The Chinese were harnessing and riding horses as early as 4000 BC, but they rode bareback. The first saddles— a strip of animal hide or a piece of heavy cloth— weren’t developed until much later.
Arguments rage over who invented the first saddles—some say it was the nomadic Scythians from Siberia, others claim it was the ancient Greeks, and the Moors in North Africa often get credit. But the Assyrians (from modern-day Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey) were certainly among the first. Around 700 BC, Assyrian warriors went into battle riding on thick, decorative riding pads, and they used straps that resembled modern girths. The Mongols followed with a primitive saddle tree and a padded felt saddle on a wooden frame.
A saddle that included four horns, complete with a solid saddle tree, emerged from the Roman Empire around AD 200. But the first saddle that’s most like the ones we know today belonged to the Sarmatians, a nomadic Indo-Iranian people from central Asia. Around AD 365, the Sarmatians appeared with a saddle that included a saddle tree, breastplate, girth, and metal stirrups.
It was the Mongols who brought the Sarmatian saddle to Europe. In the fourth century, Mongol Huns battled the Sarmatians in Asia, adopted their saddle design, and introduced it to new cultures when they invaded southeastern Europe. Over the next few centuries, Europeans used the Sarmatian saddle in battle, tournaments, and even during the Crusades. It wasn’t until chivalrous medieval knights needed to excel on horseback while dressed in full armor and carrying an arsenal of weapons that the saddle changed again.
The result was a wooden tree with a higher pommel and cantle that kept the knight securely seated and balanced on his horse during battle. For comfort, the saddles were padded with wool or horsehair and covered with leather, untanned hides, or sturdy fabrics. Elaborate leatherwork, precious metals, jewels, tokens, and embroidery denoted a knight’s rank, and metal stirrups helped him keep control of his horse.
The saddle remained largely unchanged for several centuries. But by the 1800s, its evolution had divided. The primary reason for the split: the saddle horn. Cowboys needed a horn at the front of the saddle to secure their lassos, and the military used it for leverage and balance while they were fighting on horseback. With one hand firmly gripped on the saddle horn, the soldiers could fight enemies and not fall off their horses. So in the 19th century, these groups developed the Western saddle, which had a horn and two strong cinches holding the saddle firmly on the horse. Western saddles were heavier than English saddles and covered more of the horses’ back.
The English saddle has no horn. Its padding (leather cowhide or pigskin) is built over layers of wood usually reinforced with spring steel. English saddles are smaller, lighter, and designed to give the rider close contact with the horse.
Today, saddles come in many styles—dressage, jumping, roping, show saddles—and in sizes to fit any rider and breed of horse. But deciding which saddle to use is a very personal choice. For most equestrians, borrowing a saddle is like borrowing someone else’s shoes—it might work in a pinch, but it’ll never really fit.
You can’t predict a horse’s adult color when it’s a foal. All horses change color several times when they’re young, finally settling on a shade when they’re about two years old.