- Crates Leather Company, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Saddles and Tack, Western Saddles and Tack, Leather, Equine, Horse, Founded in 1981 by Daniel M. Crates to provide top quality saddles.
- After doing some googling,I did find this info on Red Ranger on another forumI have a history of Red Ranger saddles! Dan Crates, from the very highly respected Dan Crates Saddlery in Chattanooga TN, was kind enough to answer an inquery from me about the Red Ranger Saddlery which was purported to also have been based in Chattenooga, TN.
Light weight reining saddles, built from the ground seat up especially to fit a woman's profile. The ground seat is carefully shaped for comfort. Made using light-medium select saddle skirting, carefully hand tooled, oiled and finished. Engraved silver conchos by Hansen. Hand Tooled Basket. This saddle comes in a 15.5 and 16 seat. Natural, chestnut, and heavy oil. |
Crates Reiner 2221 is available in 4 seat sizes, 4 colors, and a WIDE 7' gullet in 15', 15 ½', 16', and 17' seats. At 28 pounds, it is ideal for young people and ladies. Made on the exclusive 'Equi-Fit' Reining tree by Steele Saddle Tree Company, world's largest maker of fiberglass covered wood trees. Crates has produced this model for over ten years, and it continues to be our top seller. Great saddle!!! |
Simply enter the 10 digit number (top number on sample plate to the left) without spaces or dashes into our program above to learn more about your saddle. Please leave out the month and year numbers, in this example your number would be. This period of serial numbers are much like the above.
The Crates 2222 is available in 4 seat sizes, 4 colors, and a WIDE 7' gullet in 15 ½', 16', and 17' seats. At 28 pounds, it is ideal for young people and ladies. Made on the exclusive 'Equi-Fit' Reining tree by Steele Saddle Tree Company, world's largest maker of fiberglass covered wood trees. This Reining Saddle has neat round skirts, 26' x 13'. All other specifications are the same as the model 2221, shown above. |
This is the basic starter reining saddles, made on the Crates exclusive 'Equi-Fit' Reining tree, by Steele Saddle Tree Company of Ashland City, Tennessee, custom tree makers. Made of medium weight 'Tannery Run' saddle skirting, which may carry 'range marks', indicating genuine top grain steer hide raised on the range. Equipped with a multi-layered soft Rough-Out padded seat, Stainless Steel hardware, and Sterling Silver Plate 'Berry' conchos by Montana Silversmiths. Available in wide 7 ' gullet tree in the 16' size. Available in all colors. |
Serial numbers on saddles can tell you more than you may realize but we also know that they can be a bit confusing. As a certified Prestige dealer we have put together the following guide to help you decode the serial number on your Prestige Saddle!
Crates Saddle Serial Number Lookup
Where Can I Find The Serial Number?
For dual flapped saddles, you can find the serial number by lifting up the top flap! The serial number will then be located on the lower flap where the billets hang.
For the monoflap saddles, you will need to flip the saddle over. The serial number is also on the left side and will be located underneath the single flap.
What Do All Those Numbers Mean?!
Let’s start by looking at the first cluster of numbers which contains 4 digits.
The first two digits are going to be the seat size which means that the first two numbers will either be a 16, 17, or 18.
The second set of two numbers are the tree size. The example saddle shown below is a 17″, and was originally a 33 cm tree.
The tree of a Prestige saddle can be adjusted by a certified Prestige dealer so, if there is a number stamped underneath the second set of numbers (the tree size) that means the tree has been adjusted and the adjuster has stamped the new tree size underneath the original. In the example, you can see that the original tree size was a 33 cm however, there is a 32 stamped underneath of that 33 which means the tree size is now a 32.
Not sure about what your tree sizes mean? We can help you decode those here!
The next three digits of the serial number stamped on the saddle is a three digit serial number given to that particular saddle as an identifier of that individual saddle.
After the three digit serial number, it is followed four more numbers which tell us the date of manufacture. On the example saddle above you see “0211” which means that it was manufactured in February of 2011.
Though not all saddles will have it, this saddle has a “C 5” stamped at the end of the eleven digit serial number. This tells us the tanning batch the leather came from. If needed, this would help you trace the leather back to the tannery. You can see this on the example saddle below!
The final marking, “L” means that this saddle has a long flap.
Crates Saddle Serial Number Information
Depending on the saddle it may have another letter printed towards the end. For example, an “A” means that the flap is +2 inches more forward than a standard flap and “AA” means the flap is +4 inches more forward.
Where Is The Serial Number On A Crates Saddle
You are now fully equipped to decode the serial number on your Prestige saddle!!