CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SADDLES
Year: 1834

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
SAINT LEGER GRENFELL, of Paris, in the Kingdom of France, Merchant,
send greeting.
WHEREAS His most Excellent Majesty King William the Fourth, by His
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at West-
minster, the Fifth day of June, in the fourth year of His reign, did, for
Himself, His heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said George
Saint Leger Grenfell, His especial license that I, the said George Saint Leger
Grenfell, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such other as I, the
said George Saint Leger Grenfell, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
tines during the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of
Berwick-upon-Tweed, and also in all His Majesty's Colonics and Plantations
abroad, my Invention of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
SADDLES;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso obliging
me, the said George Saint Leger Grenfell, by an instrument in writing under
my hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Iuvention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause the
same to be enrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within six
months next and immediately after the date of the said recited Letters
Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto had, will more
fully and large appear.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, 1, the said
George Saint Leger Grenfell, do hereby declare that the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed, is described.
and contained as follows; that is to say:
My Invention consists in the use of a frame or tree of wood, for the most
part resembling in construction the saddle tree now in use, but differing from
it in shape, and particularly in being much more closely adapted to the form
of the horse, and also in the mode of its application, as will be hereafter
seen. It is made of wood or metal,-the former is preferable,-over which
leather or other similar materials is stretched, the seam being on the top so as
to prevent friction. Its upper surface is covered with leather, and stuffed or
padded to form the rider's seat, as in the ordinary saddle. But the great
difference between my Invention and the common saddle consists in my
placing the under surface of the frame or tree referred to directly on the
horse's back, without interposing any padding or cloths between them. The
saddle now in use is made to adapt itself to the horse by means of stuffing or
padding interposed between the saddle tree and the horse's back, the tree
being, in fact, only a frame upon which the upper leather and padding of the
saddle forming the rider's seat rests. My saddle, on the contrary, has no
stuffing or padding between the frame or tree and the horse, and its fitting
depends only upon the shape and construction of the frame or tree, which, for
this reason, must be made to adapt itself to the frame of the horse as near as
possible, so that it shall bear along the dorsal muscle, and carefully avoid all
parts liable to be galled by friction. The means by which this end is to be
accomplished are as follows:-The frame or tree being in length in the same
proportion as the tree now in use, the points, instead of being straight and
flat in the underneath or inner surface, are rounded off, and present a convex
surface to the shoulder of the horse. The points also are made gradually to
increase in breadth towards the pummel, and slightly hollowed out to adapt
it for the rider's thigh. The pummel must fit as closely as possible to the
shoulder without touching the withers. The convexity of the internal surface
of the points must be calculated so as to fit the horse's shoulder, and great
care must be taken that this part is so rounded off as to bear equally upon
the muscles of the shoulder without coming in contact with the withers. The
two bars or sides of the frame or tree, extending in length from the pummel
to the crupper, are intended to bear upon the dorsal muscle, and must be about
one inch or rather more apart in the centre, convex in their inner surface and
rounded off at the edges, so as to press equally in their whole line upon the
dorsal muscle without coming in contact with the back bone. The bars are

page_text: narrowest in the centre and widening gradually towards the crupper. The
iron or steel fastenings, necessary to strengthen the frame or tree, may be put
in the upper or under surface, but the former is preferable; and if put on the
under surface they must be carefully let into the wood, so as not to present
any unevenness of surface to the horse's back. The proportion and shape of
the frame or tree as well as of the whole saddle differ, of course, according
to the size and make of the horse, but in practice two or three forms of tree
will be found to adapt themselves to the back of most horses. The main
advantages of my Invention consist in the following circumstances:-The
saddle is much lighter than the ordinary saddle. It is also cooler for the
horse, and as there is no padding to shift or be affected by wear, the horse's
back is less liable to injury. The saddles do not require repair so often, and
last much longer than the ordinary saddle.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Saint Leger Grenfell, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, the Fourteenth day of October, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and thirty-four.
Signed and sealed by the within-named
George Saint Leger Grenfell, in the
presence of
G. S. GRENFELL. (L.S.)
AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Fifteenth day of October, in
the fifth year of the reign of His Majesty King William the Fourth, the
said George Saint Leger Grenfell came before our said Lord the King in
His Chancery, and acknowledged the Instrument aforesaid, and all and every
thing therein contained and specified, in form above written. And also the
Instrument aforesaid was stamped according to the tenor of the Statute made
in the fifty-fifth of the reign of His late Majesty King George the Third.