Unusual McClellan Saddle

[robertsdm]

Hello,
I have an unusual McClellan style saddle and would like to find out it's possible age. It appears to be Civil War possibly but doesn't appear to be military issue as there are no name plates attached to it, stamps or markings of any kind that I can see. It does not have any holes in the cantle and there are no other rings with which to attach anything to it. The girth strap is in tact but there are no stirrups. It was kept in a barn in Danville, Virginia and I acquired it from someone whose ancestors had owned the farm since the 1700s. She sent me a picture of her sitting in the saddle as a toddler on her grandfather's old plow horse. The picture was probably taken in the 50s (I'm guessing), and she said it was known to be very old at that time. I have attached two pictures for you to look at.

[Todd]

A familiar looking saddle - this most likely dates from around 1900 to WW1, made by a commercial firm. This particular example I've seen several times before, where they gave the old classic military tree shape a slight upgrade with a more 'open' seat, with pommel angled forward, and the lower cantle angled to the rear. There was a NOS tree for this exact form on eBay quite recently (might still be there), and I've seen other relic saddles with this same configuration.

[Joseph Sullivan]

I have one much like that. Normally I'd have dismissed it as a commercial copy, but it is marked "Property of US Government." Never been quite able to figure that out.