New Saddle

     The Oregon Trail Interpretive Center staff is happy to show off the new saddle that can be seen on our guide/mountain man display. A reproduction Santa Fe style saddle which, it be seen as the ancestor of all modern western saddles. The stirrups are hand carved and wrapped with leather, standard for the mountain man and Oregon Trail time-frames. Additionally a hemp hobble hangs around the horse’s neck and was used to keep horses from running away; a lead rope, necessary to tie the horse up or, as the name implies, to lead the horse around and a “parfletch” saddlebag which was a necessity for any horseman traveling long distances. Finally a quirt was added, made of spare leather and a table leg, which could be used for hurrying a sluggish animal along. Our new saddle replaces a 1890s style McClellan style saddle which was to recent for the era of the Oregon Trail. We would like to thank Mike Buckner of the U2 Saddle Shop in Vale, Oregon for the creation of the new saddle and all the effort he put in to make it look authentic and aged.