Got an invitation to attend a talk on the history of saddles and along a tangential subject, holster making. Speaker was Fred Dixon who worked as a cowboy and holster maker as well as gunsmith (more on that later).

First known use of horse was by the Scythians around 4,000 BC. Horse blankets came around circa 500 BC. Simple seat type much later and the stirrup followed (forgot the date). Anyway, the stirrup was not adopted by the Romans who were aware of them because of the Scythians. The latter were excellent horse archers and the stirrup help to stabilize them on their mounts. This made them and the later Parthians and other people of the Steppes fierce horse archers.

Saddle came to Spain from the Moors. The Spainards adopted it and brought it to the world. The Southern Europeans refined the saddle better than the northerners because the Southerners used horses for herding livestock. The northerners used dogs and fell behind saddle development. The Northerners who didn't fall behind were the mounted men (knights) who appreciated better saddles (help stabilize them for lance charges).

Saddle makers didn't always make saddles. In their spare time if there were no demand (contract), they also made holsters. Early holsters were also money pouches and it featured a large piece of leather folded in half. An open end allowed coins to be slipped in and made for a secure wallet. When cartridge guns were adopted, the folded over feature offered protection for the stiching as it was not abraded against the body and worn out. Slim jim holsters came first and later the loop holster.

Besides two saddles that he made and brought as display examples for his talk, Fred had a display of the types of belts and holsters. The guns were interesting too. He had an 1858 Remington that he converted from cap 'n ball to center fire. This was in the '70s before kits were available. He told me he did it on a drill press (used somehat as a milling machine) and then file work. Center part of the cylinder was left intact and he made his own gate, ejector rod, ejector rod shroud which he attached to the barrel. Very impressive work by Fred. He told me there were no books when he began researching holster or saddle making and learned by examining all the holsters/saddles he could find.

Fred also told me that he made one of the three saddles ridden by Kurt Russell in Tombstone. Additionally, he made the holster worn by Val Killmer and the bad guys (cowboys). He had a falling out with the movie's acquisition man and the guy overlooked mentioning Fred in his book, Tombstone. I'll post some pictures later.

Here is an 1851 that was converted in the '70s to centerfire.  No conversion kits were available back then and the cylinder was modified and other parts built from scratch.

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Pretty interesting stuff. Sounds like it was a good time! Thanks for posting!

As far as I know, the stirrup was introduced to Europe after the fall of the western Roman Empire.

And you are correct, the slim Jim style of holster was the earliest, with the Mexican loop style slowly making way as the 1870s became the 1880s.

Here is the 1851 that was converted to centerfire:
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Holster worn by Val Kilmer in Tombstone:
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assortment of holsters.  You can see the basic slim jim and then the loops that came later:
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Saddle used by Kurt Russell in last third of the movie:
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Montana loop holster. Attached File

Medieval Scottish sporran (this is what happens when you don't have pockets)
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Iron mounted rifle (hand forged buttplate, trigger guard, escutheons made by hand)
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Medieval saddle
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Mother Hubbard saddle:
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Double rig holster set he made for his wife.  She was too busy operating the computer with images to model it for us.
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