Saddle Design Options | Slone Saddles

Step 1. Choose Your Slone Saddle Series

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Step 2. Choose Your Saddle Style

Team Roping Saddles

Our team roping saddles are designed slightly different than our calf roping saddles. To start, the front end is not quite as low. We have developed a saddle that still has the vertical balance feature, but instead of getting off after you rope, it has a little deeper seat, to be able to sit back down, get your dally, and then ride and control your horse around the corner to give your heeler a good shot, or rare back with two feet. The horn has a slight lip on the back side to help keep your dally from popping off when it is a little too close to the top. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horses back. The tree is reinforced in the stressed areas to provide years of hard use that is trouble free.

Calf Roping Saddles

Calf Roping saddles are what put Slone Saddles on the map. The first Slone Saddle ever designed and built over 30 years ago was for Tod’s horse, Salebarn, that quit working due to improper saddle fit. With significant tweaks and changes from any saddle then currently on the market, Tod designed a saddle tree that is event specific and works on horses that are built for this event.

Our tie-down saddles have a wide low fit, which reduces the leverage on the horse’s back. We recommend using a Tod Slone 100% Wool Felt Contoured Pad, with a Heavy Wool Navajo blanket, that is cut out in the front to allow the saddle horn to sit down close to the horse in order to reduce the leverage of the jerk. The cantle is designed to be low, to get off easily, but with extra dish to allow you to ride it across the line, without the feeling of sliding out the back. The way the stirrups are hung and the ground seat is shaped, we have created what we call vertical balance. It makes it easier to get to and stay in the front of the saddle for a quick and accurate delivery. We also use the calf roping saddle in the goat tying because it is easy to get out of and has a small horn cap that fits in most hands nicely. The tree is reinforced in the stressed areas to allow for years of hard use that is trouble free. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horses back.

This is our “sweet spot” with Tod & son Ace’s combined years of personal experience in this event, we are confident that you and your horse are best suited for competition when you saddle up with a Slone.

Barrel Saddles

The barrel saddle is the saddle that has seen the most changes over the last 5-10 years. We have made them lighter and completely changed the ground seat and stirrup placement. The thing that is unique about the barrel saddle is that you have to be able to stay off of the front end as your horse sets to turn the barrel, then you have to get out over it to drive him to the next barrel. That created an interesting challenge. But with the help of very talented and experienced barrel racers, we have done a nice job of solving that challenge.

All Around Roping Saddles

The All Around Roper is a saddle that is unique to Slone Saddles. We needed a versatile saddle that combined the features of all of the roping saddles into one saddle. The saddle fits like a calf roper. It has the wide low fit and should be ridden with the cut out pad. It also has the lower cantle that is easier to get out of to rope calves or tie goats, but it has the team roping horn cap that has the lip on the back to help hold the dally when it gets a little high. The tree is also reinforced in the stressed areas to provide years of hard use that is trouble free. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horse’s back.

Steer Wrestling Saddles

Our dogging saddles are designed with the same wide low fit as our calf ropers. The purpose of this design is to reduce leverage when the competitor is hanging off to the side. The seats are designed to be easy to slide off. The cantle has virtually no dish in it, so it doesn’t hook your hip as you make the catch. The egg shaped horn is designed to be easy for a big hand to hold. The tree is reinforced in the stressed areas, the same as the calf and team ropers, to provide years of hard use that is trouble free. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horses back.

Ranch Saddles

The ranch saddle is designed to ride all day long. We have moved your hips back, your feet slightly forward, and raised the ground seat for a more comfortable ride. With this set up, it is also easier to stay on that young horse that is fresh on a cool morning and decides that he doesn’t want a rider on his back yet. One thing that we have learned about ranch saddles is that they are different in different parts of the country, but the basics are still the same. The saddle is on the horse for many hours a day. Therefore, not only does the saddle have to be comfortable for the rider, but it has to be comfortable for the horse too. It also has to be strong enough to rope a bull and load him in the trailer. As with all of our other roping saddles, the tree is reinforced in the stressed areas to provide years of hard use that is trouble free. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horse’s back.

Steer Roping Saddles

Our tripping saddles are designed much like the other roping saddles. The vertical balance feature is more like the team roping saddle. It is designed to sit down and ride, then get off in a totally different way than any of the other roping saddles. The front is raised slightly and the cantle is much lower, but with extra dish to make it a little easier to stay in comfortably. The reason for the lower cantle is that when a tripping horse logs off, the rope runs from the horn, over the cantle, and down to the steer. If the cantle is too high, it puts a tremendous amount of pressure on the horses loins. That could make one really sore. The tree is reinforced in the stressed areas to provide years of hard use that is trouble free. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horses back.

Youth Saddles

The youth roper and barrel are two saddles that we thought about for 5 years before we ever took the time to sit down and design them right. From the stand point of functionality, they are two of our best. They are designed to fit a small person the way a full sized saddle fits an adult. When a small child tries to get in a roping position, the saddle horn on a normal sized saddle hits them in the stomach or even higher. Same thing with the barrel saddle. So we took the tree and designed it so that it still fits a big strong horse, but is proportionate for a short bodied person. Be it a kid or just someone that is built like a kid, it still has the strength and durability of the larger saddles, just in a smaller package. The tree is reinforced in the stressed areas to provide years of hard use that is trouble free. The riggings are all double riveted to the skirts so that they work together to create a more even pull on the tree, and make the saddle more secure on the horses back.

Reining & Cutting Saddles

Reining and cutting saddles are totally different animals than the other rodeo event saddles. They have to be designed for the rider to sit back and keep his/her feet in front of them. More so than even the ranch saddle. To accomplish this, most people ride a much larger seat size in these competitions. The front of the saddle is much higher with a fairly tall horn that is easy to push off. The leather is softer and normally has more oil than any of the other events.

Step 3. Tree Fit

While these tree variations work for the large majority of horses, there are always exceptions to the rule. We are committed to doing our best to combine your needs with our expertise to create a tree that properly fits both horse and rider.

Horse types:

Ropers:
High Withered – Fit #1(Jig 46)
Average – Fit AZ 20.1, Fit #2AZ, 3 (TS Signature Line)
Average (Wider) – Fit #3AZ, 3W (TS Signature Line)
Extra Wide – Fit #4TSS, 4 (TS Signature Line)

Barrels:
Narrow – Fit BB1
Average – Fit BB2 (B2, Jig 6 – 134 Bar)
Wide – Barrel Fit B3

Tod Slone Signature Barrel Tree

Diamond S Barrel Tree

Tod Slone Signature Roper Tree

Diamond S Roper Tree

Tree Fit Angles

The pictures below are example views of angles needed to properly assist you in determining the appropriate tree fit for your horse.

Important Note: We design our roping trees to be used with a heavy Navajo blanket and a 3/4″ Tod Slone 100% Wool Felt Pad. Our barrel saddles are designed to be used with a 3/4″ Tod Slone 100% Wool Felt Pad.