The Australian War Memorial Collection. Test site
Officers pattern 1915 London Tan finished (light brown) leather saddle with brass dees, brass staples and brass caps on the pommel tacks. There are steel stirrup bars and a triple girth point attachment on each side. This is a medium sized saddle measuring 18 inches in the seat length and 14 inches across the seat.
The seat is made of hogskin and the skirts (the leather that covers the stirrup bars and prevents the riders leg from rubbing on the stirrup leather buckle) are made of solid skirt hide stamped with a hogskin print. The seat is supported underneath with 3 inch flax webbing, visible from the underside. The outer flaps are 17 ½ inches by 11 ½ inches of solid skirt hide covered in a hogskin print. There are stitched leather keepers at the bottom of each skirt to steady a surcingle.
A girth protector 11 inches long by 5 inches wide, made from brown shoulder hide, is stitched to the 3 inch webbing on each side and is stamped 'Stone and Roberts 1914' . It covers the three girth points (1 ¼ inch wide straps) which are also attached to the 3 inch webbing. The saddle is missing its felt numnah panels.
This saddle was issued in three sizes, extra large, large and medium with this pattern being the last in the evolution of officer’s saddles that began with the Mark III pattern. The Mark IV, the Mark IV* and the Mark V followed, and were commonly referred to as the "staff pattern". Differences in each of these saddles lay in the positioning and sizes of the flaps. In addition the Mark V had a larger burr (ie the front section on each side that protrudes past the horse withers).
The major difference with the 1915 pattern saddle was that the numnah panels were made of felt (called "panels, pattern ’15"), whereas the other patterns had panels made of basil leather stuffed with white flock. All panels had pockets front and rear to fit to the saddle tree.
This example of saddle was to be used with a saddle blanket, whereas the other versions were used with the felt numnah (not to be confused with the numnah panel). The felt numnah looked like a saddle blanket but had straps to keep it in place under the saddle. Generally, the felt numnah was used instead of the blanket in barracks but in the field a blanket was often substituted as it could be unfolded and double as a horse blanket in cooler climatic conditions.
British 1912 Universal Pattern steel arch saddle with beech wood side bars, numnah panels and original 'V' attachment and sweat flap with a single two buckle, split leather girth. The leather seat cov
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