Custom Wade Saddles — Bos Saddlery, Hamilton, Montana

In the Bitterroot Valley south of Hamilton, Montana, Bos Saddlery builds custom Wade saddles by appointment. Saddle maker Launa Bos measures each horse before she starts, building the saddle to that horse and that rider rather than working off a stock pattern.

A Wade is a style of tree, not a brand — a slick fork with a wood post horn built into it, giving it a thinner gullet than most western saddles. That low horn keeps it clear for dallying a rope, the low-set seat holds a rider balanced over the horse's center, and the bars are cut to spread weight evenly across the horse's back through long days of work. It's the saddle style working buckaroos have leaned on for generations, built to hold up and stay correct for years, not just look right on day one.

Launa apprenticed under Bob Trezona at Bitterroot Saddle, building her first saddle in 2010. She's been building Wade saddles and buckaroo gear out of the Bitterroot Valley since.

What to Expect from a Custom Order

Every custom saddle starts with measuring the horse — back shape, withers, the way the horse is built — before any leather is cut. From there, the saddle is built by hand, tree to finish, fitted to that one horse rather than adjusted after the fact to fit a saddle that was already built.

Why Riders Choose a Custom Wade

A stock saddle fits an average horse reasonably well and a specific horse only by luck. A custom Wade is built once, for one horse, and it shows in how the horse moves under it. One longtime customer who commissioned a saddle after nineteen years riding in a different custom saddle said the new one fit so well her horse moved with noticeably more freedom and fluidity than before.

Bos Saddlery also carries a small, hand-picked selection of consignment saddles and used tack for riders not ready to commission a full custom build.



To start a custom Wade saddle order, call (406) 370-6469 or email boslady93@outlook.com.