Leicestershire Yeomanry Quarter Master in 1841. As you can see from the painting, all the leather is black apart from the saddle. The shabraque is a black lambskin or sheepskin covering the saddle bags (front) and over the saddle then tucked under the rear saddle role. The surcingle is yellow and red striped in the same way that the waist belt of the uniform is striped, its not clear in these pictures but viewing the painting confirms this. There is no badge on the breastplate and a crupper is worn. The bit is standard for the period and there appears to be no other ornaments on the bridle.



Horses and Saddlery
Published 1965 by J A Allen & Company
Major G Tylden

The Yeomanry
Pages 162-3

As every formation of Yeomanry, whatever the strength might be, was to all intents and purposes a law unto itself as to what uniform and equipment was to be used, it is not easy to say what Saddlery any one unit had. By the end of the nineteenth century U.P. Saddles were drawn from Ordnance, the type varying with state of the saddles in store. The annual camp, not always held, and few days drill in the year did not lead to undue wear and tear, so Saddlery would last a Yeomanry unit considerably longer than the Regular one.

There is extant a list of 24 units in existence in 1850 who made returns of Saddlery in use. certainly up to about 1890, and in some cases later, many men rode their hunting saddles, called "Plain Saddles", irrespective of the type selected by their unit.

In 1850 the Derbyshire and West Somerset units had these saddles, presumably used by all ranks. In many cases the officers had different saddles to the men.

Three units, Ayrshire, Cambridgeshire and Cheshire, had Heavy Dragoon patterns, as had the Long Melford Lancers of Suffolk. The Ayrshire men had the old pattern, probably that of 1796.

The Light Cavalry patterns were popular and were called "Hussar", "Light Dragoon", or "Cossack" saddles. As one regiment , the 1st West Yorkshire, had "the old Light Dragoon saddle", the three names presumably refer to the post 1816 loose pilch seat Hussar pattern, as used by Regular Light cavalry to 1855. The Staffordshire unit had black saddles for the officers and brown for the men.

The North Devon has saddles as for the 14th Light Dragoons, but with panels instaed of blankets, and an illustration shows the Royal 1st Devon in 1840 with an officer using an Hussar saddle with a lambskin and no shabraque. After 1855 the U.P. wood arch saddle was used when available. Thus the Gloucestershire Hussars were issued with 200 in 1881 and in 1885 the Berkshire regiment had round cantle saddles, possibly an experimental issue of the 1844 pattern, which had been on trial for some time.

Faced with the problem of providing some 10,000 sets of Saddlery for the Imperial Yeomanry companies raised in 1899 for the South African War, the civilian Committee, which was responsible for all equipment and uniforms, nut not arms, had to take what ever was available. There was an attempt to get saddles made by the firms who supplied civilian types, but this proved impossible; for one thing the price would have prohibitive, and the result was that any types available were got together and issued. these varied from the U.P. wood arch saddle to the Colonial type, and included R.A. drivers' saddles, known as "Artillery" saddles and liked. By 1901 many of the units had the Colonial saddle, which stoop up well to the rough work and, as by this time as little as possible was carried on the saddle, they proved amply strong enough. With a big surplus of these saddles on hand they were issued to the Imperial Yeomanry in great Britain in 1902, the manufacturers making a slightly lighter pattern for other ranks than the officers' pattern. By 1916 the Yeomanry, no longer "Imperial", but part of the Territorial Force, were receiving the U.P. steel arch saddle.


Here is an officers charger of the Queens Royal Hussars on parade in full review kit in 2007.