10th Calvary Memorial. Ft. Huachuca AZ. Lots of good memories.

I've ridden the 1904 McClellan, the Rhodesian Army McClellan, English saddles, western stock saddles, and the British cavalry U.P. saddle, and the McClellan is, hands down, the best of the lot. The 1904 & Rhodesian versions have adjustable quarterstraps that allow you to move the girth forward if you wish. The quarterstraps mean that the saddle is being held down on four points of the saddle, which makes it very stable, and less likely to slide back in steep terrain. The Rhodesian version had heavy English style stirrups, but the 1904 version stirrups are much better: they are wood, very wide and deep, with a tap or hood that make it impossible for your foot to get caught in the stirrup. If your horse bucks and you lose a stirrup, you have a better chance of finding it with your foot, because it's weight keeps it from flying around so much, and it's wide opening helps to get your boot back in the stirrup. I've heard people complain that the saddle is uncomfortable, but if you keep about 1/3 of your weight in the stirrups, 1/3 on your thighs, and 1/3 on your butt, it is very comfortable and secure. It is as light as most English saddles, and much lighter than western saddles and the U.P. saddle. You sit down very close to the horse. You get more horse sweat, but you have more feel for the horse, and a lower center of gravity. (And think about it: is there any sweat with such a nice smell as horse sweat? I don't know of any.) I was living in Zimbabwe right after the Rhodesian bush war, and went into the Farmers' Coop in Salisbury. I was shocked to find a brand new McClellan for sale in their tack section. I hunted down the saddle maker, a man named Johnson. He said the Rhodesian army's mounted infantry unit, the Grey's, tried a number of different saddles and were dissatisfied. One day someone brought him a McClellan saddle, with no stirrups or girth, and asked if he could make this same saddle as an experiment for the Grey's. He made the tree out of fiberglass, made the pommel arch a little higher, and had different (and cheaper) hardware on it. He used chrome leather. He did not know what a latigo was. He made the saddle with 4 separate quarterstraps, each with a buckle. He said the Grey's tried it and liked it, and soon that was their standard saddle. I also met a man who was in the Grey's when this first experimental saddle was brought to his troop for testing. His captain asked for a volunteer to use it on their next patrol, and no one wanted to touch it--it looked pretty weird to Rhody eyes. So a trooper was assigned the saddle against his wishes, and had to use it on a multi-day patrol. When he returned he was very enthused about the saddle, and refused to let anyone else try it out. After that, he told me, everyone wanted one.

If you move the saddle one hand width behind the point of the shoulder, you free up the shoulder and you should have more clearance at the withers. (I have a U.S. Army training video on my channel. I ride an M28 McClellan) P.S. I would like the 11th OVC to come to the national cavalry competition

I was in the 11th ACR's Horse Detachment. We rode all day every day. For practice, we could choose between a McClellan or a western saddle. The more experience (at the horse det) that our riders had, the more likely they were to choose to ride a McClellan. I've ridden McClellans for 4 or so days across the Sierra Nevads for up to 18 hours per day and never had a horse get sored. I absolutely love the McClellan.

...such a good horse - Really enjoyed this video !

A truly interesting & informative film. A damn fine horse too.

Good information, much more to saddle fitting than I realize

Good video..the horses of the time period were more of a thourobreed ,saddel breed,..and walkers Keep up the good work!!

Fun Fact: Detroit Police Mounted Div, still use McCellen Saddles today.

Great info , anything to keep injury from your horse !! Beautiful strong horse by the way !!!

Really good video. You really know your subject and you were able to teach me about saddle fit. My horses hate me and this might be the reason why. My horses and I thank you.

Happy 4th, I still wanna join the Calvary. I'm happy I'm in the infantry, but Calvary looks fun

Hello,can you make the video about how to tack up the cavarly horse? How to use the girth and etc

The Rhodesian Grey Scouts used these saddles . Read the book " The Equus Men " by Alexandre Binda.

If I remember well there was a maker of exact replicas of cavalry equipment in Red Bank, NJ I can't remember their name.

In later times the standard horse produced by the Army Remount Service was at least 15-2 or so, weighing 1250 to 1500 pounds and most often Morgan Thorobred crosses dark in color. So saddles were designed around . Also, total weight of rider and load was 275 pounds max making the rider also assumed to be a standard size? Civil War in Wyoming, whatever horse and tack could be found would be used including trading with the Indians.

The SADF still used these saddles into the late '90s.

is the pdf of the Condons Cavalry compendium free to print or not? I like reading more while having it in my hand.

Sir I really enjoy your videos I have no experience With cavalry saddles nor English all my writing was done extensively with Western but I'm interested in Civil War cavalry saddles and developing some techniques with the saber and pistol on horseback where would you recommend and what would you recommend as a good purchasing place To buy a good Replica of a Mcclellen saddle 1859 ....?

So, are you saying that the saddle sores are caused by having McClellan saddles on short-backed horses?

Where did you get your saddle where did your fellow troop members get their saddles from where do you recommend

In your experience, what tree bar length do you believe is the maximum for a typical qtr horse?

Where can I purchase A Good replica?

With my uniform, do I have to worry about buying hats and tunics and such, that have my specific company on them? Or should I buy a kit with something plain and no specific insignias?

Who is this guy talking I would like to ask him questions on saddle making and horses in general. Is he a saddle maker? An expert horse man or does he just work for 11TH OVC?

Ib my military outfit u. S army we had the saddled straddled on the end of the bunks with ours sabers and cav boots . "Abridge that couldnt be crossed , a horse that cant be rode I 1st cav

Excellent demonstration - especially shown without blankets or saddlecloth, so that the viewer can really see the contact. Unfortunately, none of your three trees shown were actually CW-dimension trees. The first two are reenactor supplied, and nearly all of these modern reproductions make unnecessary allowances for the typical reenacting horse ( well-fed, not heavily worked, low or no withers) - the bars tend to be flatter and the gullets wider. The last one shown was an original military tree, however it was a WW1 surplus tree (circa 1917/18). Those were significantly different from their predecessors, to the point that they can actually be considered flawed in the pommel/gullet dimensions (that's a very long story). Having handled many original trees, I think you'd be impressed with how well they would have stood in comparison to these, especially the late-war trees that were highly regulated by the Ordnance Dept.

I understand border states In Arkansas is a good saddle Maker However I've called his shop several times and get no answer

You guys kno where I can buy one for less then 800$?... they are so expensive :(

I've ridden in a McClellan saddle. I know it was better for the horse's back, but my backside could not take it.

Riding ....ooops

I have to dissagree.the best saddle in the world is the scafarda, actally used by italian army and by butteri of northern maremma, invented by colonnello del frate, it just fits better to the hourse back and to the man on the saddle too. ifyou do not belive me take informations. second best is the bardella, third best the german army saddle.