Pleasure saddles are much different from any other type of western saddle. Pleasure saddles have medium sized and thickness of horns, seats with a low back and a flatter base, a short skirt, and only one girth. Sometimes, you might see a pleasure saddle with two girths, but so far I haven't seen one. I am a firm believer that only roping, barrel racing, and reining saddles need two girths. The purpose of the second girth is to hold the back of the saddle down, and the part of the saddle behind the seat is only heavy enough that it needs to be held down on the roping, reining, and racing saddles. Here are some examples of pleasure saddles:
Next up, we have some barrel racing saddles! These saddles are built with a deep seat, higher backs, and taller horns that you can wrap your whole hand around.
Next, roping saddles! These are built to be heavy, with horns that are thick enough to hold a rope. The saddles are sturdy enough to hold up to the strain of roping cattle and bulls. Roping saddles are heavy-duty, with double girths and usually a breast collar. Roping horses are strong, skillful, and smart.
Last but not least, the reining saddle. Specialized to be simple and flimsy, these saddles are made of nice, supple leather and a strong saddle tree. These saddles can stand up to sliding stops, side passes, and both slow and fast gaits.
As you can see, there are many types of western saddles. Next up in the Western Pleasure / Contesting Pictures ~ Tack series is breast collars!
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