Saddle Saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider or other load, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is the equestrian saddle designed for a horse. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other creatures. It is not known precisely when riders first began to use some sort of padding or protection, but a blanket attached by some form of surcingle or girth was probably the first "saddle", followed later by more elaborate padded designs. The solid saddle tree was a later invention, and though early stirrup designs predated the
Girth (geometry) width, with the same width "w". All curves of constant width have the same perimeter, the same value "w" as the circumference of a circle with that width (this is Barbier's theorem). Therefore, every surface of constant width is also a surface of constant girth: its girth in all directions is the same number "w". Hermann Minkowski proved, conversely, that every convex surface of constant girth is also a surface of constant width. For a prism or cylinder, its projection in the direction parallel to its axis is the same as its cross section, so in these cases the girth