#sella col pallino

“Sella col pallino. I checked on the site of Camera di Commercio di Grosseto and it says that the first saddles of this kind date back to the second half of the 16th century, during the period of Spanish influence, at the behest of Federico II, King of Spain.

The saddle has a very robust structure. It is constructed around a wooden frame made from fig (a very pliable wood) and reinforced with iron braces; the saddle is attached to the horse with a double anchoring system, with buckled supports and a leash. These saddles are still used used by “butteri” to work with the cattle and a few are still made in the area of Grosseto. This saddle was made by Fabio Nocenti.

The sella col pallino has been used for ‘short work’ when, after a buttero on foot has caught a cow using a “lasso”, which is given to a buttero on horseback, who would fix the rope to his saddle horn” - pauladasilva_photo.