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GIRTH STRAP ADJUSTER FOR THE MODEL 1912 ENLISTED
MAN’S TRIAL SADDLE – AN EXCELLENT COMPLETE SPECIMEN OF A
VERY RARE MODEL 1912 SADDLE COMPONENT: It is
always a pleasure to have the opportunity to offer an
uncommon and especially historic piece of US Army
Ordnance equipment, and that is certainly true in this
instance. This Girth Strap Adjuster for the Model 1912
Trial Saddles is an exceptionally rare offering. More
often than not, these unique components are missing from
surviving Model 1912 Saddles, and in the memory of many
who are familiar with the Model 1912 Trial Equipments,
is a piece that has never been available on the loose on
the open market.
As one of the evolutions in the series of saddle trials
and development undertaken by the Ordnance Department
during the early 20th Century, the timely approval and
issue of the Model 1912 Trial Saddles to a number of
regular army cavalry units for testing in the field
coincidently as the deteriorating political situation in
Mexico threatened the security of the southern border of
the United States, guaranteed the trial equipments’
place in US military history. Designated in 1912 as the
model name suggests, and developed, manufactured and
made available for issue by 1916, the majority of the
cavalry units that Gen. Black Jack Pershing led south
across the border in March of that year on his “Punitive
Expedition” were mounted on the Model 1912 Trial
Saddles. The months spent in Mexico provided the
opportunity for such personalities as Pershing, Patton,
Eisenhower and a host of others to not only hone their
military skills, but unknowingly begin their assent onto
the world stage to fulfill the roles they would play
during the following thirty to forty years. This
happenstance of timing, and the association with such
famous personalities, secured for the Model 1912 Horse
Equipments what may have been an otherwise unattainable
niche in Ordnance Department history. It is with no
small sense of pride that I tell you that my paternal
grandfather, then a 1st Sergeant in the 7th Cavalry
Regiment, very likely sat a Model 1912 Service Saddle as
he rode with Pershing’s column south across the border
in 1916.
Issued in pairs, one Girth Strap Adjuster was provided
for each side of the saddle. The girth straps depending
from the saddle were threaded through the pairs of slots
in the Girth Strap Adjuster, and engaged the bronze oval
studs mounted in the body of the adjuster. To quote
from Ordnance Department Manual No. 1715, Description
and Directions For Use And Care of Cavalry Equipment
Model 1912, “These pieces [girth-strap
adjusters] are designed to vary the location of the
girth relative to the saddle.” The manual continues
as to how the adjusters functioned, “The girth should
ordinarily be about 4 inches in rear of the point of the
elbow [of the horse], varying somewhat with the
conformation of the horse. It is readily adjusted in
this respect by the girth-strap adjusters. To move the
girth relatively forward, shorten the front girth
straps, or lengthen the rear girth straps, or both. To
move the girth relatively to the rear, reverse this
method. By this means the saddle may be held in
different positions if found desirable. Habitually the
studs should be in the corresponding holes in both front
and rear straps. A variation of one hole is usually
sufficient to set the saddle forward or back to conform
to the needs of an ill-shaped horse or a sore
back……Habitually the buckles of the girth on either side
should rest upon the corresponding girth-strap
adjuster. This is designed to act as a safe to these
buckles and prevent their injuring the horse. A
sufficient number of holes is provided in the girth
straps to permit the lowering of the adjusters to serve
this purpose.”
While showing use, this Girth Strap Adjuster is in
excellent condition with all the components present
including both of the bronze studs and all the seams are
intact. This particular adjuster is for the off side
(right side) of the saddle, having the additional strap
in place which was used for anchoring the Entrenching
Tool Cover/Horseshoe Pouch.
The front of this adjuster is stamped “H – 13” and below
that, with an “A” - a series of unit applied inventory
numbers, suggesting Troop H, 13TH Cavalry
Regiment. The 13TH Cavalry Regiment holds a
special place in the history of the issue and use of the
Model 1912 Trial Saddles. It was that very regiment
which was in garrison at Columbus, New Mexico when on
the night of March 9, 1916 Pancho Villa made his
infamous raid across the border and into the town where
he and his revolutionary bandits were met, and defeated,
by the 13TH. It is evocative to think that
this very Girth Strap Adjuster was attached to one of
the Model 1912 Saddles present at Columbus that night.
These Girth-strap adjusters are
quite often missing from the saddles, victims of the
passage of time or subsequent owners’ lack of
understanding of their purpose. The rarity of these
pieces cannot be overstated, and this may well be a once
in a lifetime opportunity to acquire at least to
complete your Model 1912 Saddle.
SOLD
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