l Saxe said there was but one kind of
saddle fit for cavalry, which was the hussar saddle: this combined all
advantages, lightness, solidity, and economy. It is astonishing that
the system of actual war had not led to the employment of the kind of
saddle in use among the Tartars, the Cossacks, the Hungarians, and,
indeed, among all horsemen and nomads. This saddle has the
incontestable advantage of permitting the horse to lie down and rest
himself without inconvenience. If, notwithstanding the folded blanket
which they place under the Hungarian saddle, this saddle will still
wound the animal's back sometimes, this only proceeds from the friction
occasioned by the motion of the horse and the movement of the rider
upon the saddle; a friction which it will be nearly impossible to
avoid, inasmuch as the saddle-bow is held in its place only by a
surcingle, the ends of which are united by a leathern band: these bands
always relax more or less, and the saddle becomes loose. To remedy
this, I propose to attach to the saddle-bow itself a double girth, one
end of which shall be made fast to the arch in front, and the other end
to the rear of the arch upon the right side, to unite in a single
girth, which would buckle to a strap attached upon the left side in the
usual manner. This buckle will hold the saddle firmly in its place.

"Notwithstanding all these precautions, however, there were still some
inconveniences resulting from the nature of the blanket placed under
the saddle, which I sought to remedy, and I easily accomplished it. The
woolen nap of the cavalry saddle-blankets, not being carefully attended
to, soon wears off, and leaves only the rough, coarse threads of the
fabric; this absorbs the sweat from the horse, and, after it has dried
and become hard, it acts like a rasp upon the withers, first taking off
the hair, next the skin, and then the flesh, and, finally, the beast is
rendered unserviceable.

"I sought, during the campaign of 1807, a means to remedy this evil,
and I soon succeeded by a process as simple as it was cheap. I
distributed among a great number of cavalry soldiers pieces of linen
cloth folded double, two feet square, and previously dipped in melted
tallow. This cloth was laid next to the horse's back, under the
saddle-blanket, and it prevented all the bad effects of the woolen
blanket. No horses, after this appliance, were afflicted with sore
backs. Such are the slight changes which I believe should