I ran across a few photos of a simple, light duty saw horse that I had taken in a Virginia antique store a couple years back. A staked horse like this is not a new idea of course; it caught my because of the narrow beam and aligned leg mortises.
Why the round side is up or what this thing was originally used for I have no idea. If I recall correctly it was around 20″ tall and in the neighborhood of 30″ long.
If made with the flat side of the log up, it would be a fast and simple to make saw horse.
–Will Myers
Eclectic Mechanicals 
Maybe for working on a saddle?
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I noticed similar horses at Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. They made it on the list of things to make someday, but that’s as far as I got.
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The rounded shape immediately reminds me of an outfeed table. That’s probably not the reason, but do you think it might have served the same purpose somehow? The rounded shape would allow stock more easily to slide along which might be nice for ripping or other operations.
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Possibly a quilt stand?
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Two thoughts:
A rounded top is more comfortable to sit on?
Also, the common wisdom building wood planes is that the ‘bark side goes down’. I think I remember that some people think that the outer edge is tougher, that might not be fact, but back when this sawhorse was made the conventional wisdom was followed. Regardless, the grain pointing downward would result in fewer catches or tear out when sliding wood over the saw horse.
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