Forums at The Military Horse

Here is a collage photo of the plaster casting process that was done for the 1912 Cavalry Board to determine the 'best' shape for saddle sidebars. Not sure they were firing on all statistical cylinders, so to speak.

Wet plaster gets really hot as it starts to dry. Must have been an odd experience for the horse.

There was some discussion and comparison photos of McClellans and the new 1912 pattern, and they pointed to 'bridging' problem with the McClellan.

The odd thing is that they seems to have used a SINGLE HORSE for these measurements and comparisons. Certainly the back form they used was made with a single chosen animal.

There's this odd delusion among designers of saddletrees in the past that there was some magical 'form' that could be divined through some mystical, patentable, methodology - and the 1912 board seemed to be as infected with the nonsensical notion as well.

I'll have to process a few more photos of the process they used - the animal's back was smeared with some kind of petroleum jelly or grease product. The whole thing looked like a heckuva mess.