There are saddle pictures loading below as you read. These paragraphs will give you a brief overview of some of the options you can choose through Cultured Cowboy with Dakota Saddle. Enjoy!

Dakota is a great company for semi-custom saddlery. They offer quality basic styles, with the availability of many options. Most saddles come with a suede seat for "sticking" to the saddle. Suede texture will give some hold to your seat. But, there are those riders that would prefer a top grain seat. This top grain is more resistant to weather. It also can totally change the appearance of the saddle. A top grain seat costs just a little more than the suede leather. Add about $40.00 to change a suede seat to top grain. For Ostrich or Sting ray, or other exotic leather seats, just call us for a current price. Distressed brown and Black are the most popular top grain colors. Other top grain colors and skins are available at additional charges, according to the current fashion trends, and prices of the leather to the saddle maker. We have seen orders for some show saddles using full quill ostrich seats. This gives elegance, allows "stick" in a top grain seat and will definitely impress a judge! (No, you won't feel the quill marks through your jeans.)  You can now see just how nice a saddle Cultured Cowboy can have made by Dakota for you. 

Jockeys and fenders or skirts can be ordered in either rough side out (the flesh side showing for grip and a rugged appearance), or smooth side out (smooth grain is easier to tool and clean). There is no extra charge for turning either smooth or rough side out. All saddles can be shipped with a one-piece seat and jockey, as well as with a padded seat. (Again, either smooth or rough side out.) This is as opposed to the traditional method of two pieces of leather sewn together to form the seat base, and then covered by a padded seat. Ranchers have long understood the benefits of a one-piece construction. For someone who spends long hours in the saddle, a "hard seat" is not so hard. Weight is distributed over a broader area and therefore is less likely to make the rider "saddle sore". The entire saddle block, (inside knees, thighs and seat distribute and carry your weight. It is easier to bear more pressure on the balls of your feet as well.), is used, which can lead to better balance in the saddle. Because a one-piece design must use an entire shoulder rather than two pieces of smaller side leather, add about $50.00 to the cost if the saddle is shown with a padded seat. In addition to being a larger piece of leather, the one-piece design is using a more expensive, prime cut of leather to enable it to be molded to shape without being weak or losing body over time. If the picture shows a "hard seat" or bicycle seat, this is included in the base price of that saddle. 

Flex trees can be used in almost all saddle designs. The flex tree allows the saddle to conform to the back of the horse as the girth is tightened. This is not a treeless saddle. Where a treeless saddle often allows too much of the riders weight in the center of the back of a horse, (bareback riding keeps the weight up front, near the withers.), the bars of the flex tree still distribute weight and stress through a larger part of the horse back. Still, allowing some movement. Flex trees are great for riders who have more than one body type or size of horse to ride. Trainers can take advantage of this new technology and actually have better feel of the horse, or transference to the horse. The price varies with the type and size of saddle, so the price difference may be between none and forty dollars. 

We have arranged to offer a choice of heavier fleece liners to the saddle skirting. Dakota comes standard with a minimal skirting fleece. It is good, but you can have a really thick synthetic, or sheepskin fleece liner. The thicker fleece will allow more circulation for your horse's back. Normally, sheepskin fleece is preferred by "old timers" and for dryer climates. With the real sheepskin, you get an extra layer of leather that runs the whole skirt. Sheepskin probably holds more air pockets for comfort of horse and rider. Real sheep fleece is less slick than other type bottoms. Where weather is damp, the heavy synthetics can actually reduce bacteria and dry faster. Also, mice tend to prefer the real sheepskin if you keep your saddle in an open or dirt floor area. Again, call us for the pricing, as it can vary with skirt size, and style of saddle. 

Saddle strings can be strung through the saddle tree. Stringing through the skirts and tree is a good way to bind your saddle together. It allows you the option of a fairly easy way to loosen the saddle parts for easier oiling access to deeper areas. Or, your saddle can be ordered with Dee ring clips that can be added under the front, center, and/or rear conchos to allow use of strings when preferred. For instance, when trail riding, those tie places are mighty handy, yet, in the roping pen, they can get in the way. So, the option of when you want them on is good. Dakota uses standard "saddle trim" Montana Silver. This is a very popular silver trim company. There is the option of upgrading to the same Montana Silver conchos you would normally get in a Western store. Heavier silver overlay and coated with Montana Lacquers that only need to be wiped with an old T shirt.  DO NOT USE silver polish on better MSS. With the price of silver today, add $60.00 for the better MSS conchos. Again, you can order the saddle of your dreams with dees under the conchos, so that the saddle strings can be easily placed, replaced, or removed as needed. Add $$8.00 for a pair of dees under conchos. Add $36.00 for 6 strings, or $12.00 per pair for rear and front, on any saddle that does not show them. You can get them ! If the saddle is shown with a single pair in the rear, they are included in the base price.

Hoof pick holders are convenient, look kinda sharp, and cost a mere $35.00 extra. Remember that most of these saddles include a flank strap (if you see one in the picture, it is included.). That is worth another $65.00 to $85.00 in most places you may search! Stirrups can be rawhide or leather covered. There are also the larger "overshoe stirrups" for today's wider sole boots. Any saddle can have a Cheyenne roll, laced cantle, or stand up cantle. 

Choose your color. Any saddle can be dyed to light oil, golden brown, russet, pro brown or black. Seems as though the dye makers use more pigment and their suppliers charge more for these darker colors. (UPDATE: Recently, and as long as we can, there is no extra charge for any dye color.) Rough out areas will be left natural because the finish coat used on smooth leather, to even out color, would ruin the effect of the rough out finish by making it lay smooth like the back of a belt. ( We have dyed the roughout black for several customers. Add $100.00 for this process. It takes a lot more than dipping in a bucket! And we must condition the whole saddle for you, $120.00 on most, to even out the splotchiness to a more acceptable beauty.) Natural colored rough out allows the beauty of that leather to age with the saddle giving a much desired finish when oiled. A good quality saddle oil will deepen and enhance the finish, and with a medium stiff brush, the knap will raise up. 

Would you like to get a new saddle that feels like it is used? We will heavy oil any saddle for you. We prefer to use Lexol. Lexol will darken less than any other conditioner. It is PH-Balanced for the leather used in your saddle. We have been using Lexol on our personal saddles for over 35 years. Add $120.00 for about three liters of Lexol and some several hours of application, on the larger saddles. Lexol is best applied in many thin layers. To darken slightly, we will add extra virgin olive oil. To darken more, we will blend in some pure neatsfoot. The choice is yours! Turning the stirrups is part of the conditioning.  Your saddle will then come out of the box ready to ride in ultimate comfort!

Remember that a breast collar is a great addition to your saddle purchase. For a small $48.00 to $79.00, you can add an emergency measure that could prevent saddle twisting under your horse, should a girth loosen without your knowledge. Any saddle can have breast collar dees added. If the saddle has enough area where the girth rigging ties, you can use the same ring for breast collar tug straps and girth tie strap. Still, sometimes you may want a higher positioning of those tug straps, or may want double tug straps for security. 

Tooling patterns protect the leather against abrasives. Tooling will "pack" the leather for durability and strength. Tooling can hide small "range" scars that are inherent to the leather before it is formed into a saddle part. Tooling adds depth and beauty to the leather. Tooling will help prevent corners from rolling. Tooling is just a little more effort to clean than a plain saddle. You can choose from 1) no tooling, 2) basket stamped corners and small trim only, 3) fully basket stamped, 4) border trims of basket, barbed wire, shell, specialty, or Southwest design, 5) floral tooling, 6) oak leaf tooling, 7) trophy tooling. The more elaborate the tooling design, the more value, the more time involved in production, and the more your investment will grow over time.

Have you ever had the experience of getting a new saddle to find the stirrups won't take up enough to fit, or let out enough to fit? No more...We like to get your real inseam, (and other measurements, like we were making your chaps), then assure the saddle will fit when it arrives. Hey, by the time we get through spoiling you, you'll always want to buy your saddles and tack from us! 

We strive to keep some of the basics in stock. Most days we have over 130 saddles in stock in Greenwood, SC. And over 500 more saddles ready to ship from other locations. They can be to you in a week or less. But, there is nothing like having a saddle semi-custom made for your horse and your body. Allow about 2 to 4 weeks for a tree to be made, if necessary, (many standard trees will fit your needs). Then the saddler needs about 2 to 3 weeks to make your saddle. Leather is cut, wet, steamed, dried, fitted and pulled. It cannot be rolled off a bolt and processed like fabrics. This does take time to do right. Allow another 3 days to a week for UPS delivery. Overseas orders will usually go through a postal system, UPS, or Airborne express, (depending on your best rate or most security). Any more time is because the saddler is catching up on previous saddles, or waiting on parts, or needs to take one night off for his wedding anniversary. 

Saddle makers are as excited about making your saddles as you are about riding! They would rather get it right, than rush it. We have chosen our Internet providers because of their consistency in quality of product. Cultured Cowboy knows that most of our customers will be riding for many years to come. A short wait for a really good saddle is worth your "wait" in gold! Are you a little anxious about ordering a saddle from us?  Yes, we have real saddle tree forms we can ship you to be sure your saddle will fit before the saddle is made. These forms are much more accurate than the printed out "paper dolls" we have all tried in the past. 

With the experience of thousands of saddles made for thousands of horse people, Cultured Cowboy looks forward to helping you with your needs. Tired legs, hurting knees, lower back pains, need grip, need freedom, need speed, need to impress your friends, need to impress your equine, need help, need a hug? Give us a call.

God Bless,
Cultured Cowboy

Too many options to Advertise our Low, Low Prices!  Dakota Saddlery respectfully requests that we should only advertise their suggested retail price on the Internet.  Our policy is to provide the lowest price possible, while maintaining enough profit to service your needs properly.  Our pricing is very fair, but we must eat a bean, or two, to enjoy helping you to select the “right” saddle for your needs.   We will deliver more saddle value for the buck than anyone because we know more about riding and fitting saddles than most! (No brag, just fact!) THESE ARE FIRST QUALITY SADDLES WITH FULL WARRANTEES. Because so many Dakota saddles are customized for your needs with choices of smooth or suede seats, leather color, hoofpick holders, special trees, special length stirrup leather, etc., we do not use buy buttons on this part of the website.  Please e-mail your requests or call us for a friendly quote on your “Dream Saddle”.  Hundreds and hundreds of people have found the call well worth their time!  ;-)    God Bless,  Chuck   IN A HURRY?  We do have a lot of Dakota saddles on the floor ready to ship.  We finally added some pics of properly conditioning a saddle for you.  Click Here to see A Dakota 800 Rough Out saddle go from the naked Dark Golden Brown into the completely conditioned finish. - Nothing like having a saddle ready to ride right out of your box!
No. DAK-100  Cutter	No. DAK-101 R/O Cutter	No. DAK-105  Cutter	No. DAK-110  Hard Seat Cutter
No. DAK-200  Roper	No. DAK-201M Roper	No. DAK-203  Roper	No. DAK-204  Roper
No. DAK-205AF  Ranch Roper	No. DAK-206  Roper	No. DAK-207  Roper	No. DAK-208  Roper
No. DAK-209 AF  Hard Seat Roper	No. DAK-209  Hard Seat Roper	No. DAK-209 AF  Hard Seat Roper	No. DAK-210 Cheyenne Roper
No. DAK-215 Roper	No. DAK-201MSpec Custom Trail Saddle	No. DAK-213 Custom Trail Saddle	No. DAK-213 Custom Trail Saddle
No. DAK-211 Trail Flex Saddle	No. DAK-212 Trail Flex Saddle	No. DAK-213 Custom Trail Saddle	No. DAK-214 Custom Trail Saddle
No. DAK-313 Custom Endurance Trail Saddle	No. DAK-300 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-301 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-305 Barrel Racer
No. DAK-307 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-310 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-314 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-315 Barrel Racer
No. DAK-320BR Barrel Racer	No. DAK-321 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-325C Barrel Racer	No. DAK-325 Barrel Racer
No. DAK-340 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-342 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-343 Sanded Barrel Racer	No. DAK-345 Barrel Racer
		No. DAK-343 Special Barrel Racer
No. DAK-350L Pleasure	No. DAK-350 Pleasure	No. DAK-351 Pleasure Flex	No. DAK-353 Barrel Racer
No. DAK-355 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-400 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-401 Barrel Racer	No. DAK-425 Barrel Racer
No. DAK-470 Qualifier Barrel Racer	No. DAK-213 Trail Custom Chocolate	No. DAK-206  Roper Custom Ostrich Seat	No. DAK-213 Trail Custom Floral Basket Border

Our Price:  

Too many options to Advertise our Low, Low Prices! 

Dakota Saddlery respectfully requests that we should only advertise their suggested retail price on the Internet.  Our policy is to provide the lowest price possible, while maintaining enough profit to service your needs properly.  Our pricing is very fair, but we must eat a bean, or two, to enjoy helping you to select the “right” saddle for your needs.   

THESE ARE FIRST QUALITY SADDLES WITH FULL WARRANTEES.

Because so many Dakota saddles are customized for your needs with choices of smooth or suede seats, leather color, hoofpick holders, special trees, special length stirrup leather, etc., we do not use buy buttons on this part of the website. 

Please e-mail your requests or call us for a friendly quote on your “Dream Saddle”.  Hundreds and hundreds of people have found the call well worth their time!  ;-)    God Bless,  Chuck

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