1. The invention of the saddle has been attributed to the Selians, a
people of ancient Franconia. Under this impression, it has been
supposed that the Latins gave it the name of _sella_. The period at
which it was first used, cannot be ascertained. It is certain,
however, that the horse had been rendered subservient to man, several
centuries before this convenient article was thought of.
2. At first, the rider sat upon the bare back of the animal, and
guided him with a switch, but afterwards with a strap put round the
nose. In the course of time, the rider came to use, upon the back of
the horse, the skins of beasts, in order to render his seat more
easy. The Greeks, and many other refined nations of antiquity,
sometimes used superb trappings, composed of cloth, leather, and skins
dressed with the hair on; and, in addition to the gold, silver, and
precious stones, with which these were ornamented, the horses were
often otherwise decked with bells, collars, and devices of various
kinds.
3. The Romans, in the days of the republic, deemed it more manly to
ride on the bare back of the animal than on coverings. At a later
period, they used a kind of square pannel, without stirrups; and about
the year 340 of the Christian era, they began to ride on saddles. It
appears, that those first employed were very heavy, as the Emperor
Theodosius, in the same century, forbade the use of any which weighed
over sixty pounds. The use of saddles was established in England by
Henry the Seventh, who enjoined on his nobility the practice of riding
upon them.
4. The frame of a saddle is called a _tree_. It is not made by the
saddlers, but by persons who confine their attention to this branch of
business. The trees are constructed of wood, with a small quantity of
iron, and covered with canvas.
5. In making a common saddle, the workman first extends two strips of
_straining web_ from the pommel to the hinder part of the tree, and
fastens them with tacks. The tree is then covered on the upper side
with two thicknesses of linen cloth, between which a quantity of wool
is afterwards interposed. A covering of thin leather, usually made of
hog's-skin, is next tacked on, and the flaps added. Under the whole
are placed the pads and saddle-cloth; the former of which is made of
thin cotton or linen cloth, and thin leather, stuffed with hair. The
addition of four straps, two girths, two stirrup-leathers, and as many
stirrups, completes the whole operation.
6. The roughness, or the little indentations in the flaps, are
produced by passing the leather between rollers, in contact with a
rough surface, or by beating it with a mallet, on the face of which
has been fastened a piece of the skin from a species of shark,
commonly called the dog-fish.
7. Saddles are often covered with buckskin, curiously stitched into
figures, and having the spaces between the seams stuffed with wool;
this is particularly the case in side-saddles. The form of saddles,
and the quality of the materials, together with the workmanship, are
considerably varied, to suit the purposes to which they are to be
applied, and to accommodate the fancy of customers.
8. The process of making bridles and harness for horses, is extremely
simple. The leather is first cut out with a knife of some description,
but usually with one of a crescent-like form, or with a blade set in a
gauge, and then stitched together with the kind of thread used by
shoemakers. The awl employed in punching the holes is straight; and
needles are most commonly used, instead of the bristles which point
the shoemaker's threads. The mode of manufacturing saddle-bags,
portmanteaus, and valises, is too obvious to need description.