Saddlery, bridles and other horse equipment in the 18th century

[waronmars]

Hey, I have been pretty involved with horses over the years, and I'm interested in the sort of gear that was used in the ~18th century. I'd love to see images or info you guys have on horse equipment during the period of ETW, and opinions on the accuracy of the ETW horse gear. I will use this information to make a nice horse retexture to share

Here's some that I have found.













-The cavalrymen have saddlecloths that match their uniform colours.

-The bits used are curb style bits, a very strong style of bit that would have helped direct the horse in the confusion of battle.

-Some bits have two points of attachment for reins, the higher ring, closer to the animal's mouth, is more gentle than the lower ring, which exerts leverage on the horses mouth. This is called a Pelham bit.

-Bridles all have plain cavesson nosebands, which are meant to be purely for dress, but can be tightened to keep the horse from opening it's mouth.

-Some have a crosspiece over the front of the face, this would be for show and not interfere with the action of the bit.

-Breastplates are either a single strap running between the girth straps on either side ("breastgirth"), or joined to a ring at the front, and running between the legs to join the girth under the chest.

-Girth straps are very wide, maybe made of material rather than leather. This probably would be more gentle on the horse on long marches etc.

-Most seem to have a crupper (strap that encircles the base of the tail and joins to the back of the saddle.)


One thing I haven't got much reference of is saddles. If anyone could show me some pics of various saddles, and your opinion on the ETW saddles, that would be awesome