The American Horsewoman

by Elizabeth Karr

The second pommel should also be well padded, and should always be curved slightly so as to suit the form of the right leg. It must not be so high as to render it difficult, in mounting and dismounting, to pass the right knee over it. The off-pommel, since the English saddle has come into vogue, has almost disappeared, being reduced to a mere vestige of its former size. This is a great improvement to the rider's appearance, as she now no longer has that confined, cribbed-up look which the high pommeled saddle of twenty years ago gave her.

The distance between the off-pommel and the second one should be adapted to the size of the rider's leg, being wide enough to allow the leg to rest easily between the two; but no wider than this, as too much space will be apt to lead her to sit sideways upon the saddle.

A saddle should be well padded, but not so much so as to lift the rider too high above the horse's back. The shield in front should not press upon the neck of the horse, but should barely touch it. The saddle flaps must be well strapped down, for if they stand out stiffly, the correct position of the stirrup leg will be interfered with. A side-saddle should never be too light in weight, for this will make the back of the horse sore, especially if he be ridden by a heavy woman.

The tacks or nails in the under part of the saddle should be firmly driven in, as they may otherwise become loose and either injure the horse, or make him nervous and uneasy. To avoid trouble of this kind, some people advocate the use of false pannels, which are fastened to the saddle-tree by rods or loops, and can be removed and replaced at will. It is said that by using them, the same saddle can be made to fit different horses. The author has no personal knowledge of this invention, but it has been strongly recommended to her by several excellent horsemen. A felt or flannel saddle cloth, of the same color as the rider's habit, should always be placed under the saddle, as it helps to protect the horse's back, as well as to prevent the saddle from getting soiled.

Every finished side-saddle has three girths. Two of these are made of felt cloth, or strong webbing, and are designed to fasten it firmly upon the horse's back. The third one, made of leather, is intended to keep the flaps down. There should always be, on each side, three straps fastened to the saddle-tree under the leather flaps; upon two of these the girths are to be buckled, while the third is an extra one, to be used as a substitute in case of any accident to either of the others. Between the outside leather flaps and the horse's body there should be an under flap of flannel or cloth, which should be well padded on the side next the horse, because, when tightly girthed, the girth-buckles press directly upon the outside of this flap, and if its padding be thin, or worn, the animal will suffer great pain. This is a cause of restlessness which is seldom noticed, and many a horse has been thought to be bad tempered when he was only wild with pain from the pressure of the girth-buckles against his side.

Fig. 8.—Stokes' mode of girthing the saddle.

The credit of introducing a new method of tightening girths belongs, so far as we know, to Mr. Stokes, formerly a riding-teacher in Cincinnati. This method enables one to girth the horse tightly, without using so much muscular effort as is usually required, so that by its means, a lady can, if she wish, saddle her own horse. ([Fig. 8.])

The following is a description of Mr. Stokes' manner of girthing: At the end of each of the leather girth straps, which hang down between the flaps on the off-side of the saddle, is fastened a strong iron buckle without any tongue, but with a thin steel roller or revolving cylinder on its lower edge. On the near side of the saddle the girths are strapped in the usual manner, but, on the outer end of each cloth girth there is, in addition to an ordinary buckle, with a roller on the upper side of it, a long strap, which is fastened to the under side of the girth, the buckle being on the upper side. This strap, when the saddle is girthed, is passed up through the tongueless buckle, moving easily over the steel roller, and is then brought down to the buckle with tongue on the end of the girth, and there fastened in the usual manner.