"Lack Perry ACW horse breast collars" Topic

I was looking at some re-enactor pictures and other photos as painting guides for my Perry ACW Cavalry. It occurred to me that, in the "Perry minimalist style" the horses do not have breast collars.

Now, just about every photo and painting I've seen has horses with breast collars picture which makes me wonder: is this an oversight on the part of the Perrys OR was the use of breast collars not that common in reality?

IOW: are the Perry horses right or wrong?

I think the Perry's got it right. I just thumbed through a dozen different books on the ACW and was hard pressed to find even one photo or drawing that showed cavalry with the breast collars.

According to this:

link

the collars don't appear to have been an issue item.

as per Seattlegamer's post, various Ospreys etc that I've just had a quick flick through contain period photographs showing cavalry mounts without collars.

So – arguably correct for the early period of the war, possibly not so much post-'63. It'd be a lot easier to add a breast collar with a bit of greenstuff than it would be to remove one.

According to Ken Knopp on his site "Confederate Saddles and Horse Equipment" breast straps were not much used in the east but were quite common in the west. They were not a regular item of issue from the Richmond Depot, but were for most depots in the west.

This of course applies only to Confederate cavalry.

Ryan Toews

They Perrys should have added them. It doesn't take long to remove the plastic if you don't want it but a pain in the a s s if you want to add they to all your horses. Bad oversight IMHO.

They Perrys should have added them

If they had wanted to go thru the trouble, a glue on accessory item would be the way to go. Too bad the bed rolls and overcoat roll are not done the same way!

I'm chalking this one up to "Perry Minimalism" which from a painter standpoint is OK…one less thing to paint

'Cavalry tactics' 1862 includes attaching the breast strap as part of the saddling process.

Interestingly they don't seem to have been common out West post-war. Pegler's warrior title on cavalry of the Indian wars specifically lists the lack of a breast strap among the McClellan's faults.

By 'Tactics and techniques' 1935 (long while later but basically the same saddle), breast straps are noted as unnecessary. I have no idea whether that change is a function of long experience or changes in cavalry's role.

The reason you see a lot of them in reenactor images is because they are a required item for safety reasons. In real life, it was very much a hit or miss item.