10/29/2025
Do you know what makes a Wade, a Wade?
I see people and companies advertising ‘Wades’ and they’re not. They might be western stock saddles... with rough out leather and hard seats... or built on slick-fork trees... but that doesn't make them Wades. Production-line saddle companies like to advertise their ‘Wade’ saddles but too often, not a single one has the points that a Wade tree is known for.
They use the moniker because it convinces people that these saddles are meant for workaday cowboys. These might be nice, useful trail saddles but without these key points, they’re not Wades. If you’re interested, let's dig in.
Points that go into every single Wade tree, are key distinctive features that include:
The horn: A short, thick, wood post horn that's part of the laminated fork. It’s integral to the tree and is not attached separately, later on in the construction process. They won’t pull apart, which is a pretty big deal when you’re hooked to a cow. The integral wood horn is far stronger than a separate metal horn that is screwed to the tree.
The gullet: A scooped-out gullet that's possible because the horn is part of the laminated fork. This can be thinner, to clear a horse’s withers, because it is not needing a thickness to hold screws. Drilled holes vastly weaken the strength of the horn at the tree. This means that the pull on a dallied rope can be almost 1” closer to the horse, than on a standard stock saddle. This lessened torque, or leverage, saves the horse over time.
The bars: Wider bars with more surface area in contact with the horse's back to distribute weight better. This results in the lowest possible PSI. They’ll often have a more pronounced ‘flare’ to the front of the bars, which a lot of riders use as permission to saddle a horse up on top of the scapula. "My horse loves a Wade!" they'll say but any well-fitted custom tree should fit the horse, taking into account his shape and the breadth and movement of his shoulder, no matter the style of saddle.
The seat: A balanced seat for comfort and security. It's not flat but neither does it have a small pocket to keep you in one place. Some describe it as a 'neutral' seat.
The set of the stirrups: These are hung directly under the rider for a balanced, vertical riding position of shoulder, hip and heel. A chair seat, which comes when the stirrups are hung too far ahead, is hard on the horse. A crotch seat, which comes when the stirrups are hung too far back, is an insecure perch for the rider, no matter how long, or short, is the day.
The rigging: Traditionally flat plate rigging, but in-skirt is becoming more popular. It is a myth that in-skirt rigging isn't strong but built right, it won't pull out and affords less bulk under the leg.
The cantle: Often, a higher straight cantle than what we'd see on western performance saddles.
In short, Wades are meant for long days on a horse, under extreme working conditions. They are not usually a standard overall measurement, unless they're production-line saddles. Terms like SQHBs or FQHBs are approximations to fit the average customer. Custom rawhided hardwood trees, used by knowledgeable saddlemakers, are ordered with degrees of slope to the bars, length, rock and sometimes flare, for a tailor-made fit for the horse.
Due to their construction, Wades are meant to take a heckuva lot of abuse.
Points that are never seen in a Wade tree: high front ends, swell fork fronts, ‘seat pockets’, small horns. Now, there are a few drawbacks to Wades, just in case you’re not aware. They're not perfect in all situations.
I’ll say it. You can’t hardly sit a performance horse stop in a Wade. There's a reason cutters, cowhorse and reining saddles are made as they are.
They can be awfully heavy to pack around, especially for us older women. They often don’t have a lot of freedom of rider leg movement built into the saddle, due to the restricted free play of the heavy stirrup leathers over the bars. You can also get piled mighty quick, if you’re without bucking rolls and on anything wilder than a pet pig. So, use the bucking rolls!
Due to the cost of the trees, alone, a good Wade saddle will likely be built only by a custom saddle maker. Reckon on $5000 and up… waaaaaay up. Silver, carving and the names behind both the treemaker and the saddlemaker have a lot to do with price. Here in Canada, a side of heavy skirting leather, alone, is in the neighbourhood of a thousand bucks.
There are pros and cons to a Wade and the job its meant for, versus other specialized saddles, such as cutters, barrel saddles, reiners, ropers and cowhorse rigs. One of the biggest pros is that real Wades are tough. Really tough. A saddle built on the tree shown here would have to be in one helluva pickle, before it pulled apart. You could likely drive a truck over this saddle and it would be just fine to ride afterwards.
Remember, this saddle sets lower than others with a prominent lip in the front at the gullet. A larger horn allows the cowboy to rope, dally, then slow the cow down by letting the rope slide. The lip allows a loop of the free end to be tucked under the rope of the stretched end, which keeps the dallies tight for doctoring cattle. The pull is lower, resulting in less sideways torque on the horse, than is offered by a standard tree. The wide mule-hide wrapped horn allows the rope to slip, like a snubbing post, which is a little more forgiving for cows and horses, alike, as opposed to a narrower horn with rubber wrapping.
As you can imagine, there are two committed types of ropers; those who ride Wades and those who ride other types of ranch and roping saddles, those meant for timed arena events such as tie-down, team roping and breakaway.
Now, you can definitely have a nice ranch saddle that is not a Wade! Both Mike and I ride two very nice older custom rigs; Mike’s was built by Chuck Stormes on a copy of his grandfather’s c. 1930s slickfork saddle and mine, by the late Matt Eberle, on a Visalia tree, with a little swell. Ranch saddles, yes. But Wades, no.
By the way, Wades are named after one Clifford Wade, a workaday cowboy who rode an old saddle which caught the attention of renowned horseman Tom Dorrance, in the late 1930s. The Hamley firm made copies, which proved so popular that they offered to call this the Dorrance tree. Out of respect, Tom Dorrance insisted they name it after Wade, or so the legend goes. The saddles were further promoted by Ray Hunt from the 1960s, on... and they've been standard working cowboy issue, ever since.
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For more reading, check out this great blog by our friends, Rod and Denise Nikkel, makers of fine custom trees for workaday cowboys and the best saddlemakers, for many years. If you follow their page, the link is shown below, you can also see their videos and order their DVDs on western saddle fit basics and essentials. I highly recommend them.
https://www.rodnikkel.com/content/saddle-tree-blog-from-shop-and-desk/what-makes-a-wade-a-wade/ #:~:text=It%20is%20strictly%20a%20style,differently%20than%20other%20tree%20styles.
Finally, for another learned opinion on the subject, take a look at this old article in Eclectic Horseman Magazine, written by the now-retired saddlemaker and Traditional Cowboy Arts Association (TCAA)emeritus, Chuck Stormes. It’s a good read.
https://eclectic-horseman.com/the-wade-saddle-fabulous-or-fad/?srsltid=AfmBOooyZxtKJdpVc4iiFBBGthYNDMjnrB_L0t8I3EzHiRuXlDpn6uXH
Photo: Rod Nikkel Custom Trees/Western Saddle Fit.
