The two horses left on the property, Pet (right), age 30, and her “baby,” “Jasper,” age 20.
Some of the horse-related photographs we found inside the house:
Leather embellishments on horse tack:
These are saddle guides, as best as I can tell. I’ve found three so far – both of these below, and a third matching the lower one:
I found another one matching the one above:
Great decorative engraving on this one.
This is the reverse.
What’s really cool, is that I found another matching piece of hardware, which must be a strap holder associated with the guide.
Then not very far away, matching cufflinks? They really didn’t mess around with their horse tack decorations during this period of time. As the Civil War era approached, they seem to have become much more utilitarian in general.
Stirrups.
This one was found by my brother in law, Frank Richards.
This one was found by me. And it’s a perfect match, possibly a pair, with the one Frank found:
This one was found by Bill Burns, of Union.
I can’t remember if I found this one, or if Bill Burns found this one.
This is a Confederate Cavalry boot, cut off at the ankle, which was found in the attic by Sam Hale. It has period repairs to both sides of the boot where the stirrups contact the boot. The owner of Willowbrook Plantation, Christopher Beirne, was a Confederate Cavalry officer during the beginning of the war. Later in the war, he stayed on the plantation and raised cattle and crops for the army, as well as pastured many of the army’s artillery horses.
Harness buckle possibly? We’ve found multiple of these plain rectangular iron buckles. I’ve seen others refer to them as harness buckles. Makes sense.
Bridle Bits
Horseshoes
