feature is one that so many are doing today.