4 pommel saddle find in Pompeii

[richsc]

The news today is of a 4 pommel saddle found on a horse outside the walls of Pompeii. There is more detail about the construction of the saddle as well, but my question, better here than on FB RAT, is whether such saddles were exclusively military, or also used by civilians. The article in Italian suggests the rider was a kind of military person or commander, perhaps mainly because of the type of saddle. That the horse was saddled up and ready to go suggests a sudden event that overcame it and the rider. 


http://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/cultura/...SO4y050Ivc