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Thanks. There is a 99.9% chance that a McClellan would fit your mare.

Wayne

There is a 99% chance a mcclellan will fit ANY horse. That's why a big outfit like the cavalry used them....


And also why they make such good packsaddles.....

Another reason was a lot of reserach was done in the initial design to make long distance riding more comfortable for horse and rider. One of those considerations was hanging the stirrps further forward which is better than where most western saddles are hung to accomodate the "Show Crowd " of what judges think you should look like when riding.

In addition horses 100 years ago that were mostly used by the calvary were not the rolly polly fat quarter horses we see today and other breed specific horses were not as common. Higher withered, skinner horses were more the norm. Evidenced by the fact that most saddles made at the turn of the century or earlier do not fit the modern day horses

A good source of information on this topic of saddles in the chapter Saddling the Cavalry Horse. I highly recommend this book as it is a valuable source of historical and useful information related to equestrian travel.

Looks like an interesting read, Woodswalker. I see several books on Ebay and Amazon.

Thanks,

Wayne

I would like to suggest some other reading material regarding the U.S. Military saddle.

History of the U.S. Cavalry by Swafford Johnson

The Horse Soldier -1776-1943 (The United States Cavalryman: His Uniforms, Arms, Accoutrements and Equipments. Four volumes. By Randy Steffen

United States Military Saddles by Randy Steffen

How is a McClellen to ride?

My ass hurts looking at one.

Well, they do beat setting on a sawbuck.....

I have done that a time or three in a pinch with part of the lash cinch tied up for rope stirrups and burlap sack for padding. It is about 1/2 a step better than walking. I bet there are not a whole lot of people that have done it though.

After many miles over varied terrain, it seemed the old saw was true..."the McClellan was designed for the comfort of the horse, not the rider". That was for me until I was shown the proper seat.

The best feature of the McClellen for the rider is the opening between pommel and cantle...it helps keep your junk cool.

Yep,there are still a whole lot of people who still think the saddle is just a seat.

The Fred Hook is a modified McClellan. They are nice saddles http://montanasaddle.com/products/fred-hook-trail-saddle. I have one and use it on a couple of my wifes horses. The big shouldered low wither ones it does not work on. A side note- I called Mr. Hook to ask him how to properly position the saddle on the horse and where to adjust the Dee ring to. The Dee ring should be behind your knee and you should ride with (use slow montana drawl) long long legs.

I have ridden nice Aussie stock saddles hundreds of miles on trail rides and hunting. They are fine. They are nice and light too. My Association saddle weighs 50#. I need to have a lighter saddle made!

I just rode one a month ago and it had 10# brass stirrups for some reason. Complete opposite stirrup than a good oxbow.

Interesting thread..

To those here whose wives/daughters ride, do any use the side saddle?

Seen it demo'ed a few times, but I suspect its largely a thing of the past here..

My wife uses a western saddle. I ride with a lot of people and I've never seen a side saddle.

Like dennisinaz mentioned, I really like the lightweight of the Aussie saddle. One of the things that really caught my attention with the Steele saddles that Kaleb mentioned was the listed weights. I've two saddles made with Steele trees that I've been riding for over 20 years....but they are heavy...

It's two separate company's. Many many saddles are made with Steele trees but it's a different company than Steele saddles. Not the same trees at all. I think 100 years ago they was one in the same and both buildings are close to each other.

Almost all amish saddles in our area are Steele trees. The Dixie land lady uses them too. The Dixie land saddles are amish made here in town. Several different guys make for her.

Another thing worth mentioning is the Steele saddle company is owned by two men. Fred and Eric. I met Fred camping/riding and he actually delivered my wife's saddle during a camping trip. I found it pretty cool that the company is owned by and the saddles built by guys that actually ride.

I knew they were different companies, one making trees and one making saddles, but assumed that Steele saddles used Steele trees and that they are related to each other....

It is nice when folks who build them ride.

It's interesting about the Amish. I'm always curious about different horse cultures. Are they pretty good horsemen?

I can only speak for our amish and I do think they're as amish as it gets from listening to friends that live with them other places. They use horses for everything and keep two types. Buggy horse which is a standardbred and work horses. Those will be Belgium or Percheron for the most part.

Can't really say they're bad horseman but I wouldn't take much advise from them. Tons of people come here thinking the amish are all that. Lots of it is hype. They're no different than us in that some suck and some are good. They can shoe a horse. I don't use them anymore and didn't use them all that long. If you just want 4 shoes nailed on and the hoof wrasped off they'll take care of you. Many use them to "train" their horses. They don't train anything they wear them out and at the end of 30 days you have a very tired and hungry horse....not that that's all wrong. The two I rode today were tired when we finished.

I like certain Amish for assessory tack and can get things made to my liking out of the leather I want. I pay $25 for a headstall that would be $100 in a store. Same quality leather and all.

This time of year they're super popular for produce. I'll close with saying our out of town friends always get a kick out of the hitching posts and water troughs around town. You'll always see a Amish buggy parked at Walmart....haha