Saddles from the Far East

Most of the items in the Carriage Museum originally were part of a private collection belonging to noted Colorado Springs entrepreneur and philanthropist Spencer Penrose. As such, there are several oddities displayed upstairs that don't really fit in with the rest of the collection. This Tibetan saddle is among that group.

Close up of the seat. Pardon the glare--it's hard to take pictures of things displayed in glass cabinets!Front view.Close up of the stirrups.If you are interested in learning more about this kind of saddle, I would recommend you pick up a copy of Ron Edwards' The Mongolian Saddle and How to Make It. I bought my copy from Melody Snow (http://www.unicornwoman.com/).
The first part of this 44 page booklet describes a variety of Mongolian saddles observed by the author over the course of his many visits to Northern China, Mongolia, Xinjian, Qinghai and Tibet.
There are no photos, but the book is chock full of high quality line drawings such as these.
The second part of the book actually teaches you how to make a full scale Mongolian saddle. It includes both plans and detailed instructions.

Although this book is not aimed specifically at the model horse hobbyist, it is a great reference for anyone interested in far eastern saddlery and is definitely worth the $20 price tag.