You're just a kid if you never rode a McClellan saddle..

[ironglow]

  Just kidding of course, but the McClellan saddle was still very present, in the 1940s and 1950s. It was designed by the future Gen
  McClellan in the 1850s, and used by the US cavalry until the US cavalry was finally disbanded in the 1940s.
   
  I guess they were sold as Army surplus then, because anyone who had horses, usually had one or two of them around.
     I used one for a time as a teenager, and it didn't sit that bad..at least as far as I knew, not being a much experienced rider.

 Obviously, they were not made for roping (no horn), since that was not a typical task assigned to the cavalry.  It was a good utility
 saddle however, since it was made to carry carbine, sword, tent, bed roll and canteen, along with sundry other items.

  It was the saddle during the "Indian wars"..and used by the cavalry of that era.  Sheridan, Miles, Custer, Reno etc.. also used by
  Black Jack Pershing and George S. Patton..

[ironglow]

   Many Confederate cavalrymen brought their own horses and saddles to the conflict.

   However the confederacy did develop their "Jenifer saddle", which never came fully into universal use.

  It apparently served well in most instances, but as the cavalry was pressed harder as the war went on, and the horses grew thinner
  it was said that the Jenifer was tough on the horse's withers.

  More rare than the McClellan, since it was only issued perhaps for 3 years, while the McClellan was issued for several decades.

   The Jenifer saddle.. 
 https://www.bidsquare.com/online-auctions/cowans/confederate-richmond-arsenal-1st-pattern-jenifer-saddle-and-valise-482253

[ironglow]

Just for curiosity's sake..  I try to post historical articles that may interest many; articles just like this one concerning historical saddles.

  For some reason, I get 32 lookers and no direct replies. I also seem to get very few replies on "historical moments" that I occasionally post.
     Is there little to no interest in such historical subjects?

[ulav8r]

Well, I'm a kid of 72 and have never even seen a McClellan saddle.  Dad never mentioned he saddle he used in the cavalry.  He spent 1 year at Ft. Riley learning to ride the cavalry way, then they disbanded it.

[ironglow]

That's interesting ulav8r, although I was not aware that that cavalry eventually ended at Ft Riley.  However, it seems like the natural
  and fitting place for the cavalry to bow out, being as Comanche, Captain Keogh's horse, by way of taxidermy..still stands at Ft Riley.

    Keogh's horse, having survived the fracas at the Little Big Horn, lived on for years.

   Of course, the Cavalry is not truly dead, since it is today represented by the various armored divisions, its natural successor.

    Yellow being the signal color of the cavalry, for more formal occasions armored troops (esp 1st Cav),wear the old Stetson and spurs.

[-Shaggy-]

That's interesting ulav8r, although I was not aware that that cavalry eventually ended at Ft Riley.  However, it seems like the natural
  and fitting place for the cavalry to bow out, being as Comanche, Captain Keogh's horse, by way of taxidermy..still stands at Ft Riley.

 

Actually, the horse is in the natural history museum at the University of Kansas in Lawrence

[ironglow]

That's interesting ulav8r, although I was not aware that that cavalry eventually ended at Ft Riley.  However, it seems like the natural
  and fitting place for the cavalry to bow out, being as Comanche, Captain Keogh's horse, by way of taxidermy..still stands at Ft Riley.

 

Actually, the horse is in the natural history museum at the University of Kansas in Lawrence

     I stand corrected, I was going on info I received from other tankers, when I was in 4th armored div.

  So, completing the question, does this sort of thing interest you? Interesting to note, Comanche was bought in Kansas by the Army,
  but it seems Capt Keogh purchased him from the Army, so he could use him as his personal war horse.

   ...But I did find this Photo of Comanche...and he seems to be clad in the McClellan saddle..