Has anyone ridden a German Cavalry saddle? Do you know how the seat sizing works? I watched a video on YouTube on how easily they are taken apart, and I like the looks of the tree. I’m really interested to see how the weight is distributed across the horse’s back. Does anyone have any information about fitting them? I just picked one up inexpensively and am interested to learn more about it. I’m not even sure if it’s in sound condition, but the leather is excellent, and it was well worth the price even if it’s just to learn about the construction. Thanks in advance!
How old is it? From what era?
I only know US Army saddles and those cover a lot of years, and at least three styles!
neat video. cool saddle.
Once. Armeesattel25, I think. Good saddle, reasonably comfortable, fit the horse it was on.
The Europeans were far ahead of the U.S. in saddle design in the 19th Century. We got “stuck int he mud” with the McClellan. The reason was economics. At the end of the ACW we had tens of thousands of Mac trees in warehouses. The Feds in those days were incredibly frugal (hard to believe, right?). There were multiple attempts to replace it but they always failed because of the huge existing stock of trees.
G.
That is exactly the video I watched-- seems like such a cool thing to be able to take apart and work on! I have also discovered it is authentically built in Germany (has the eagle stamp) and is a size 2–which refers to the tree, and NOT the seat as I previously thought. The leather is dry, possibly dry rotted in a spot on the skirts, but everything else is in great, rideable condition. It looks in better condition than the one pictured on this website. Thanks to an old Chronicle archive, I found this super useful guide:
http://www.mp44.nl/equipment/army_saddle.htm
So it’s an Armeesattel M25, made between 1925-1945. Can’t wait to ride in it! Thanks for the info everyone!
