Jenny Allen meets the needs of horses and mules

Jenny Allen with one of her saddles. She attended school to make English saddles and can make harnesses, chaps and leather purses. -Staff photo by Taylor

November 1, 2001 -- Jenny Allen is a small woman with small hands. You'd never guess what she does for a living, if you met her at a meeting or social event.

Allen is a saddle maker in the Wimberley area, and received her training from the Windmill English Saddle Supply and Repair in Thompson, Ohio. She concentrates on the English saddles and leaves the Western saddles up to other saddle makers in the area.

"The saddles evolved out of my horseback riding, and I drive a big team of Draft mules. It's very difficult to get a harness that fits them, here in Texas, so I end up driving to Tennessee when I need things.

"I decided I wanted to make saddles and harnesses, and I only make English saddles, although I have made a mule trial saddle," said Allen.

A former tax examiner for the IRS and a former medical technician, Allen decided she wanted to change careers and do something she really had a passion for, and for her, that meant it had something to do with horses and mules.

"I've been training horses all my life. I did endurance riding, and one part of the problem in that is finding a saddle that fits," she said.

Growing up in Kentucky and Florida, Allen said she always loved horses and had an "innate" desire from a very early age to ride.

"There's a picture of me when I'm two years old, and I'm riding a bear. I've got my fingers down in his fur, hanging on tight, and I'm crying. I wasn't crying because I was scared of the bear. I was crying because they were about to take me off the bear!" she said.

Through the years, she tried to do part of her own saddle repairs and discovered she had a talent for it, so she decided to make a career of helping others have the best saddle fit for their horses.

"I do saddle fittings and that's to determine if your saddle fits your horse or not. On English saddles, you can adjust this paneling underneath ... this flocking, and it can be adjusted to fit the horse as long as the tree fits him," said Allen.

"I tried to do my own saddle repairs, and I did some limited repairs, as the years went on. I was getting pretty good at it.

"I actually started sewing when I was five, and this has a lot of sewing in it. You're still putting pattern pieces together, so it was just the logical evolution of all I'd done."

Allen said she started out riding Western saddles, but changed to the English saddle, since they were made for long distance riding, cross country and jumping.

Also, Allen claims that you have more contact with your horse with an English saddle because you feel more of his back muscles and your legs are more in contact with his sides.

"The Western saddles were meant for working cattle and carrying people long distances, comfortably, and hard work. The trees are very heavy and strong.

"On the Western saddle, the most prominent thing is the horn.

"The horn was designed to tie cattle to ... it's not for hanging on when you're in trouble!" she laughed.

After attending the school in Ohio, Allen found a little shop at a riding stable, and the people in the area who were riding English or learning dressage heard about her skills with the saddles.

According to Allen, dressage is a French word meaning "training" or "education" of the horse.

"Everyone should ride dressage, first, because what dressage uses is the natural aides, meaning the things that you can do with your body that naturally affects how the horse moves," said Allan.

"Dressage can be an end in itself, but it can also be a beginning in the other disciplines. It's a very good foundation for anything you do, whether it's Western or English or endurance, cutting or anything."

Once she returned from Ohio and set up her shop, Allen started practicing what she had learned, but with her individual touch.

"You have tools to make it easier, but it is difficult (working with leather). You kind of learn as you go. Every saddle maker does things their own way. They can learn from them (schools), but, essentially, when you get back in your shop, you sort of modify it to your own tools and abilities," she said.

Along with her saddle making, Allen drives a team of Percheron Draft mules, Hank and Dan. She believes she may drive the largest team of mules of any woman around. At least, she has never heard of or seen another woman with a team the size of Hank and Dan.

"I've switched from horses to mules. Mules are just totally different. Their temperament is very misunderstood. There's a lot of old myths about mules. To me, they're more like owning a dog than a horse. They know who they belong to, they're extremely smart ... about 20 times smarter than a horse, and they understand a work ethic and fair treatment," said Allen.

Since mules have no withers like horses, the saddles must be made especially for the mules' flat back, so the saddle doesn't slide around.

Along with the saddles, Allen has branched out to include a line of leather purses, chaps, harnesses and boot top half-chaps for English riding.

"Saddle fittings are very rewarding because in my mind, the animal comes first, and I want to see a comfortable animal. Beyond that, then the rider can be comfortable.

"If I can make a horse feel better and his back's not hurting and not getting sores on it, it makes me happy," said Allen.