Originally posted by Aslyfox yeah, I realized they weren't designed to be a " working saddle " for the cow boys
you are correct, as far as i know, that the " saddle horn " was used with the rope to control the animal being roped, whether it was cattle or horse
but it appears that the McClellan was useable by those who did not need a saddle horn and it would not surprise me that a number might have been " liberated " legally or illegally from the military
sure, as I said you will see them in movies and photos
it was a style that could purchased commercially, parallel to military usage
I hear it is still popular for American endurance riding
somewhere I think I have instructions for making one
however saddlemaking just seemed like too much effort for someone as lazy as I am
I do have a pdf of an army saddler's bench/tool chest that a reenactor was kind enough to send me...in case you want to try and stitch one up