Billet

A billet is a term for living quarters to which a soldier is assigned to sleep. Historically, it referred to a private dwelling that was required to accept the soldier.

Soldiers are generally billeted in barracks or garrisons when not on combat duty, although in some armies soldiers with families are permitted to maintain a home off-post. Used for a building, the term is more commonly used in British English; United States standard terms are quarters, barracks, "Single (Soldier) Housing" or "Family Housing".

British history

Originally, a "billet" (from the French) was a note, commonly used in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a "billet of invitation." A particular use of the word in this sense is to denote an order issued to a soldier entitling him to quarters with a certain person. From this meaning, the word billet came to be loosely used of the quarters thus obtained. Repeated petitions against the practice of billeting, starting in the 16th century, culminated in its outlawing in 1689 as an extension of a section of the Petition of Right 1628.

Girth (tack)

A girth, sometimes called a cinch (Western riding), is a piece of equipment used to keep the saddle in place on a horse or other animal. It passes under the barrel of the equine, usually attached to the saddle on both sides by two or three leather straps called billets. Girths are used on Australian and English saddles, while western saddles and many pack saddles have a cinch, which is fastened to the saddle by a single wide leather strap on each side, called a latigo.

Although a girth is often enough to keep a well-fitting saddle in place, other pieces of equipment are also used in jumping or speed sports such as polo, eventing, show jumping, and fox hunting; or on rough terrain such as trail riding, These include breastplates, overgirths, cruppers, and, on pack saddles, breeching.

Studies have shown that, although girths may restrict the movement of the ribcage in the horse, they have no effect on the horse's ability to take in air.

Types of Girths

Several types of girth are shaped to allow ample room for the elbows. The Balding style is a flat piece of leather cut into three strips which are crossed and folded in the center, and the Atherstone style is a shaped piece of baghide with a roughly 1.5” wide strip of stronger leather running along the center. A variation on this is the overlay girth, in which the piece of leather in the center is the same curved shape as the girth. This overlay is often stitched in a decorative design.

Billet (disambiguation)

A billet is the place where a person is assigned to sleep.

Billet may also refer to:

People with the surname

See also