In a small wooden shop, no larger than a single car garage, Steve Close works on making reins for a western bridle. With his glasses low on his nose, he works the leather into shape.
Close and his wife Sharri Crowley own Saddle Shack tack shop, a custom western saddle and tack shop north of Mount Forest, one of the few saddle makers in Ontario.
In the front part of the shop is a store.
Along with a few items that horse riders won’t be able to find in too many other places in Ontario, there are leather items like leads, bridles, halters and more, all handmade by Close.
There isn’t a lot of stock, because Close makes them individually and most are made to order. The back half of the small shop is where he works.
Pieces of leather are piled in every corner, while tools and saddles in various states of completion line the walls.
Close started working with leather about 25 years ago by repairing saddles for a trail riding club he was a part of and learned a lot of techniques through trial and error.
“They’re just isn’t time to be running to get stuff repaired,” he said.
“I started out just fixing it on my own and tearing it apart. I spent time with a few different saddle makers; the wife of my partner at the time had done some carving and tooling, so she taught me the basics of that, and it just grew from there.”
Close also read books to learn how to build saddles.
“Probably some of the best books were written before I was born, in terms of technique and education and how to do it and how to measure,” he said.
The couple moved from Elora in 2004 to their property north of Mount Forest where they built the small building that acts as their shop.
“We kept getting busier and busier and more and more people dropping off saddles for repair, and I got tired of them being in my dining room,” said Crowley, laughing.
Making a custom saddle is a lengthy process, said Close. And it starts with a long conversation about what the rider wants; everything from how the rider sits on the saddle to the colour of the leather, stitching and tooling – design work carved into the leather.
“At this point, when they’re buying a custom-made saddle, they have a pretty good idea,” said Crowley.
Each saddle starts with a wooden tree wrapped in rawhide, then each part is added, building it piece by piece until it resembles a saddle. Close makes his ground seat out of leather rather than metal or plastic. Four or five pieces are layered then shaved down to get the perfect shape.
“It’s like everything else in the world today, there’s a quicker, easier way to do it, but it’s not as good,” said Close.
Each part of the saddle is trimmed from about two and a half to three hides.
“You’ve got to have an idea of what you’re building to start with because different pieces have to come out of different parts of the hide for strength reasons,” said Close.
Even the stitching is done for the most part by hand. While a sewing machine can stitch the flat portions of the saddle, around the horn and cantle requires Close to punch a hole through the leather so he can sew the pieces together.
“I’ve been to (the ER) with my hand stitched to a cantle and carrying the tree with me,” he said.
He also dyes all the pieces and tools the leather in the shop. The intricate design work uses stamps and carving tools to limn flowers and patterns.
Close has a box of paper pattern samples – that he says are older than him – and uses portions of them to sketch out a design.
He recently completed a saddle that had two maple leaves carved onto the back housing.
It can take anywhere from a year to 18 months to finish a saddle, but he works on multiple other projects at the same time.
“I make ‘em one at a time, and there’s no two alike,” he said of his saddles.
Along with building saddles and making other leather tack, many saddles come into the shop for repairs. They have seen a lot of saddles that are still new that are in need of repairs.
“People want to buy new, but they’d be much further ahead to buy a 20-year-old saddle that’s been well maintained that’s good leather,” said Crowley.
Both Crowley and Close stress the importance of a well-fitted saddle.
“A well-built saddle will outlive any horse … so we say, get something that is comfortable for you and the type of riding you’re doing,” said Crowley.
Close also offers advice on how to care for your leather saddle.
“Clean it on a regular, as needed basis,” he said.
Those that ride mostly indoors should clean it more often than those riding outside. He also said if it gets wet not to worry.
“If you’re going out trail riding and it gets rained on, don’t worry about it,” he said.
“A good cleaning and an oiling will hide an awful lot of sins as far as water damage goes.”
The Saddle Shack and Tack Shop is located at 271346 Grey Road 6, Mount Forest. To view more of Close’s work visit facebook.com/TheSaddleShackTackShop.
