Re: RC: Re: Mcclellan saddles

[Bluebirdpr@aol.com]

In a message dated 02/02/2000 8:09:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
mmieske@netonecom.net writes:

<<  So does my horse, I think.  When I was asking about
 McClellan saddles, a lot of people responded to me with their experiences
 and I am sure you will get plenty of response, too.  Good luck! >>

Just make sure you know how to fit a saddle to a horse before you start using 
one.  An original McClellan will sore a horse's back of our day very quickly. 
 I say of our day because the horses the Calvary used were built a lot 
different from the horses of today.  Most were very high withered (I think, 
if my memory serves me, were thoroughbred crosses) An old saddlemaker told me 
that there was more than one reason that the center of the saddle was 
hollowed out.  Not only did it help cool the horse and rider but also as the 
long campaigns would take the toll on the horses, the saddle would allow for 
the weight loss of the horse and help distribute the weight load on each side 
of the spine or back bone as it became more peaked or pointed. I found all 
this out because we used a McClellan on our Morab stallion and it sored his 
back in less than a week.  I started calling around as I had heard that the 
saddle was a great endurance saddle because the U. S. Calvary had used them.  
As you might have guessed, our style of endurance riding is a lot different 
as was the Calvary's style of endurance riding.  They walked most of the time.

Phil