SADDLERY. 
83 
Page 53 referred to gives the dimensions of the new blanket j but 
there are several other descriptions of blanket still in use. I have not, 
therefore, drawn the above to any scale. 
What has to be remembered is this :—Fig. I. A to B mud be the 
length, and B to D the width. There are some square-shaped blankets 
in use : with them A to B and B to D would, of course, be alike. More¬ 
over, with them, if they are 63 inches square, the turned back fold 
(Fig. III.) will come so far back that when the last fold is given (Fig. 
IV.) B A will be exactly under F. 
Again, with blankets whose width exceeds 56 inches, 1 the turned 
back fold (Fig. III.) will, naturally, extend further back than 10 
inches, which is the amount laid down on page 54 referred to. 
(II.) Page 57 of the " List of Changes in War Material ” in question 
shows a numnah. It is shaped alike in front and rear, and the straps 
shown on it serve to keep the blanket in its place on the top of the 
numnah; fastened, as these straps are, to the saddle in front and in 
rear. 
“ List of Changes in War Material, 6724,” of 1st June, 1892, has 
introduced a still later pattern of numnah. But, in reality, it only 
differs from that depicted on page 57 referred to, in being three inches 
wider. 
(III.) Particular attention is desirable to what is laid down on 
page 54 referred to : “ Care is to be taken that the front edges of the 
blanket are kept in front of side bar.” 
It will be found too that, when the blanket is properly folded and 
secured in its place by the straps on the numnah, its rear side does not 
extend as far back as the ends of the rear fans of the side bars. This 
is a distinct advantage, as it prevents the ends of the side bars from 
pressing on the horse’s loins. 
It may interest officers to know that the general opinion, so far as I 
have been able to gather it, is favourable to the blanket in preference 
to pannels as bringing the rider closer to the horse’s back. 
(IV.) List of Change in War Material, 6799,” of 1st August, 
1892, page 573, shows the V girth attachment. It will be seen that 
the strap marked B thereon is screwed on to the side bar at top, and 
stitched on to a dee below. It is thus all in one piece without holes, 
whilst the front strap has holes and a buckle. Now these holes are 
not intended as a means for tightening up the girth. They are the 
means whereby to fit the saddle, as it were, to differently-shaped 
horses. 
1 Which is the width of the new blanket. (See page 53 “ List of Changes in War Material, 
6261.”) 
