Mcclellan saddle?

[EmilyJade]

Not sure if this lost actually belongs in this category but couldn’t figure out where to put it!

I have a 3 year old pony sized 13.3-13.5 Spanish Mustang mare, which is very slender built. I just recently started thinking about saddle fitting and realized it might be a nightmare lol

Someone mentioned Mcclellan saddles, and I’ve done a little research on them. Thing is im not looking to start her fully under saddle at the moment as she still has a lot of growing to do as SMs tend to grow slowly. But would like to find a saddle that would work to get her used to a saddle and maybe attach some saddle bags to do some light packing to build a relationship.

So my question is if anyone has any experience with Mcclellan saddles? And what type of horses they normally tend to fit? My understanding is that they fit narrower horses.

My othet option would probably be a youth saddle, but they tend to be a bit more wide it seems.

These photos were about 6 months ago, she has grown a bit since but still similar shaped.

[Rackonteur]

Pretty little mare!

I rode in a McClellan saddle years ago when I was younger (20s). I loved it! It weighed nothing, it fit every animal I rode from two Saddlebreds to a smallish pony. The one I rode in was a “bare bones” McClellan, with no fenders or stirrup hoods, just leathers, and a western-type cinch. It was hard, but then I have never been a fan of soft padded seats on saddles. It was the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden in. It had rings and slots for attaching various items. It looked a lot like these two but with open western wooden stirrups:

I just saw this pic and it made me think of you and your mare (and the article might be useful to you too):

Fitting a McClellan saddle

[Willesdon]

Only ridden in one once but promised myself never, ever again! Yes, flexible to fit many horses if well padded (with the blanket the soldier was expected to sleep under out in the field) but the army horses were pieces of equipment not pampered pets. Saddles have moved on a bit in the past 150 years.

Use a simple pad and roller to start your horse.

[EmilyJade]

Thats an idea! Can you attach saddle bags to a pad and roller set?

[EmilyJade]

Thanks for the link to the article! Yes definitely interested in getting one, the ones with normal English fenders seem to be the most easy to find. Currently looking at maaaybe having this one shipped… it’s a 1917 quite vintage

[EmilyJade]

Comes with vintage saddle bags too though!

[Willesdon]

I can recommend Belvior brand Leather Balsam which I think could probably make a dead cow get up and walk.

Yes, you could rig all kinds of things onto a roller and pad. Not to certain why you would wish to do so as she still has a lot of growing to do and the pad alone gets the job done.

[EmilyJade]

Talking about veeery light packing for longer walks and maybe adding more weight as she grows more.

Challenge seem to be to find a good one that is pony sized just like saddles. Seems like there’s a lot of good ones horse size and miniature horse size but not a whole lot in between…

[Willesdon]

I come from the land of ponies. Look on any UK Saddlers site. Shires has a USA branch. Robinson’s Equestrian. Or Sydney Free, my local tack shop 100 m down the road.

[Rackonteur]

Cool! Is it a WWI saddle?

[Peggy]

I learned to ride in them. The instructor was perpetually short of money and someone offered him a great deal on a quantity of them left over after a movie shoot. Not particularly comfortable for the rider IMHO, but I rarely complain about any saddle I’ve sat in since.

[Skycav54]

I have ridden McClellan saddles for over 30 years. Make sure you have it overhauled by an experienced saddler. It fit my 15h Morgan and current 15h NSH. The most commonly asked question I get is “is it comfortable?”. I answer “Don’t really know, it’s all I’ve ever ridden”. I routinely ride mountains,long distance with gear, never had a sore back or galling. Just ride smart, keep a good “Military Seat”, and you’ll be fine. The saddle did not work well with my QTR/Arab… he was a bit too CHONKY.

[Bombproof]

The McClellan is kind of a “love it or hate it” thing. There are a couple of important points to keep in mind if you’re looking for one. First, Army horses only came in a specific range of sizes and shapes. The horses the Army used were typically narrower than a modern Quarter Horse although the only way to know if it fits is to put it on the horse. If you don’t know how to “size” a saddle, have a qualified expert do it. Second, Army cavalrymen only came in a specific range of sizes and weights. If you’re unusually tall or on the heavier side, you may not fit well in the saddle. It was actually easier for the Army to get horses and men to fit the saddles than to keep a wide variety of saddles in stock.

As to comfort, in my experience, they are very comfortable if they are the right size. They came in three different seat sizes: 11", 11.5", and 12". Don’t worry about the numbers, they were sized differently from any other saddle I know of. The point is that unless you’re pretty small and skinny, 12" is probably the right size. Fortunately that was the most common size and the one you’re most likely to encounter.

There was/is an interesting variant called the “M1913 packer saddle” which included a brass horn. Unlike “aftermarket conversions” that became popular following WW1 when many thousands of McClellans were dumped on the surplus market, the horn is part of a big brass block that makes up part of the tree and is actually useful for pulling things with a rope. The M1913 was expected to mostly be used on mules so the tree was a bit wider. If you can find one, it may fit when a normal Mc is too narrow.

[OnAMission]

We had one for a long time; I only sat in it a few times but I liked it. I didn’t go many miles on it. It came from DH’s side of the family and his dad had used it to pack kids into the wilderness and then as a pack saddle to pack things home from hunting camp, or the reverse. It was always too narrow for the horses we had and in retrospect, probably the ones FIL had too. Ours had the brass horn so now I know more about it, thank you for that!

I just asked DH about riding it and he said cusswords. He was a 6 foot 4 teenage boy at the time so YMMV.

OP your horse is adorable <3

[RunAmuckDog]

Here’s an article that lists some valid considerations.

From smith-worthington, an original manufacturer of these saddles:

Bad for modern horse & rider.

[Bombproof]

There are some valid considerations in that article but it’s a bit hysterical. It’s not true that a McClellan will never fit your horse. While it is (probably) true that generally speaking most of the horses in use today have somewhat different proportions than those the Army used, horses still come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. The usual rules of saddle fitting apply. I carefully check for fit and if it fits, I sits. There are also reproductions built upon “modern” trees which may fit a wider horse. Border States Leatherworks makes McClellans on a tree proportioned for modern horses.http://www.borderstatesleatherworks.com/mcclellan-civil-war-saddles.php So does Carrico Leatherworks. http://www.carricoleather.com/mcclellansaddles.html There are probably others. If in doubt, send them a wither tracing of your horse and any reputable maker will honestly tell you whether they can fit it. I have a reproduction which was built for both a bigger horse and a bigger rider and it’s one of my favorite saddles. Unfortunately, I bought it from EBay and there’s no maker’s mark so I don’t know who made it.

It’s generally safe to assume that an original Army McClellan isn’t going to fit your draft-cross but for smaller horses it might. You need to be aware that the tree proportions changed at various times throughout the ~60 year period the saddle was used and they don’t all fit the same way. Again, do your due diligence and properly fit the saddle to the horse. If you buy a used McClellan and it doesn’t fit your horse, put it back up for sale. It’s not rocket surgery.

[Shagyas_Rock]

When I was a child, my aunt had a little buckskin grade mare and a McClellan saddle that she let me ride…
I HATED it Fore me it was sheer torture. I chose to ride bareback rather than endure the chafing and pounding that that leather-covered wooden monster gave me.

[eightpondfarm]

i have two old german calvery saddles. They break-down into 7 different pieces. One of them even has original leathers and stirrups. I’ve never ridden in either one. I’m not sure how they should fit? they seem to be made for a slabby horse

[Bombproof]

The most common German military saddle still around is the armeesattle model 1925. If I remember correctly, they came in three seat sizes and three tree sizes with potentially nine different combinations. There are probably markings on your saddles which will give you more information. I suggest you do an internet search on the armeesattle 25. There are enthusiasts who can tell you everything you want to know about them.

[Rackonteur]

She is a pretty girl!
But she can’t be 13.5; there’s no such thing. 13.5 would be 14.1.

I used to ride a McClellan saddle when I was 20-something. I loved it.