Today on Gus’ Gear I have a saddle that was given to me by my father for my birthday a few years before he died. Now I need to find a horse mannequin to display it on. There is a saddle shop in town that has had a full sized fiberglass horse above the door since the early 1950s. They also had another shop in the neighboring town with a similar horse above the door. I have heard rumors of that horse being in the back of someone’s garage, and would like to acquire it, but it is unlikely that I will succeed as our local museum is also trying to locate it.
The basis of this equipment is a Model 1904 McClellan saddle designed by Capt. George B. McClellan (later, General McClellan of Civil War renown). The McClellan saddle was adopted by the United States War Department in 1859 and remained in service until horses were replaced by mechanized transport. A Model 1904 rifle scabbard is suspended on the left side with a Springfield Model 1903 rifle. The saddle blanket is very similar to the standard issue soldier’s blanket of the period, but of a coarser wool. The saddle blanket is marked with U.S. but also has a flaming bomb insignia sewn or stenciled at the center of the blanket. It is folded in quarters to fit under the saddle.
This is a Model 1913 Cavalry Service Saber, also known as a Patton saber as it was designed by Lieutenant George S. Patton Jr. (later, General Patton of WWII fame) who competed in the 1912 Olympics in fencing. It was designed with a straight blade as a thrusting weapon rather than the traditional curved blade of the slashing weapons. Due to a change in tactics the mounted troops were fighting on foot rather than on horse back.
From the left, a Model 1904 link strap used to link horses together during skirmish conditions. In the center is a Model 1917 mounted canteen carrier with a Model 1910 canteen and cup. And on the right are a pair of U.S. Army issue spurs.
This is a pair of Model 1904 saddle bags, showing one canvas insert removed, this one has pockets for the knife, fork and spoon and a mess tin would be carried inside. The canvas liner buttons into the leather bag with four stud buttons and each bag closes with three roller buckle straps. The bags are fixed to the saddle by two footman loops on the saddle fitted through two brass escutcheons (one is visible above the canvas liner) and a leather strap is run through the footman loop
And for Sabine, here is a photo of Jake, the closest to an original WWI horse as possible at the time as he was nearly 50 years old when he died a few years ago.