The Bassador
Welcome to His Excellency ‘the Embassador’, the pack saddle for horses and mules.
The Randoline Bassador pack saddle for horses and mules is an extremely sturdy pack saddle made of ash wood, steel, brass, stainless steel and brown vegetable-tanned leather, in accordance with traditional pack saddle criteria. It has been specially designed for the size and morphology of pack horses and mules. It adapts to the width of the animal’s body thanks to its four sliding arches.
Its exceptional stability is provided by the 41 cm deep descending arches. Its 10 independent pads are attached to rubber studs, which give them flexibility and mobility, allowing them to constantly mould to the shape of the animal’s back.
The Bassador comes with 10 articulated track pads. The front arch strapping has been specially designed to fit all horses and mules. The cut of the leather harness prevents the Bassador from slipping, which could cause injury.
Learn more …
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Structure of the Bassador
The Bassador consists of a frame formed by two side rails and two arches. The frame forms a horizontal surface on which certain lightweight items of luggage (tent, air mattress, sleeping bag, etc.) can be secured. Various brass and stainless steel hooks allow bungee cords to be attached to hold the luggage in place.
The structure of the Bassador is directly inspired by the Balissandre, Randoline’s historic pack saddle, which has proven its formidable robustness since 2009.
The Bassador is carved from a plank of ash wood, a material that is both flexible and strong, widely used in the past for building carts. Ash is also resistant to external damage. All the parts of the pack saddle are 40 mm thick. The metal reinforcement of the front arch is laser-cut from a 5 mm steel blade. Laser cutting ensures a natural rounding of the metal edges. This piece is then powder-coated in red.
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The front arch and its withers
Most horses and mules have pronounced withers at shoulder level. This is why the Bassador’s front arch has been cut with a very high opening, reinforced with a 5 mm thick metal piece.
This arch imitates the pommel of certain saddles. It is certainly attractive, but also practical, as luggage placed between the two arches will be protected from branches and brambles.
The Bassador harness
The vegetable-tanned leather harness is cut at Randoline from hides purchased from a very old tannery in southern Larzac.
It has been designed to complement the intrinsic quality of Randoline packsaddles: their stability.
The straps are attached at the lowest point of the arches, forming a horizontal net around the animal’s body that is both flexible and strong, preventing the pack saddle from tipping over, even if there is a difference in weight between the side bags.
To keep the rear strap in a horizontal position, four small straps (four butt bars) are suspended from a butt ring.
The same applies at the front for the breast strap (front strap) with two straps (neck bars) suspended from a neck ring.
The bridle rings are made of brass or stainless steel to prevent damage to the leather and oxidation.
Once the straps are adjusted, they never need to be touched again. A first snap hook attaches the breastplate to the saddle, and a second snap hook attaches the neck strap to the breastplate.
Photo caption: 1 – Breeching // 2 – Crupper straps // 3 – Crupper ring // 4 – Breastplate // 5 – Neck strap // 6 – Neck ring // 7 – Adjustment V // 8 – belly band
The belly band
The belly band can be positioned further forward or further back simply by adjusting the length of the V-shaped straps. It is 4 cm wide.
Once adjusted, the belly band cannot move forwards or backwards at all. It can never get caught in the ‘strap passage’ and risk injuring the animal in this sensitive area.
Due to the stability of the Bassador, it is not necessary to tighten it fully.
The arches
Two front arches and two rear arches are attached to the cradle. The arches are deep enough (41 cm) to wrap around the animal’s back and ensure perfect stability for the pack-saddle and great carrying comfort. The Bassador does not roll over!
The angle of the hoop is 10° to provide better stability for the load.
As no two horses or mules have the same build or morphology, the front and rear arches are independent and will adapt perfectly to the shape of each animal’s body.
To do this, each arch is adjustable in width along a metal slider (1), giving a total width adjustment of 11 cm at the front (minimum 49 cm, maximum 60 cm) and 15.5 cm at the rear (minimum 55.5 cm, maximum 71 cm).
And for even finer adjustment, the angle of the arch can be adjusted by up to 3 cm on each side (2).
Articulated tracked pads
The Bassador transfers its load onto the animal’s back via 10 independent pads. Each pad pivots on all axes on a rubber stud so that it remains flat on the back at all times without effort or strain, and adapts to the body’s constant movements while walking.
These are called articulated tracked pads. For the first time in the history of pack animal transport, the entire surface of the pads moulds itself to the shape of the animal’s back every second, providing unprecedented carrying comfort.
The rubber pads have a diameter of 25 mm and a height of 20 mm. They are made of 60 Shore hardness rubber, making them virtually indestructible. Each pad is calibrated to support four times the load placed on it.
In case one of them gets damaged, the Bassador comes with a spare pad screwed into the supporter.
The total support surface area is 1,100 cm², which is much larger than any other existing frame model. And each of these 1,100 cm² is completely flat against the back, regardless of the shape of the back, the load, or the terrain.
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The problem of saddle fit
Apart from the withers, there is also the problem of saddle fit on the animal’s back, i.e. the more or less deep hollow of the back.
Randoline has anticipated this scenario by offering a choice between moderate and strong saddling when ordering the Bassador. The board that supports the studs will then have a different shape to better fit the shape of the back.
Moderate saddling
Strong saddling
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Carrying comfort
The Bassador offers horses and mules unrivalled carrying comfort.
The pack saddle envelops the animal, keeping it virtually immobile while walking.
The pack saddle distributes its load across 10 articulated track pads that rest flat on the animal’s back.
The pads are arranged on a board that fits the animal’s saddling.
If the saddling is pronounced, the thickness of the carpet will make the difference.
Thickness of wooden parts = 40 mm.
Length of the supporter = 71 cm
Width of cradle = 33 cm
Drop from arches = 41 cm
Spacing between arches = 34 cm
Spacing between pads (spine) = 14-15 cm
Front arches adjustment = 49 à 60 cm
Rear hoop adjustment = 55,5 à 71 cm
Centre of gravity
Despite its high load, the Bassador has remarkable stability.
This stability is mainly due to the fact that the pack-saddle and the luggage are clipped together, so that there are not three objects (one pack-saddle + two saddlebags) on the animal, but only one.
According to the laws of physics, the centres of gravity of these objects are located, depending on the animal, 15 to 20 cm below the spine, provided that the heaviest objects are placed at the bottom of the saddlebags and the lightest at the top of the saddlebags and on the flat part of the pack saddle. This lesson has been learned from the experience of ancient mule drivers, who always loaded their animals in this way.
Advantage: the ground clearance is significant, from 1.25 to 1.35 m depending on the animal. This prevents the luggage from constantly hitting obstacles on the path, such as rocks, stumps, embankments, etc.
Easy loading
Once the straps have been adjusted for an animal, there is no further work to be done on the buckles. Simply place the pack-saddle on the animal and close the two carabiners connecting the pack-saddle (1) and the breastplate (2).
This means that you no longer have to readjust the buckles every morning of a trek, at the risk of making them too tight or too loose and injuring the animal.
To install the pack-saddle at the start, simply place it on the animal, clip the two carabiners (see photo) and attach the strap.
Different luggage options
All types of luggage can be attached to the Bassador: panniers, bags, wicker baskets, boxes, etc. You can use the U-shaped attachment kits or make your own system.
If the hiker prefers bags (often of the ‘duffel bag’ type), these will naturally fit onto the drop of the arches. The straps of the bags or panniers can be attached to the ends of each wood supporter. In all cases, the luggage does not touch the animal’s body.
A big advantage is that the arches form a flat surface on which the luggage can be placed naturally. There is no need to create a box with strange shapes; a simple rectangular box will do the job.
Maintaining your pack saddle
To ensure your pack saddle lasts a long time, it needs to be maintained. This is relatively easy to do:
• Every year, clean the wood with soapy water and apply a coat of linseed oil and turpentine (50/50).
• As needed, but at least once a year, clean the leather with warm water and mild soap, allow to dry, and apply neatsfoot oil.
You will find both of these products in their natural (non-chemical) form in the Randoline shop.
The special carpet for the Bassador
Randoline has designed a special mat for the Bassador.
It consists of a thick cotton fabric in two flaps containing a piece of felt.
It is wide enough (from right to left) so that the feet of the arches rest on the fabric and not on the skin.
See in the Shop.
NB: we recommend placing a thin piece of fabric, such as an old bath towel, on top of the animal before laying the carpet, in order to absorb the animal’s sweat and grease and thus avoid dirtying the carpet.
Comparison with the Swiss Army pack saddle
In the world of horses and mules, the pack saddle used by the Swiss Army’s mule companies has gradually become the benchmark, in its various forms. It is a very sturdy pack saddle, designed to carry more than 150 kg of weapons and ammunition on mountain trails. Other European armies with mountain troops (France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia) also developed their own pack saddle models.
Unfortunately, this Swiss pack saddle has not been manufactured for a long time, and only models sold and resold by military surplus stores are available on the market. Of course, parts wear out and need to be replaced, which adds to the initial cost: leather, padding, etc. have a limited lifespan.
This pack saddle has disadvantages as well as advantages: built to carry heavy loads, it is sturdy and therefore has many metal parts, weighing in at around 30 kg. When hiking with your horse or mule, you don’t need to carry a machine gun mount or boxes of ammunition… At a time when the profession is becoming more feminised, lifting such a 30 kg monster onto the back of a mule, 1.60 m higher, becomes unreasonable. Many owners of these Swiss army packsaddles therefore decide to lighten them, keeping only the main cradle and the upper pads. Admittedly, the pack is then lighter, but all the stability advantages provided by the side arches are lost. This leaves us with a common cross-braced pack-saddle that is very expensive and (still) very heavy…
This is why Randoline developed the Bassador, designed on the same principle as its historic Balissandre.
The Bassador is made entirely of wood, like the old civilian mountain packsaddles. But not just any wood: 40 mm thick ash, which is virtually indestructible. Given the density of steel (7), it is half the weight of a Swiss army packsaddle, weighing only 14.8 kg.
For comparison, a 4 cm square of ash wood is as strong as a steel bar with a diameter of 17 mm.
Its arches are adjustable to fit the width of the animal’s belly, and they have a flat outer surface. This means that it is no longer necessary to buy curved crates, which are complex and expensive to manufacture. Any rectangular crate or hiking bag will do.