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1469 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 97 To have viii coursers for his saddle & to them iiii keepers with theyre hakneyes.

1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 8 That colte whyche at the fyrste takynge vp, nedeth lytle breakyng and handlyng, but is fitte and gentle ynoughe for the saddle, seeldome or neuer proueth well.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 99 Another kind of their camels..are called Ragnahil, which are..vnfit for burthen, and therefore are vsed for the saddle, by all the Noble men of Numidia, Arabia, and Libia.

a1687 W. Petty Polit. Anat. Ireland (1691) 56 The 16,000 Families have for the Coach and Saddle near 40 M. Horses.

1776 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (ed. 4, octavo) I. i. 17 Could we prevale on our countrymen to consider this animal [sc. the mule]..they might with success form it for the saddle, the draught, or the burden.

1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton Rienzi I. ii. vii. 285 Are thy friends ripe for the saddle?

1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville I. 113 Taking a couple of horses, one for the saddle, and the other as a pack-horse.

1859 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunting Songs (new ed.) 109 Buckskin's the only wear fit for the saddle.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Elaine in Idylls of King 152 Sir King, mine ancient wound is hardly whole, And lets me from the saddle.

1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy iii. 29 Before the trip ended there were men in our outfit who were as good as afoot, while others had their original mounts, every one fit for the saddle.

1925 E. A. Powell Beyond Utmost Purple Rim ix. 219 It is easy to understand why the Aborigines prefer [mules] to horses for saddle purposes, as they have a wonderfully smooth gait.

1994 Times 25 Feb. 21/8 He finally retired from the saddle in 1956.