Pack saddle

“ The preferable method of carrying supplies with the sawbuck pack saddle is with kyacks, basket panniers or the alforjas, though with sling and lash ropes any sort of a bundle may be slung upon it.
When they can be obtained, kyacks of indestructible fiber stand first for preference. These are usually from twenty-two to twenty-four inches wide, seventeen or eighteen inches high and about nine inches deep, and are fitted with heavy leather loops for slinging on the saddle. Unless the horse is a large one, the narrower, or twenty-two inch, should be selected. ”

“ For the saddle of the shooting-horse the arrangement is different; only the gun-holster, and perhaps the water-canteen can then be taken. An ox carries a saddle precisely like a horse. I rode mine nearly 1600 miles, in South Africa, with a common hunting-saddle and its ordinary girths.
In default of riding-saddles, a pack-saddle must be cushioned to form a comfortable seat (see "Pack-saddles") .
Saddle-bags are so troublesome to open, and require so many straps, that I believe it is best to use a bag of macintosh or canvas, rolled up and tied behind the saddle, where it should rest on a pad. ”

“ This is heavy even for a large animal and for these tiny mules seemed an impossibility, but it is the usual weight, and the business-like way in which they moved off showed that they were not overloaded.
The Yün-nan pack saddle is a remarkably ingenious arrangement. The load is strapped with a rawhide to a double A-shaped frame which fits loosely over a second saddle on the animal's back and is held in place by its own weight. If a mule falls the pack comes off and, moreover, it can be easily removed if the road is bad or whenever a stop is made. ”

“ When you are quite sure the kyacks weigh alike, get your companion to hang one on the pack saddle, at the same time you hook the straps of the other. If you try to do it by yourself you must leave one hanging while you pick up the other, thus running a good risk of twisting the saddle. ”

“ The mounting of a laden pack-saddle is a problem in itself, and to the last I could discover no system upon which the feat is accomplished; a wild, spasmodic leap, taken from some wall near the animal, usually—but not always—lands one in the saddle, and once in position a fatalistic calm is the best attitude with which to confront the perils of the ensuing ride. ”

“ With these cords dangling along side of them the horse is put to his full speed without fear of falling, and when he is turned to graze the noose is merely taken from his mouth. The saddle in formed like the pack-saddles used by the French and Spaniards, of two flat thin boards which fit the sides of the horse, and are kept together by two cross pieces, one before and the other behind, which rise to a considerable height, ending sometimes in a flat point extending outwards, and always making the saddle deep and narrow. ”

“ We will assume that you are possessed of a good sawbuck saddle of the right size for your pack animal. It will have the double cinch rig. To the under surfaces tack firmly two ordinary collar-pads by way of softening. Beneath them you will use two blankets, each as heavy as the one you place under your riding saddle. This abundance is necessary because a pack "rides dead"—that is, does not favor the horse as does a living rider. By way of warning, however, too much is almost as bad as too little. ”

“ Another and very good type of pack rig is that made from an old riding saddle. The stirrup rigging is removed, and an upright spike bolted strongly to the cantle. The loops of the kyacks are to be hung over the horn and this spike. Such a saddle is apt to be easy on a horse's back, but is after all merely a make-shift for a properly constructed sawbuck. ”

“ At camp the horses are caught, and each is tied near his own saddle and pack.
The saddle-horses are attended to first. Thus they are available for business in case some of the others should make trouble. You will see that your saddle-blankets are perfectly smooth, and so laid that the edges are to the front where they are least likely to roll under or wrinkle. After the saddle is in place, lift it slightly and loosen the blanket along the back bone so it will not draw down tight under the weight of the rider. Next hang your rifle-scabbard under your left leg. ”

“ Then you pack your off-saddle, rolling the ground-sheet, blankets, and harness-sheet, with the muzzles, surcingle-pads, hay-nets, etc., and strapping the roll on the saddle. Then you harness as fast as you can (generally helped by a gunner) , make up two fresh feeds and tie them up in nose-bags on the saddle, and put on your belt, haversack, water-bottle, and other accoutrements. ”

“ It is rather a stunning thing to be mounted on the fashionable type of horse who "won't stand a curb, you know,"—and there are some such,—but, as a fact, ninety-nine American horses out of one hundred will work well in a port and bridoon bridle properly adjusted.
Always buy good things. Cheap ones are dear at any price. Your saddle should fit so that when you are in it you can thrust your riding-whip under the pommel and to the cantle along the horse's backbone; otherwise you may get sore withers. The bits should hang in the mouth just above where a horse's tush grows. ”

“ A leather boot for rifle, and saddle bags for toilet articles, note books and odds and ends, bridle, halter rope, a pair of cowboy spurs with large blunt rowels, and a quirt to tickle delinquent pack horses will be needed. The rifle boot has two sling straps. The usual method of carrying it is to insert it between the stirrup leathers on the near side, drop the sling strap at the top of the boot over the saddle pommel and buckle the sling strap at the bottom of the boot into the rear latigo ring. ”

“ Suppose you were riding with a lady, on her left,—which is the safe and proper, if not the fashionable side,—and her saddle should begin to turn, say toward you, as it is most apt to do. If your horse minds the indication of your leg, you can keep him so close to your companion's as to afford her suitable assistance, even to the extent of bodily lifting her clear of her saddle. If your horse is only half trained, you cannot, perhaps, bring him to the position where you want him in season to be of any service at all. ”

“ Moreover, you can train a horse much more easily, riding with only the ball of the foot in the stirrup, for you can use your legs to better advantage. My disability obliges me to ride "home" at all times, and I have always found it much more difficult to teach a horse the right leg indications than the left. I have to employ my whip not infrequently, in lieu of my leg. Your stirrup should be larger and heavier, for safety. I don't like your fine, small stirrups; and your saddle should have spring bars, which you should always keep from rusting out of good working order. ”

“ Any man of ordinary activity should be able to vault into the saddle without the aid of the stirrup or the assistance of a groom, whether the horse be standing or moving, even in the gallop. Indeed, by taking advantage of the movements of the animal, a man may more readily vault into the [62] saddle of a horse that is not at rest than when it is standing quietly, provided that he can get at the near shoulder of the horse and secure his clasps upon the mane and the pommel. That is, if he can get the proper holds, from the right position, no horse can prevent his gaining his seat. ”

“ They look clumsy, they are liable to slip out of place, they collect sand and dirt, and even the best of them heat the horse’s back. If some kind of saddle pad is required on account of a sore back, or an ill-fitting saddle, or if, for instance, one is using one’s own saddle on a strange horse that it does not fit, by far the best pad to use is a sheepskin, cut the same size as the saddle and worn with the woolly side next to the horse’s back. Sheepskins are readily washed and do not heat the horse’s back nearly as much as the ordinary felt saddle pad. ”

“ It is made of a plated straw matting, on which is fastened a strong wicker-work saddle, and a properly folded blanket, for you must be careful that the animal's back does not get sore. The saddle is fastened by pliant ropes, or broad belts of leather, called in the West "cinches," to fasten which securely requires some skill, as they pass through a circular ring and are secured by a hitch or peculiar knot that holds well and can be unfastened with a quick jerk. ”

“ A beginner should only ride a gentle horse. In case we do take a tumble, it is well to take our first lesson on soft ground or in a tanbark ring.
There are three types of saddles generally used: The English saddle is simply a leather seat with stirrups, and while it is the most refined type and the one used for fox hunting and all expert riding in England, it is not the best kind to learn on. The army saddle and the Mexican or cowboy saddle with a pommel or box-stirrups are far safer and less expensive. ”

“ The seat of the saddle and the bearing surfaces of the upper crutch and leaping head had best be of rough leather, and particular attention should be paid to the construction of the upper crutch and leaping head, so that a maximum of grip may be obtained, which is a point that is deplorably neglected by many of the makers of side-saddles for children. Children can ride in any comfortable saddle, supposing that it is not too small. I have taught very small girls to ride in my saddle and jump without reins on a horse 15-3 high. ”

“ The arrangement for undoing the stirrup-leather is in the most convenient position when it is close to the iron, and not in proximity to the stirrup-bar, as is the case in a man’s hunting saddle. If the leather is used in the latter manner, the buckle will be apt to hurt the inside of the lady’s left leg, when she brings the knee close to the flap of the saddle; and it will be more inconvenient to alter the length of the leather, when the lady is mounted, than if the buckle or hook was low down. The hook (Fig. 14) is better than a buckle, because it lies flatter and is easier to arrange. ”

“ A cloth of felt or a piece of thin leather under the saddle will preserve the panel for many years. In places where I have found it impossible to have the panel satisfactorily fitted, I have removed it altogether, and girthed the saddle over thick felt numnah, a proceeding which answered perfectly. Saddle-galls are always due either to an ill-fitting tree or an ill-fitting rider; they are preventable, they should not exist. ”

“ To say how a saddle should be made, would be quite impossible, as it solely depends on the horse and his rider; for instance, a thin and sweepy saddle will not suit a horse with round, heavy shoulders, and wide over his loins. Many imagine that cut-back saddles are less liable to injure the rider, than ordinary ones ”

“ The security of the hunting-horn saddle will be quite clear to you, if, when sitting in your chair, you put a cylinder three or four inches in diameter between your legs, press your two knees together by crossing them, in the position of a woman on a side-saddle; when a man clasps his horse, however firmly, it has a tendency, to raise the seat from the saddle. This is not the case with the side-saddle seat: if a man wishes to use a lance and ride at a ring, he will find that he has a firmer seat with this kind of side-saddle than with his own. ”

“ A side-saddle may be made accurately according to all recognized rules, and yet lose nearly all its good effects by being improperly put on; the rider will be made uncomfortable, the horse's back will be injured, and the saddle will eventually have its padding so compressed in the wrong direction that it will be impossible to put it on in the right way. ”

“ We may see even fair horsemen thrown by a horse suddenly stopping dead at a fence, an accident that rarely occurs to a woman in a side saddle, as the grip afforded by her crutches gives her greater security of seat.
A large number of men’s saddles have recently been purchased in London for the use of American ladies who desire to adopt cross-saddle riding. They intend wearing frock coats and breeches made exactly like men’s hunting breeches, and top boots ”

“ All the rider has to do is to sit back, keep the body quite flexible and in the centre of the saddle, preserve the balance, and, with pressure from the left leg and heel, and a touch of the whip, keep him up to his bit. She will imperceptibly leave the saddle at every stride, which, in a slow measured canter, will be reduced to a sort of rubbing motion, just sufficient to ease the slight jolt caused by the action of the haunches and hind legs. ”

“ Horses are not naturally vicious, and very few of them who have had any sort of fair-play in training, really require a curb, or will go as well or pleasantly upon it as if ridden in a snaffle-bridle.
Your saddle is another most important point. Never commence, be your age ever so tender, by riding upon a pad. Accustom yourself from the beginning to the use of a properly constructed saddle, made as straight as a board, seat perfectly level, and scarcely any appearance of a pommel upon the off-side. A leaping-head, or what is commonly termed a third crutch, is, in my opinion, indispensable. ”

“ A deep depression in the centre prevents any possibility of any uncomfortable pressure. They also make a racing saddle, which is composed of veneered wood, cross grained, and glued together, and covered, of course, with leather. Another form of anatomical pattern of theirs has a solid wooden base on which are placed two leather pads which are fastened to the base by a strap of nickel-plated steel which is screwed thereto. A nickel-plated steel plate also extends between the pads from the pommel to the cantle. ”