Finished IMTM Saddle, HBK10

So it's a little late... by 3 days... so not bad? But it looks great and I tried a lot of things that I'd never done before. Without further ado, HBK10

New Features:

1. Working keepers for stirrups. The straps have buckles and can be removed. This was necessary because:
2. Adjustable stirrup leathers. I've never done adjustable stirrups before. They work good and are not super bulky which was one of my worries. It's something that you see a lot on more lsq saddles so I'm really glad it worked.
3. Tooling. I redid my skirt twice once I found the style of tooling that I wanted. It looks clean. Not very difficult tooling by any standard but it's a major step forward from where I was.

Lessons Learned:

1. Next time I'm just going to buy a tree with the cut outs for adjustable stirrups. It will reduce bulk and make my life easier in the long run.
2. Adjustable stirrups are not hard, it's just important to make sure the buckle won't contact/scratch the horse.
3. I hate weaving cinches. I will be avoiding that like the plague... and we are in a plague. Next time I will be trying to make a faux neoprene one.
4. Tooling takes time and CANNOT BE RUSHED... rushing leads to wasting leather. It also takes practice, which I'm trying to get more of.

I still have my second ever saddle. The comparison pictures are kinda amazing.

Here are some of my progress photos because deconstructed saddles are just as helpful to look at and constructed ones.