Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

SADDLERY

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V23, Page 989 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

SADDLERY and See also:

HARNESS, two terms which embrace the whole equipment for the See also:horse when used for See also:riding or See also:driving. " Harness " (0. Fr. harnels, trod. harnais, Ger. Harnisch; of unknown origin) was originally a See also:general See also:term for equipment, e.g. the See also:body See also:armour of a soldier. It is now usually confined to the See also:draught horse's equipment, "See also:saddle and bridle" being used of that of the riding horse. Saddlery is principally a See also:leather See also:trade, and the See also:craft has been established in See also:England as a See also:separate trade since the 13th See also:century, when the See also:London Saddlers' See also:Company received its See also:charter from See also:Edward I. There is See also:evidence also of its See also:early prosperity at See also:Birmingham; the See also:principal seat of the cheaper saddlery trade is now at See also:Walsall. Saddler's ironmongery embraces the making of buckles, chains, stirrups, spurs, bits, hames, &c. The " bridle " (O.E. bridel for brigdel, from bregdan, to pull) is the See also:combination of straps and buckles which fits on the horse's See also:head, the headstall, together with the See also:bit and reins which it keeps in position. The headstall consists of the headpiece passing behind the ears and joining the head-See also:band over the forehead; the cheek-straps See also:rum downthe head to, the bit to which they are fastened ; in the driving bridle the "blinkers," rectangular or See also:round leather flaps which prevent the horse from seeing anything except what lies in front, are attached to the cheek-straps ; the See also:nose-band passes round the head above the nostrils and the See also:throat-lash from the See also:top of the cheek-straps underneath the head. The " martingale " passes between the horse's legs with one end fastened to the girth and the other to the bridle or nose-band. It prevents the horse throwing up his head.

The bit is the See also:

metal contrivance inserted in the mouth to which the reins are attached. There are innumerable patterns of bits, but they may be divided into the "snaffle " (Du. snavel, horse's muzzle), the " curb " and combinations of the two. The " snaffle " for the riding horse has a smooth jointed See also:steel See also:mouthpiece, with straight cheek-bars, the rings for the reins and cheek-pieces of the headstall being fixed in the bars at the junction with the mouthpiece. A severer snaffle has the mouthpiece See also:twisted and fluted. The bars prevent the horse pulling the bit through the mouth. The snaffle without bars is generally termed a " bridoon." The commonest See also:form of bit used in driving is the See also:double-See also:ring snaffle, in which the rings See also:work one within the other, the headstall straps fastening to one and the reins to the other, or, if the horse is driven on the double ring, the reins are buckled to both rings. The curb-bit (Fr. courbe, See also:Lat. curves, See also:bent, crooked) is one to which a curb-See also:chain or strap is attached, fastened to hooks on the upper ends of the cheek-bars of the bit and passing under the horse's See also:lower See also:jaw in the See also:chin groove. The reins are attached to rings at the lower ends of the cheek-bars, the leverage thus pressing the curb-chain against the jaw. The mouthpiece of the curb-bit is unjointed and has in the centre a See also:port," i.e. a raised See also:curve allowing See also:liberty for the See also:tongue and bringing the pressure on the See also:base of the horse's jaw. The curb-bit and the bridoon can be used together with separate headstalls and reins,, but there are many combination bits, such as the See also:Pelham. In this the' mouthpiece, without port, is that of the snaffle bit (it may be unjointed), with the rings fixed at the junction of the mouthpiece and cheek-bars; the lower ends have See also:rein rings as in the See also:plain curb-bit. a b c d e Flo.

2.—Some Types of Driving Bits. (From Messrs. See also:

Champion and See also:Wilton.) The riding saddle is composed of the " See also:tree," the framework or See also:skeleton, the parts of which are the See also:pommel or head, the See also:projection which fits over the withers, and the See also:side bars which curve round into the cantle or See also:hind-See also:bow. The tree in the best saddles is made of beechwood split with the See also:grain; thin See also:canvas is glued over the See also:wood to prevent splitting, and See also:iron or steel plates then riveted on the head and on the cantle. See also:Linen webs are fastened lengthwise and across, over which is nailed canvas and serge between' which the See also:padding is stuffed. To the tree are fastened the See also:stirrup-bars. The leather covering of the tree should be of See also:pig-skin; cheap saddles are made of See also:sheep-skin stamped to imitate pig-skin. The various parts of the See also:man's saddle are the seat, the skirt, i.e. the See also:fold or See also:pad of leather on either side of the head, and the See also:hanging flaps; See also:knee-rolls are not used as much as they were, except where roughly broken-in horses are ridden. The saddle is cut straight over the withers with a square-ended cantle, as in the See also:hunting saddle, or cut back over the withers with a round-ended cantle, as in the See also:polo saddle. The saddles in use on the See also:continent of See also:Europe still retain the high pommel and cantle and heavy knee-rolls discarded by riders trained in the See also:British school and the hunting-See also:field. The saddles of the See also:East and of the See also:Arabs keep their See also:primitive shape, and they are really seats in which rather than on which the rider sits. The Mexican saddle, with its See also:silver adornments and embossed leather, is a characteristic type.

It has a very high padded pommel and a round-headed projecting cantle. The See also:

lady's side-saddle when first fully See also:developed had two heads or pommels, between which the right See also:leg was supported, the support for the See also:left being the stirrup. The third pommel or " leaping head," against which the left leg rests, was, it is said, invented as the result of a match between two gentlemen riders to ride a See also:steeplechase on side-saddles; the winner had provided himself this support for his left leg. At first the " leaping head " was only used in the hunting-field and the double cow-See also:horn was still retained; as its usefulness became apparent the second pommel practically disappeared. Space forbids the discussion of the varieties of harness for the pair-horse See also:carriage, the four-horse See also:coach, the See also:farm See also:wagon, &c., or the different kinds of ornamentation that are or have been lavished upon it. The leather See also:collar, heavily padded, passes over the head and rests firmly on the shoulders; the hames, linked pieces of metal, See also:fit tightly round it and are fastened at the top by the hame-strap; they See also:bear the traces, or straps which pass along the horse's sides and the shafts and are attached by loops slipped over hooks in the body of the carriage. Where the collar is dispensed with, the traces are attached to a See also:breast-strap against which the horse See also:works. This breast harness is much used for the lightly harnessed See also:American trotting horses, and for military draught horses. The saddle pad is a narrow leather See also:cushion girthed under the belly and held in position by the crupper-See also:dock and the crupper, a See also:loop strap passing under the tail. The saddle supports the shafts by the back-band and its tugs and by the belly-band. The reins pass from the bit through " terrets " or rings on the hames and pad. The harness on the horse's hind-quarters consists of the breeching, passing round behind the horse and helping in backing and stopping the vehicle, the See also:hip-strap fastened to the breeching and passing over the hind-quarters, and the kicking-strap falling across the loins and fastened to the shafts.

The bearing rein, when used merely as a support to the head, or as an aid to the improvement of the paces, consists of a separate bridoon-bit with the reins passing through rings on the throat-band and thence slipped over a See also:

hook on the pad. The severer form, which brings the rein over the head-See also:stall, keeps the horse's head up in a cramped attitude and the mouth continually working on the bit. A See also:recent modification of the severer form is not attached to the bit. See also:Historical See also:Sketch.—Questions as to the See also:epoch in the See also:history of mankind when the horse was first trained for draught and riding are for archaeologists and anthropologists to discuss (see HORSE, § History). With the domestication of the horse came the development of the bit; first a halter of hide See also:bound the muzzle; then a thong slipped into the mouth, finally replaced by wood or See also:bone. See also:Stone See also:age See also:objects have been found in See also:lake-dwellings, such as that at Robenhausen, near See also:Zurich which may have been bits; one is slightly curved, with two knobs grooved at either end for the reins. Bits from the See also:bronze age and the iron age can be seen in most museums showing that the forms have changed little. The Scandinavian museums are particularly See also:rich in early remains of harness and horse-trappings. An early bronze age bit of bone with horn cheek-pieces and with holes on the upper ends for the head-stall, and on the lower ends for the reins, was found at the Corcelletes lake dwelling, and a twisted bronze bit jointed by interlocking rings with straight cheek-pieces and rings and loops for headstall and reins is in the See also:National Museum at Zurich. In the See also:late iron age See also:burial of a Gaulish See also:chief with his See also:chariot at See also:Somme-Bionne were found two horse's bits of the See also:ordinary jointed snaffle type (see See also:ARCHAEOLOGY, See also:plate VI). A heavy snaffle unjointed bit with red and See also:blue See also:enamel ornamentation is illustrated in the British Museum See also:Guide to the Late Iron Age. See also:Assyrian and Babylonian ,monuments show the harness of the chariot horses and the bridling of the riding horse, cf.

BABYLONIA AND See also:

ASSYRIA, Plate II, fig. 2. In See also:ancient See also:Greece and See also:Rome the bit and bridle were used during historic times, and allusions to riding without them refer to exhibitions of See also:horsemanship. On See also:Trajan's See also:column the Numidians ride without bridles or bits, and various See also:North See also:African tribes trained their horses to obey their See also:voice alone (cf. Claudian, Epig. is to, of the Gaulish essedarii, driving without bridle and reins). The See also:locus classicus for the bridling and saddling of the See also:Greek horse is See also:Xenophon, IIEpi irrMfg. The Greek name for the bridle bit and reins collectively is x0L/6r (Lat. frenum), the bit proper is arbµiov; in Lat. frenum is also used of the bit itself. The headstall (icopu/ata) and cheek-straps (See also:rap, a) were richly decorated. In See also:Homer (Il. iv. 142) the latter are ornamented with See also:ivory plates stained with See also:purple, and such, have been found on the site of See also:Troy (See also:Schliemann, Ilios, 476, 631). The head-band also See also:bore a See also:crest (Xodbs, crista), and in front the & rrut (frontale) might be extended down the See also:face to serve as a See also:defence, as in the See also:medieval chaufrein. This frontal was a See also:special subject of decoration.

Of the two principal types of ancient bits, the un-jointed and the jointed mouthpiece, the latter is the most See also:

common form. There are also other forms of bits; those with See also:sharp points were called lupata. (Virg. Georg: iii. 208). There is a Greek bit in the British Museum' with revolving disks, a See also:device which occurs in medieval bits, to give the horse something to keep turning in his mouth. The curb was also used:. Xenophon distinguishes between the snaffle (X Zos xaatvbs) and :the, curb. The curb-strap or chain was termed bvroxaXwitta or 1 Xtov, which, however, may mean 'a muzzle. A bronze bit found at See also:Pompeii has a twisted and jointed metal mouthpiece and a plain curved See also:bar acting as a curb-strap. The cheek-bars of the bit take a variety. of forms: straight bars, circles with rays, square or oblong plaques, triangles and the See also:swan-necked or S-shaped type are all found. In medieval times complicated and severe bits were used, and heavy bits with cruel mouth-pieces and See also:long elaborately curved cheek-bars are still used by Arabs and the riders of Central and See also:South See also:America.

The bit of the armed See also:

war-horse in the See also:middle ages was sometimes provided with very long cheek-bars covered' with sharp spikes to prevent the See also:foot-soldier catching hold of the bridle (see R. Tschille ' and R. Forrer; See also:Die Pferdetrense in ihrer Formen-Entwicklung, 1903, for illustrations of bits from prehistoric times to the 16th century). The saddle was not used in See also:Egypt; the. Assyrian monuments (cf. the See also:illustration noticed above) chiefly show decorated saddle-cloths rather than any form of the saddle proper. The harness of the chariots of Egypt and Assyria are also illustrated on the monuments (see especially See also:Sir J. G. See also:Wilkinson, See also:Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians). The ancient Greeks rode. See also:bare-backed as in the Panathenaic See also:frieze of the See also:Parthenon or used a saddle-See also:cloth (icbIr rcov, Lat. ephippium;See also:sella as applied to a saddle is quite late). Even the saddle-cloth does not appear to have been in use till the 5thcentury. A 6th-century See also:vase, found at See also:Daphnae, Lower Egypt (See also:Flinders-See also:Petrie and See also:Murray, Tanis, 1888, ii. p1. See also:xxix.), shows a woman riding astride on a cloth, with fully developed headstall and powerful bit. A See also:black-figured See also:sarcophagus, now in the British Museum, from See also:Clazomenae, shows a long pointed ephippium with a See also:chest-strap.

These indicate See also:

Asiatic See also:influence, for Daphnae was an Ionian and Carian, See also:settlement of the 7th century B.C. In Xenophon (l.c.) we find that the saddle-cloth had been adopted by the Athenian See also:cavalry, and from his See also:advice as to the seat to be adopted pads or rolls seem to have been added. There were no stirrups (till the See also:time of the See also:emperor See also:Maurice, A.D. 602), and the rider mounted at a vault or by blocks; mounting by the See also:spear used as a vaulting See also:pole was also practised as an athletic feat. On a funeral' See also:monument of the time of See also:Nero in the museum at See also:Mainz is the figure' of a horseman on a saddle-cloth with something resembling the pommel and cantle of a saddle, but the first saddle proper is found in the so-called column of See also:Theodosius at See also:Constantinople (usually ascribed to the end of the 4th century A.D., though it may be more than See also:loo years earlier), where two figures are riding on high-peaked saddles resting on embroidered saddle-cloths. In medieval times the saddle was much like that of the See also:Oriental saddle of to-See also:day with high peaks before and behind. In the military saddle of the 14th and 15th century the high front parts of the saddle were armoured and extended to protect the legs of the rider. The jousting saddle (cf.' the example in the See also:Tower of London) becomes almost a See also:box into which the rider is fixed; the high cantle fits round the rider's loins and when charging he lifted himself into practically a See also:standing position in the stirrups. The saddle for use on the road or hunting was much like the Arab saddle of to-day, and similar forms are in use in Europe and elsewhere where the British saddle has not been adopted: See also:Women rode astride or on a See also:pillion behind a'male rider. The side-saddle is said to date from the end of the , I2th century. For the harness of the ancient draught horse see CHARIOT. See also:text.

See also DRIVING, RIDING and HORSE. ,(C. WE,)SADDLEWORTH, an See also:

urban See also:district in the See also:Colne Valley See also:parliamentary See also:division of the See also:West Riding of See also:Yorkshire, England, 14 M. N.E. of See also:Manchester, on the London & North Western railway. Pop., (1901) 12,320. It lies on the western side of the See also:elevation of Stanedge, which here forms the See also:watershed between streams flowing westward. to the Irish See also:Sea and eastward to the North Sea. , Early earthworks, and. tumuli are numerous in the locality. The See also:Huddersfield See also:canal follows the valley, and, like the railway, is carried under Stanedge by a long See also:tunnel.

End of Article: SADDLERY

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
SADDLE (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ge... 		[next]
SADDUCEES

Site © 2006 - Net Industries