Page 46 - The Pocket Guide to Equine Knots

Unloading saddle panniers must be approached the same way and can be more than
inconvenient. On a solo moose hunt many years ago, I had along an extra horse and a set

of saddle panniers, this time attached to a sawbuck packsaddle. I was able to lift the front
quarter of a young bull moose into each of the panniers while they were in place on Sugar,
a moderately-sized gelding. The quarters weighed perhaps one hundred pounds each; I
probably couldn’t repeat this today.

Sawbuck packsaddle with soft panniers.

All went well until I arrived in camp, exhausted from an afternoon that involved skinning

and quartering such a large animal by myself in place on the ground. I found it utterly
impossible to stand on my tiptoes, reach down into the panniers, and extract the heavy
quarters. Had the panniers been conventional, separate ones, I could have removed them,
but the top panel connecting the two saddle panniers made that impossible. I had no choice
but to carefully remove breeching and breast collar, then checking and double checking to

see that nothing would hang up, I removed the main cinch on the packsaddle and rolled the
entire affair off Sugar’s back. He was a good, steady horse and did not spook.
Another limitation of saddle panniers used on a riding saddle is their lack of a breeching

(often “britchin’”) to help the horse hold back the load on downhill grades. A crupper serves
in this regard as well. With all packing, it’s important to understand that the horse is carrying
dead weight. The packs do not compensate for the horse’s motion in the way a good rider
does, which is why it’s wise to limit total loads to around one hundred fifty pounds. A
breeching or crupper helps stabilize the load on downhill grades. Either can be purchased

separately and added to a riding saddle intended for packing use, but appropriate D-rings
might have to be added to the extra saddle, and perhaps it’s better to invest that money in
an actual packsaddle.

Sawbuck Saddle
The most economical of these is the time-proven sawbuck, also called the crossbuck. Its
names derive from what used to be a common backyard fixture, a setup with crossed poles

on which you could lay logs to saw into blocks for firewood. The sawbuck saddle has been