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Yep, I was one of them hard cores at one time. I used an 1846 Grimsley or 1859 McClellan with original buckles handstitched with linen. My headstall used Civil war period buckles and I used an 1851 cavalry bit or the 1859 US bit. I carried a Tiffany Sabre and CW period colt and Sharps/or musketoon. Now most of my equipment is in a museum. Once at the 1988 demonstration of artillery in front of the Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg where we were putting on demonstrations in front of >5000 visitors, the park rangers stated that the harness on my hitch was in better shape and were better period relics than what was on display in their museum. I went to great pains to have a six horse artillery hitch using CW items and was successful at it. I sold the hitch back in 1996.