If you cannot build a sawbuck, improvise a pack saddle from two flat boards 50 x 15 cm placed either side of the spine and joined over the top, a riding saddle with the seat removed and its pommel and cantle used as hanging points, or a bed, bicycle or racking frame bent to shape and padded. All are crude, suit short trips, and need thick padding and a clear gap above the spine.
Part of Pack Animal Management
Pack saddles made from boards, riding saddles and salvaged frames: what works, what fails and how to keep the spine clear.
Improvised Saddles Fail At The Spine And The Edges
The three improvisations in the source all carry load by pressing on the animal’s back, so the questions are the same as for a sawbuck: is there a gap over the spine, are the edges rounded, and is there padding between hard material and skin? The source calls them “crude but functional for short trips”.
What You Need
- For a board saddle — two flat boards, each 50 x 15 cm, straps to join them over the top, and thick padding.
- For a riding-saddle conversion — a riding saddle whose seat can be removed, leaving the pommel and cantle as hanging points.
- For a frame saddle — salvaged bed frames, bicycle frames or racking brackets, a means to bend them to shape, and padding.
- A girth or cinch.
- Padding — see Padding & Fitting.
Method: Three Options
Option 1: Two boards and padding. Place the boards on either side of the spine, connected over the top with straps, with thick padding underneath. The connection must bridge the spine without resting on it: use straps held clear by the 5 cm gap, with the strap tension carried by the boards rather than lying on the spine under load.
Option 2: Modified riding saddle. Remove the seat. Use the pommel and cantle as hanging points for panniers.
Option 3: Salvaged metal frame. Bed frames, bicycle frames or racking brackets bent to shape and padded. File off burrs and wrap sharp ends.
For all three: Check that a gap of at least 5 cm remains at the spine under load, and check the animal’s back each evening.
Worked Example
Pressure under a board saddle. The inputs are the source’s boards and mule load, with the saddle’s own weight ignored.
- Board contact area: 2 x (50 x 15) = 2 x 750 = 1,500 cm^2.
- Load: 70 kg x 9.81 = 687 N.
- Mean pressure: 687 / 1,500 = 0.46 N/cm^2, which is 4.6 kPa.
If a rigid board bridges a hump in the ribs and only one third of the area actually bears, the pressure on that area is 3 times higher: 0.46 x 3 = 1.4 N/cm^2 (13.7 kPa). The numbers are illustrative; the lesson is that padding and a board shaped to the ribs matter more than the board size.
Common Mistakes
- Straps lying on the spine — the load presses where there is least muscle.
- Sharp frame ends — they cut the animal and the handler.
- Using for long trips — the source rates these as short-trip designs.
- No padding — see Padding & Fitting.
Safety
Metal frames and hard boards injure quickly
A bent frame can spring back and strike, edges can cut, and an unpadded hard board can cause open sores in two days. Inspect every join before loading, and check the animal’s back at every stop on the first day.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Padding & Fitting — making any saddle tolerable
- Combine with: Soft Panniers — light loads on a light saddle