Contact

11 Comments to “Contact”

1. 

   Terry BurianOctober 10, 2010 at 4:56 pm

   Eric love the saddle Ive got 5 tenn. walkers, used the saddle on 3 . Due to weather I only got to ride in the saddle for 4 times. I really like the fit whats most important my pickey horse loves the fit. I am sending the saddle back . Thank you for the use of your saddle. also you have an order comming from me. I will callyou when I get back from Bouvier Nationals 3rd of November. Sincerely Terry
2. 

   Donna RandolphDecember 8, 2010 at 4:20 am

   Hi,
   I have been in your website reading about your saddles and comments from happy customers, but have not read anything about the twist of the tree. My problem with western type saddles is that they are all too wide for me, so I have always ridden English. I recently purchased a 3 year old Missouri Fox Trotter, have not purchased a saddle as yet because she is not muscled, fit, or finished growing. I would like a saddle that is more appropriate for gaited horses, and would like to be able to ride “longer”, both hourly and years,as this horse is my “retirement” horse. Are any of your saddles (which style) appropriate for both of these problems?
   Thank you for your time,
   Donna Randolph
3. 

   adminDecember 8, 2010 at 10:14 am

   Donna,
   Thanks for your interest. Our saddles have the narrowest twist on the market; they are much like an English saddle in the sense that they are very close contact. We offer a lifetime guarantee on the tree and we use the highest quality materials available. Feel free to ask others on our Facebook page about the comfort, workmanship and longevity of Steele Saddles.
4. 

   leigh rileyJanuary 2, 2011 at 7:13 am

   I have an opportunity to buy a used Steele Mountaineer saddle. Does your tree guarantee apply to new owners of a used saddle?
5. 

   adminJanuary 3, 2011 at 12:55 pm

   Being a second owner does not void the lifetime guarantee of the tree.
6. 

   leigh rileyJanuary 15, 2011 at 12:56 pm

   I recently purchased a used Steele Mountaineer with #412 on it. Does that give me any information about the saddle or the tree? Also, does Eric, or anyone else from the company, plan to attend the AL horse fair next week in Montgomery?
7. 

   adminJanuary 17, 2011 at 2:46 pm

   This is a small Steele Mountaineer made in 2009; it has a lightweight tree. At this time, we have no plans to attend the upcoming show in AL, but continue to watch our blog for updates of any shows that we may attend this year. Thanks -Eric
8. 

   C.B. BernsteinJanuary 24, 2011 at 6:29 pm

   Hi. I’m looking forward to trying a demo saddle in a few months. If I buy a saddle for a young horse (5), can you re-pack the panels in a couple of years when she’s finished growing?
9. 

   adminJanuary 28, 2011 at 11:43 pm

   We’ve never had this type of request, but it is something that we can do later on if the need arise.
10. 

    Trudi BaileyJune 5, 2011 at 11:32 am

    My husband has a 15.3 TWH with a 7 1/4 measurement at the gullet and 13 1/4 measurement at the swell. He is a little fat now and muscles up quickly after a few rides. My husband is 6 feet and 200 lbs. He is looking for a lightweight, western saddle for long trail rides. What do you recommend?

    Thank you.
    Trudi Bailey
11. 

    adminJune 13, 2011 at 9:19 am

    All of our saddles come in a lightweight version. If you prefer a saddle with no horn the Mountaineer has a great handhold and the Frontier has extra security and a great handhold. If you prefer a horn, the Trail Boss is a great small pleasure horn saddle. The Classic has a more traditional rounded front-end with a larger horn. All of our saddles fit the horse the same and fit the rider the same unless you need a different fit for the horse or a different fit for the rider. Please see our standard fit information as follows.

    Our standard fit to the horse is fitting 85 to 90 % of the horses that we send it out to regardless of breed. We have many other fits for the other 10 to 15 % that our standard fit to the horse does not work for. Our saddles come in S, M, L and XL. For example someone weighing 140 – 190lbs would require a medium fit. If you are 5’5 and under, please let us know to include short fenders.

    Another option is to send you a mold kit. You would heat it in the oven for 10 minutes, lay it on your horse’s back to cool and return it to us. This way we have a replica of your horse’s back in our shop to build the tree by. We then add stirrup leathers, rigging and a temporary seat to the tree so you can actually ride the tree to check the fit to the horse before we complete the saddle.

    Two things that we recommend when trying a demo with our saddle:

    1) A thinner pad than normal (½ inch or less) will usually work just fine, when designing the tree it took 4 ½ years of riding the bare tree on the horse with no padding for the horse and no padding for the rider. This is why we suggest using a thinner pad because the pad is used for shock absorbency not to make a bad fitting tree fit. This same concept is used for the seat for the rider. We use minimal padding for the rider because the seat in the tree fits the anatomy of the rider and the padding there is also used for shock absorbency. Just like for the horse no amount of padding in the world will ever make a bad tree fit.

    2) On almost every horse that we come across, your girth will fall 3 to 4 inches behind the front legs of the horse. Our rigging system for the girth is set up to flow at a forward angle. After you tighten the girth the front 20% of the saddle with lock down on the horse’s withers to enable the rider to get on and off the horse. You will notice that the back end of the saddle will be up off the horse just slightly. When the weight of the rider is in the saddle, the back end of the saddle rests down on the horse’s back, the front 20 % will raise up slightly, now you have even pressure throughout the bottom of the saddle. The rider works with this fit to the horse because we have designed a rider’s groove that has a rise which comes up in front of the rider. This rise kicks the rider’s pelvis up straight and tucks their rear-end under creating a deep-seated pocket which adds a lot of security. This keeps the rider’s back up straight and keeps pressure off the knees and ankles. Most saddles do not have a rise with a rider’s groove for the rider. Due to this, it causes the rider’s lower back to slump over, their pelvis to tilt over on their pin bones, excessive weight on your knees and ankles which causes extreme pressure and soreness to the horse under the front end of the saddle. On a saddle that is already poor fitting to the horse.

    If you would like to try a demo, give me a call at 615-792-3884 to make arrangements for shipping of your demo. The customer is responsible for shipping and handling of the demo secured via credit card. If you decide to purchase a saddle, this amount will be waived.

    Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
    Thanks and have a blessed day – Eric