To these ordinary components of a side-saddle, a breast-plate and saddle cloth or numdah are sometimes added. On rare occasions a crupper is used.
SADDLE TREE.
The tree (Figs. [8], [9], [10], and [11]) consists of two bars (side boards), which are connected together in front by the pommel, and behind by the cantle. The pommel is made up of a gullet plate, which is a steel arch that goes over the withers, and its coverings. The points of the tree are connected, one on each side, to the front ends of the bars and to the gullet plate, and they point downwards. The stirrup bar, which should be of a safety pattern, is attached to the near bar, a little lower down than the leaping head.
The webs ([Fig. 11]) of a tree are strong hempen bands which cover the open space down the centre of the tree, and are nailed, at one end, to the pommel, and at the other end to the cantle. They are tightly stretched, in order to give the rider a comfortable seat, and to keep her weight off the horse’s backbone.
The office of the bars of the tree is to evenly distribute the rider’s weight, by means of the panel, over the muscles which run along each side of the horse’s backbone, and which form the only suitable bearing surfaces for the purpose in question. No weight should fall on the animal’s backbone, because it is very sensitive to pressure, even when the pressure is well distributed. In order to obtain this indispensable condition of evenly-distributed pressure, the bars of the tree of a saddle which is to be made for a particular horse, should accurately fit the bearing surfaces of the back upon which they rest, and should be well away from the backbone; in fact, the distance between the bars should not be less than four inches. When the rider is in the saddle, a fair amount of space should exist between the gullet plate and the withers, so that no injurious pressure may fall on the top or sides of the withers, which are particularly susceptible to inflammation from this cause.
In order to avoid giving an undue height to the pommel, with the object of keeping it off the withers, it should be “cut back” ([Fig. 11]), although this cutting back need not be carried to the excessive extent that is sometimes practised. In a man’s saddle, the pommel is generally straight.