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DRAGOON SADDLE
HORSESHOE POUCH – VERY NICE SPECIMEN:
In very nice condition for such an early piece of horse
equipment, this Horseshoe Pouch is one of the very rare
accessories which are necessary to complete any of the
saddles issued to the United States Dragoons in the
1840’s and 1850’s such as the Model 1844 Ringgold or
Model 1847 Grimsley Saddles.
These Horse Shoe Pouches
were first specifically mentioned in the description of
the Model 1841 Dragoon Saddle – “Two SHOE POCKETS,
attached to the rear of the side bars of the tree with
the same thongs that hold the chapes for the crupper
buckles.”
Samuel Ringgold provided
no description, but he did include these pouches in his
list of equipment necessary to fully dress his Model
1844 Ringgold Saddle, “…….two horse shoe
pouches……..complete the equipment.”
Thomas Grimsley did not
provide any more information, but the pouches were still
important enough to specifically cite the points for
attaching the pouches on his Model 1847 Grimsley Dragoon
Saddle, “…Iron rings and staples on the cantle end of
side-bars for attaching shoe pouch and crupper.”
There is no doubt the
Horse Shoe Pouch was a necessary and important accessory
to the dragoon’s saddle, especially when you consider
that the dragoons patrolling the western trails were far
away from supply depots and the blacksmith shops of the
frontier forts. Carrying a full set of four horse shoes
which had been pre-formed to his horse’s hooves, readily
at hand should his mount lose a shoe, meant the
difference between a sound or lame horse, and the
dragoon being afoot hundreds of miles from another set
of shoes.
The Dragoon Era Horse
Shoe Pouches have been noted in at least three different
variations which differ only in the shape of the leather
buckle chape on the rear of the pouch, the type of
buckles used – iron, brass, brass faced, horseshoe
shaped, roller, however all of these surviving specimens
are roughly the same size and design. Two of the
variations are shown in Figures 27-28, on page 27 of
The American Military Saddle, 1776-1945, which were
in the authors’ research collections, and this pouch
represents a third variation. No doubt that over the
length of time these pouches were in use, and that they
were manufactured within the army’s arsenal workshops as
well as being provided under contract by civilian
manufacturers, this sort of variation in the minor
details is to be expected.
This specimen is in very
good condition, featuring a smooth bright finish to the
leather surface and all of the seams are intact. The
upper suspension buckle and billet are fully intact and
full length. The closing billet is present and full
length, but does show some evidence of age. The closing
buckle which was attached to the front of the pouch body
is missing. Given the upper buckle is the more easily
found iron roller buckle, this missing buckle could be
matched and restored with a minimum of effort.
As with all of the early
Dragoon equipments, these pouches are difficult pieces
to find and they are seldom offered on the open market.
This is an opportunity to make a significant addition to
your Dragoon Saddle era saddle. (0361) $750
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