Where can one find Roman cavalry style saddle?

[ohcapt13]

Any good stores anyone knows of? I know some companies won't make saddles without stir-ups because of lawsuits.

[jvrjenivs]

Deepeeka has one in his programm. I don't know how it is, as I've heard different stories about it. Some say it's okay, others wouldn't use it on horseback. I personally would say it is best to let one made by an proffesional saddler.

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

We have used a deepeeka saddle in Tarraco Viva 08. I think it's good, but have to be improved in some aspect. I think probably there will be some degree of quality in deepeeka saddles. Ours is well made and padded, and the horse admit it quite fine. We have used it for short times, so i can't say if it will works for long times riding.

Pictures:



The horse mounted:

[Cheyenne]

I have ridden in Deepeeka saddles and really don't like them to be honest..

My saddle was made by a master saddler who had a fall out with the ESG apparently... The saddle is fine, the only gripe being that the rear horns are a little far apart, which does not offer as much support when you adopt the 'classical' Roman position as depicted on various tombstones. Over and above this, its ok for the price I paid for it... apart from this last BH wknd I managed to break one of the front horns... it'll keep me busy this wknd trying to repair it!

If you want a nice one - best person to consult would be chris at a place called Saddlers Den in Southport, Merseyside ... his are £450 with basic breeching .. a bargain for a piece from a master saddler

[John Conyard]

Cesar, you like very good on the pretty grey. I'm glad the cavalry stuff is coming together for you.

I have never ridden in a Depeeka saddle. I suspect that as you say, they vary in quality. The horns do look extreme, but I suspect saddles differed in shape from one part of the empire to the other. They must be better to the resin saddles sometimes used in the UK.

The Depeeka follows the Connolly idea of a wooden frame, with leather cover sewn under the frame with plenty of integral padding. Most saddles do. I suspect that instead we should be reproducing a wooden frame, held together with wooden pins and perhaps rawhide, with a leather cover that slips over the frame. The cover would then hang down the sides of the horse. There would be no integral padding. The padding would come from blankets and furs. Such a design would follow the Carlisle finds. I hope to have a go at making such a saddle this summer.

My current saddle was made by Chris, to the old fashioned design. But leather skirts were added at the sides to make it look as if the leather cover lifts on and off.

When we got our first saddles, others seemed to be attracted to it. Soon you'll have another and another. You'll need more horses!

[LUCIUS ALFENUS AVITIANUS]

Thanks! But the cavalryman is Arnau Ripodas, not me... :lol:

For the next season, i'll try to made some modifications on the saddle.

[John Conyard]

My defence is that I wasn't sure how much hair you had under that helmet!

[derek forrest]

Chris is a good mate of mine and I can endorse the standard of his workmanship. He does not charge enough!! He has never fallen out with the Guard and indeed will be repairing one of our saddles next month. He did fall out with the Augusta when they would not pay!!
He is just back from Mongolia where they were excavating mongol saddles and he is currently making a replica for television.
Here is the website
http://www.saddlersden.co.uk/period.html

[John Conyard]

The master saddler Claire was referring to is certainly not Chris. Chris is a very very very nice man.

[Cheyenne]

The master saddler Claire was referring to is certainly not Chris. Chris is a very very very nice man

I'll second that .. the saddler that made mine WAS CERTAINLY NOT Chris .. It was a guy in Gloucestershire so I am told by the guy I purchased it from.. Derek obviously misunderstood the post

But if push comes to shove and I can't sort this saddle out with the loose horn, then I might be going to Chris for a repair job! He's the closest respectable saddler I know who is fimiliar with this type of construction

[Peroni]

Glad to see that you completed the harness and silvered furniture César! The horse looks very resplendant!

[Crispvs]

I would second Peronis' comment. Well done Cesar.

To add to what John says above, for those who do not already know, the Carlisle saddle leathers were more or less identical to the Valkenburg cover that Connolly based his design on. However they still retained large trapezial flaps which were sewn to the oter edges and which would have hung down the horses' sides and prevented the riders' legs from chafing. Wear marks on the covers also indicated that they had rested directly against the underlying frames, suggesting little or no padding, which would accord with the description of unfit soldiers in Alexandria stuffing their saddles with straw to make them more comfortable (obviously a sign of physical and moral weakness).

I am not sure if the Carlsle saddle leathers have been published yet or not.

Crispvs

[Musivarius]

If the saddles were leather stretched directly over the frame then they sound very much like the McClellan saddles (the American cavalry saddles from the 1800's).
These were designed for the comfort of the horse and not the rider. The leather was wrapped around the tree leaving the gap in the centre of the saddle open as well.
They are still used in parts of South Africa today and even with long hours in the saddle they're fine once you get used to them.
Lawrence

[John Conyard]

Excellent.

And the McCellan (I have an 1918 original) was covered and partially sewn with rawhide for greater strength, which is an interesting thought for Roman saddles. Leather was added over the rawhide for greater weather resistance after the American Civil War years.

And these 19th century saddles are firmly based on the old steppe saddle idea, which is also generally unpadded. I suspect the padding on the Connolly-style reconstructions display a modern perception on how things should be done. But still a great reconstruction.

Good stuff gentleman.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Cesar, you like very good on the pretty grey. I'm glad the cavalry stuff is coming together for you.

I have never ridden in a Depeeka saddle. I suspect that as you say, they vary in quality. The horns do look extreme, but I suspect saddles differed in shape from one part of the empire to the other. They must be better to the resin saddles sometimes used in the UK.

The Depeeka follows the Connolly idea of a wooden frame, with leather cover sewn under the frame with plenty of integral padding. Most saddles do. I suspect that instead we should be reproducing a wooden frame, held together with wooden pins and perhaps rawhide, with a leather cover that slips over the frame. The cover would then hang down the sides of the horse. There would be no integral padding. The padding would come from blankets and furs. Such a design would follow the Carlisle finds. I hope to have a go at making such a saddle this summer.

My current saddle was made by Chris, to the old fashioned design. But leather skirts were added at the sides to make it look as if the leather cover lifts on and off.

When we got our first saddles, others seemed to be attracted to it. Soon you'll have another and another. You'll need more horses!

What about the brass reinforcing for the horns?