Thread: Saddle Ring
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Old May 15, 2013, 03:15 PM   #16
Malamute
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Join Date: June 6, 2004
Location: Rocky Mts
Posts: 859
Quote:
egor20
IIRC the saddle ring was used mainly to fasten the carbine to the soldier....

This is exactly correct. The military saddles had a "socket" that the carbine rode vertically in behind their right leg (as shown in the picture above), but it was mainly to bear part of the weight, and keep it from flopping around. The sling that went across the soldiers body diagonally was to keep the gun attached to them. If the soldier came off the horse for any reason, his gun was with him. The large roller allowed the snap swivel to move along the sling and didn't interfere with shooting. There are several good pieces of art showing the slings being worn, a few with them being used with the guns attached. One of the former is Frederick Remingtons "A Cavalrymans Breakfast On The Plains". The slings can be seen on several soldiers. They were about 2 1/2" wide black leather with a large buckle.
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