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• Apsáalooke artist
• Late 1800s
• Rawhide and paint
• Gift of James and Deborah Frank, 2016.324A-B

Saddle skirts like this one, with each panel tied to each side of the horse, served as an armor to protect the horse from enemy attacks. This example features abstract designs whose exact meaning is unknown. Although only six other examples of this saddle skirt are known to exist today, a photograph from the 1900s shows how the saddle skirt was used.