Friday Fave: Jason McKenzie Custom Saddles

This week, I have another super talented custom saddler. Jason McKenzie hails from Alberta, Canada. He specializes in custom Western saddles. This fellow's work is absolutely STUNNING. Most of his pieces are working, reining and roping saddles. There are even some antique reproductions. The tooling and detailing put into them is gorgeous. They are true works of art that work!! He does do show saddles with silver, but most are very understated and elegant. His prices seem competitive with other custom saddlers. Go check out his website and see what he has to offer. I have posted a few photos as a teaser below.

Now, to me the saddle above is just super elegant and simple. The ovbious quality of the leather and workmanship really shows.

I love the color contrast on the saddle above. The leather looks so rich and smooth.

I personally love the saddle pictured above. It looks so authentic. I would get one in a heartbeat if I had the cash.

Above we have a super nice, elegant show saddle. Just enough silver and gorgeous tooling. I love the contrasting inlaid seat.

Boy, check out the tooling on this one! Isn't that amazing?

Razzle Dazzle

Ok some kind reader posted this link in the comments section. I checked it out and could not really pick just one or two things to post about. This place takes the cake when it comes to "loud" tack. Check out Razzle Tack if you get a chance. Proper protective eyewear is highly recommended. They do custom painted, tooled, and crystal-ized tack. The work is definitely quality, just not my cup of tea. I have posted a trio of photos as a "teaser" (or forewarning, whichever) for you to enjoy.


















You know, I might look into having them do a bridle/breastcollar set in my SCA colors with my device on it, or with Arabic script or something. That would be WAY cool. Just no sparklies for me thanks.

Monochromatic

Today we have a rather dreary saddle to look at. The ENTIRE thing is gray. I am not sure HOW or WHY it is gray, but it is. I have never seen a saddle this color and have no idea why anyone would want one. It looks like it might be a well made saddle and though it is listed as used, it looks new. It is just really, really odd. Can you imagine this thing on a gray horse, with a black saddle blanket and a gray bridle? It would look like a black and white movie. Yuck.

"Magic" Seat

While browsing in a tack shop the other day, I ran across a product called the "Sure Grip Seat Cover". This contraption straps onto a western saddle over the seat. It is basically the fuzzy part of the velcro and it has straps that go around the rider's legs and velcro to the part on the saddle. It looks to me like it was developed for adults, perhaps for therapeutic riding, and has been adapted as a sort of seat belt for kids. In case of an accident, the weight of an adult should be enough to detach the velcro with no problem, but children are much lighter and the velcro may not come loose.

Folks, this is NOT a good idea. I have read peoples reactions on various forums, and a good many actually LIKE them and use them for their children. I have had horses fall with me, every time if I had been strapped to it, I wouldn't be here today. Every time, I was on a horse I trusted, and every time I was not going fast. My husband has also had similar accidents and if he hadn't been able to bail out, he would have been seriously hurt or worse.

I have seen what happens when a horse takes a fall with a small child strapped to it (without a helmet I might add), it was not pretty. It was a barrel racing competition. The horse made the first turn, slipped and fell, and slid about 10 feet. It then struggled to rise, flopping around and finally scrambled to its feet with the child dangling limply from the saddle. I thought the girl was dead. Fortunately, she was simply unconscious.

I have seen these things being used to allow children (or adults for that matter) to ride horses that are far beyond their ability to manage. If a child is not able to handle the horse they are riding, cannot keep themselves seated, and are not able to control it at a high rate of speed, then perhaps they are overmounted. The answer is not to strap them to the saddle. Try a smaller, calmer horse, and perhaps not allow them to go quite so fast. PUT A HELMET ON THEM, I don't care how "goofy" people think it looks, it can save their life. Children have many years to ride and enjoy horses, and yes, compete in speed events. Maybe it is best to let them get a bit bigger and to become better riders before allowing them to move to a bigger, faster mount. There is plenty of time for winning trophies when they are older.

In a Barbie World

Today, I bring to you a group of saddles that look more like they belong on Barbie's mount than on a real horse. I will say, I DO NOT like pink, period. I am of the opinion that pink tack ought to be banned, just to prevent the embarrassment of thousands of geldings and stallions worldwide. I used to volunteer at a Equine Assisted Therapy barn where this one poor fellow had hot pink SMBs. He looked so embarrassed every time we put them on. He was a 16.2 hand TB who was no sissy. I felt so bad every time I tacked him up.


For our first selection we have a lovely (sarcasm) roping saddle. It is a synthetic, which in itself is not a bad thing, it is the screaming pink color that offends me.





Then we have a couple of not-too terrible saddles with pink accents. These are tolerable, though I could do without the pink corner accents on the first one.










Now, here is another synthetic, with fake ostrich print leather accents and hearts. Yuck.





Next is possibly the most horrendous pink beast I have ever seen. The ENTIRE saddle is dyed (painted) pink. The silver spots all over it are a lovely addition as well. It looks like a cheap piece of junk with cardboard leather too. The color is not consistent on the saddle, looks like it had a horrible incident with a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Blech.






I will leave you with some more of my finds that are also victims of the Pepto explosion.






Wow, and it has sparkly "Ghetto-flage" accents too.








This one is also not so bad. The seat being the only thing on it that is pink. It looks well made too.

Art Show Friday

Today, we are going to deviate from the normal tack talk. I want to show you some amazing artists who I admire. I only wish I could make art like theirs. They do mainly equine art, both digital and traditional, but they also delve into fantasy realms. They are all very talented and have unique styles. Their art is beautiful. Please explore their pages and enjoy the gorgeous pieces there.


First is Amanda Drage or "moodymand", she hails from the UK. Her artwork can be found here. You can explore her galleries and view the many gorgeous pieces. I especially like this one.







Next is someone known to me by her DeviantArt ID, QueenOfGoldfishes, she is from France. Her amazing work can be seen here. Her mastery of the digital media is astounding. This is done with a COMPUTER folks, can you believe it?






Here we have Christine Jordan from the US. Her art is amazing, her horses look like they could just gallop off the page. Please enjoy her art in her gallery. I LOVE this digital painting. I cannot believe the realism she achieves with these images.




Please go and explore and enjoy these galleries. There are thousands more artists on the art site as well that are equally talented and have so much to offer. If you should want to view my gallery, you can do so here. Please enjoy your weekend and have fun exploring the world of equine art.

Holy patriotic saddles Batman!

A reader sent me a link to this saddle this morning. The price for it is nearly $6000. Yes, I said $6000. I actually jumped back from the computer screen when I saw it. I also let loose a string of expletives. It actually STARTLED me. I really don't know what to think of it. I am all for showing your love for your homeland, but perhaps it should be, I don't know, not under your BUTT?



Brace yourselves, proper eye protection highly recommended.