Crabtree Saddle Works

04/30/2024

What kind of can we make for you?

𝗥𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝟭𝟬𝟭: 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀

From the drovers of the cattle drive era to today's rodeo athletes, cowboys have long been wearing chaps. These leather leg coverings, often adorned with fringe and patterns, have become an icon of cowboy culture.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗢 𝗰𝗼𝘄𝗯𝗼𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀?
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻—from thorny brush, weather, and other environmental hazards.
𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗽—When a horse gets broncy, leather tends to grip better than jeans.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀?
𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘀 are the oldest style of chaps worn in the United States. This style originated on the haciendas of Spanish colonial ranches and is a closed, three-quarter-length design. They are secured by a strap around the waist.

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 are thought to have been developed on ranches in California. This style is much shorter than armitas and is secured on the upper thigh. In terms of coverage, they occupy a middle ground between batwing and shotgun chaps—they fit close to the leg without being tight or restrictive.

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗴𝘂𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀 offer the most protection from brush, thorny plants, rain and snow. This style started with Texas cowboys, and the popularity of this style peaked in the 1870s. They do not have a flap like the batwing chaps, but they do flare enough near the bottom to fit over boots.

𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀 are one of the most distinctive styles. They are more open, and over more airflow than other styles. The name comes from the flap design that makes the wearer look like they have “wings” on their legs.

𝗪𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 (pictured here) are a style that is little worn today but has been immortalized in the paintings of Frederic Re*****on. This style originated in the northern latitudes of the country where warmth was needed in winter. This style of chap is usually made with a fleece or cut from hair-on cow or buffalo hide, then lined with canvas for added moisture resistance. This style appeared in the 1880s and was popularized in early Western movies.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲?
These days, fringe is largely decorative, but its origin is functional: fringe funnels raindrops off the rider's leg instead of letting the water collect on the leather.

𝗜𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗛𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗛𝗮𝗽𝘀?
Short for "chaparejos" (shap-ar-EH-hos), the most accepted pronunciation of the word in ranching circles is "shaps."

𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦: 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘉𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘭 𝘊𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘜𝘛𝘈 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘺. "𝘛𝘸𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘶𝘻𝘻𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴, 𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘨𝘦, 𝘛𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘴, 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸𝘴"

04/24/2024

It helps to have a good saddle for your horse and seat too. That’s where we come in.

Did you know there is an authentic American riding method or Seat. Most people don't. In fact, most Americans think that their discipline is a Seat when this is not often true today. For example, Hunter Seat Equitation is not an authentic Seat. It is fifty years old while Xenophon's horsemanship, a method referenced since the 4th century BC being 2,500 years old, is a true method.

The authentic American seat is called the Fort Riley Seat, or sometimes the Balanced Seat in civilian books. The images below represent the evolution of our national American riding method. The story of our national method begins with Fredirico Capprilli, an Italian Captain Cavalry (top left) who came up with his Forward Seat in 1904. Prior to Caprilli, the nearly universal method, generally called the "chair seat", of riding went back to Xenophon. There have been several significant changes since Xenophon, such as those from William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, in the 17th century that included improvements more natural for the horse.

The top right image reflects the next step in the development of the American method that came from the French Cavalry School at Saumur. This step includes an unsettled controversy between the Italian Cavalry and the French. The Italians claim that soon after 1904 the French stole Caprilli's Forward Seat and renamed it the Saumur Seat. Be that as it may, the next step in development of the Fort Riley Seat came in 1914 when the US Army, seeing that WW1 was inevitable, decided that the US Army needed a central cavalry training school to replace the long standing, Colonial regimental system of training cavalry.

At the time of this decision, the US Cavalry did not have a horsemanship training manual with each regiment having their own training tradition. This made it difficult to transfer cavalrymen between regiments. The French came to our rescue when they provided the US Army their Saumur classified cavalry riding manuals. The French manuals were the basis of horsemanship training at the Fort Riley Kansas Cavalry School until the 1920s.

After WW1 Harry Chamberlin, shown jumping in the bottom left image (with the 1940 US Olympic Team from Fort Riley beneath him), updated the Saumur manuals creating the final version of the Fort Riley Seat. While the Fort Riley Seat is little more than 100 years old, its roots go back thousands of years to Xenophon and through horsemen Cavendish. This is very different from the new riding methods or styles from individuals like Morris, Parelli or the other new fragmented variations on authentic horsemanship like modern reining, current western pleasure and modern dressage.

Lastly, the bottom right image of a cowboy represents the western ranch riding influence on the Fort Riley Seat. Chamberlin, an intense student of horses and riding methods, appreciated the cowboy's practical effectiveness he saw in Fort Riley recruits. Many Fort Riley instructors, like Gordon Wright, came from the ranks of the Cavalry cowboys who thought nothing of sixteen hour days in the saddle.

Our uniquely American Seat became the envy of the horse world until the 1960s when US military riders began to retire or pass on. As a boy, I was fortunate to have a Fort Riley method instructor starting in 1953, ten years after the US Cavalry replaced the horses with mechanized fighting vehicles.

The family tree of global horsemanship is ancient and has many branches. The methods that have endured the test of time. The changes in horsemanship since Xenophon up until the 1970s were the result of new military battlefield advantages with horses. When one nation's cavalry found a better way, other country's cavalry copied and adapted innovations from their enemies or allies.

After the 1970s American horsemanship has been in chaos having lost its connection to military goals and standards, while most European countries kept theirs. Later I will explore these horsemanship methods from countries like the Spanish Riding School, the Russian Hussars, the Ottoman Empire horsemen as well as others like the Portuguese and Spanish methods.

The point is that if you are receiving riding instruction, it is important that you are learning an authentic riding method or seat with an evolved history. The American horse world is now confused by the many instructors who teach the new commercial methods, from Morris, Parelli, etc. or a random combination of methods they usually call "my own combination of what I learned".

These instructors have no real method and you, in order to learn how to ride safely and effectively, must have an instructor who teaches an authentic Seat. It is OK if an instructor includes other influences, but they must teach from a core system or Seat in order to give you a safe practical way to ride.

04/22/2024

Catch Tammy live this morning on K**I News at 9:40am sharing about Saddles In Service 🇺🇸

Saddles In Service, K**I, Veteran Non-Profit, Supporting Veterans and First Responders, Horse Therapy

04/18/2024

Honored to be named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People in the world.

Every day, I wake up with the goal to keep Texas the #1 place to live, work, and raise a family.

I am proud to serve as Governor of the greatest state in the greatest nation.

04/18/2024

Congratulations to Mo Brings Plenty who will be the first ever recipient of the Western Heritage New Horizon Award. An enrolled Lakota from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, Brings Plenty carries the legacy of his grandfathers who fought at Little Big Horn. Best known for his role in "Yellowstone", he's also a horse stunt rider, rancher and advocate for Native communities who believes in preserving culture and tradition, making him a perfect choice for the award's debut. To learn more visit https://bit.ly/49mdEUV.

04/18/2024

The cover shot on 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗝𝗼𝗵𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗻’𝘀 latest album, “𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿,” tells it like it is.

That’s no staged photo using a hired hand model and makeup artist to make it look like a cowboy’s hands at the end of a hard day’s work. That guitar-picking hand doubles as this country-music star’s roping hand, and the one that finds the chords on stage had just held the reins all day while working cattle with a few of his cowboy friends at home on his Texas ranch.

That’s his own blood and sweat, and why those who live this cowboy life like he does relate so strongly to this particular singing, song-writing platinum artist. When Cody Johnson’s not making music for sold-out crowds, he’s riding, roping and right at home on the range. Learn more about his American Quarter Horses in the March-April issue of The American Quarter Horse Journal.

04/14/2024

Did you know the term “cowboy” was used during the American Revolution? Look it up. It’s an English term to derogatorily refer to American colonists and does not come from the Spanish word “vaquero”. Look it up.

and 🤠

04/09/2024

04/03/2024

New arrivals mean new names! Learn the rules for 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 an American Quarter Horse, plus how to reuse or change a horse's name 🐴 https://www.aqha.com/-/naming-your-aqha-foal

03/25/2024

Time out, Tyler Hubbard! Flag on the play. Writing on someone’s cowboy boots with a Sharpie is nowhere near considered customizing footwear.
— Philip Crabtree
Owner, Crabtree Saddle Works (We actually customize leather goods for horses, dogs, and people without Sharpies 🖊️)

I love customizing footwear when we’re out on the road😎

03/25/2024

I was telling one of my neighbors about Amberly yesterday. He recently had both legs amputated below the knee. I told him I make and repair saddles at my shop, Crabtree Saddle Works. He asked if I could fix his saddle (a Hereford brand). Of course, I can, but also asked him if he wants to ride again. We can make it happen!

03/17/2024

Saint Patrick, the Enlightener of Ireland was born around 385, the son of Calpurnius, a Roman decurion (an official responsible for collecting taxes). He lived in the village of Bannavem Taberniae, which may have been located at the mouth of the Severn River in Wales. The district was raided by pirates when Patrick was sixteen, and he was one of those taken captive. He was brought to Ireland and sold as a slave, and was put to work as a herder of swine on a mountain identified with Slemish in Co. Antrim. During his period of slavery, Patrick acquired a proficiency in the Irish language which was very useful to him in his later mission.

He prayed during his solitude on the mountain, and lived this way for six years. He had two visions. The first told him he would return to his home. The second told him his ship was ready. Setting off on foot, Patrick walked two hundred miles to the coast. There he succeeded in boarding a ship, and returned to his parents in Britain.

Some time later, he went to Gaul and studied for the priesthood at Auxerre under Saint Germanus (July 31). Eventually, he was consecrated as a bishop, and was entrusted with the mission to Ireland, succeeding Saint Palladius (July 7). Saint Palladius did not achieve much success in Ireland. After about a year he went to Scotland, where he died in 432.

Patrick had a dream in which an angel came to him bearing many letters. Selecting one inscribed "The Voice of the Irish," he heard the Irish entreating him to come back to them.

Although Saint Patrick achieved remarkable results in spreading the Gospel, he was not the first or only missionary in Ireland. He arrived around 432 (though this date is disputed), about a year after Saint Palladius began his mission to Ireland. There were also other missionaries who were active on the southeast coast, but it was Saint Patrick who had the greatest influence and success in preaching the Gospel of Christ. Therefore, he is known as "The Enlightener of Ireland."

His autobiographical Confession tells of the many trials and disappointments he endured. Patrick had once confided to a friend that he was troubled by a certain sin he had committed before he was fifteen years old. The friend assured him of God's mercy, and even supported Patrick's nomination as bishop. Later, he turned against him and revealed what Patrick had told him in an attempt to prevent his consecration. Many years later, Patrick still grieved for his dear friend who had publicly shamed him.

Saint Patrick founded many churches and monasteries across Ireland, but the conversion of the Irish people was no easy task. There was much hostility, and he was assaulted several times. He faced danger, and insults, and he was reproached for being a foreigner and a former slave. There was also a very real possibility that the pagans would try to kill him. Despite many obstacles, he remained faithful to his calling, and he baptized many people into Christ.

Saint Patrick died on March 17, 461 (some say 492). There are various accounts of his last days, but they are mostly legendary. Muirchu says that no one knows the place where Saint Patrick is buried. Saint Columba of Iona (June 9) says that the Holy Spirit revealed to him that Patrick was buried at Saul, the site of his first church. A granite slab was placed at his traditional grave site in Downpatrick in 1899.​

(Excerpted from Oca.org with permission)

St. Patrick's Morning Prayer

I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
of the Creator of creation.

I arise today
Through the strength of Christ's birth with His baptism,
Through the strength of His crucifixion with His burial,
Through the strength of His resurrection with His ascension,
Through the strength of His descent for the judgment of doom.

I arise today
Through the strength of the love of cherubim,
In the obedience of angels,
In the service of archangels,
In the hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
In the prayers of patriarchs,
In the predictions of prophets,
In the preaching of apostles,
In the faith of confessors,
In the innocence of holy virgins,
In the deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through
The strength of heaven,
The light of the sun,
The radiance of the moon,
The splendor of fire,
The speed of lightning,
The swiftness of wind,
The depth of the sea,
The stability of the earth,
The firmness of rock.

I arise today, through
God's strength to pilot me,
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's host to save me
From snares of devils,
From temptation of vices,
From everyone who shall wish me ill,
afar and near.

I summon today
All these powers between me and those evils,
Against every cruel and merciless power
that may oppose my body and soul,
Against incantations of false prophets,
Against black laws of pagandom,
Against false laws of heretics,
Against craft of idolatry,
Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul;
Christ to shield me today
Against poison, against burning,
Against drowning, against wounding,
So that there may come to me an abundance of reward.

Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I sit down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.​

Troparion — Tone 3

Holy Bishop Patrick, / faithful shepherd of Christ’s royal flock, / you filled Ireland with the radiance of the Gospel: / The mighty strength of the Trinity! / Now that you stand before the Savior, / pray that He may preserve us in faith and love!

Kontakion — Tone 4

From slavery you escaped to freedom in Christ’s service: / He sent you to deliver Ireland from the devil’s bo***ge. / You planted the Word of the Gospel in pagan hearts. / In your journeys and hardships you rivaled the Apostle Paul! / Having received the reward for your labors in heaven, / never cease to pray for the flock you have gathered on earth, / Holy bishop Patrick!

Kontakion — Tone 8

(Podoben: “O Victorious leader...”)
Let us come together joyously to praise the luminary of Ireland, / the most brilliant emulator and equal of the Apostles; / for having found boldness before the Lord, / he beseeches Him to free from all their sorrows those who cry out: “Rejoice, Father Patrick.”

03/15/2024

Father Guido SarduccI’s character will always be funny. He brilliantly captures the caricature of the western church, where if you don’t like your church you start another one, make yourself the top guy, and call it “nondenominational”. Question everything especially those who think they’re smarter than everyone else. They’ll probably start a new brand of church.

If the church you’re a member of has not lasted since Jesus Christ walked among us, it’s a pretty safe bet you don’t belong to His church, the one He spoke about in the Gospel of Matthew:

”And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.“ ☦️
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭16‬:‭18‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/114/mat.16.18.NKJV

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03/08/2024

🎶 “Drifting along with the tumbling tumble weeds…”🎶