220 INDOOR HORSES AT WORK 



of three or four horsemen apiece, working in 

 rivalry, rode fifty to fift3^-five miles on a 

 Saturday, then back again on the Sunday. 

 Afterwards a veterinary surgeon reported on 

 the condition of the horses. 



The first test was made under conditions of 

 unusual heat, and after one serious case of heat 

 prostration the homeward run had to be made 

 at night. The riders were veterans to the age 

 of seventy- two, with an average of two old 

 wounds, and more than two war decorations 

 per man. Our cab and 'bus horses finished 

 like the riders, in good time and condition, but 

 did not equal the usual gait of the annual 

 Stock Exchange competition of men afoot on 

 the same London and Brighton road. 



Saddles. We never had the rival types of 

 saddles tested by teams, but each man rode 

 his own, and for short marches like ours the 

 difference was slight. The men with stock 

 saddles were less weary, and their horses 

 fresher, but not to any notable degree. 



Seat. In one test a competitor failed us, 

 and was replaced by a sailor who had not 

 ridden before. At first he butted his horse 

 backwards into shops, so we had to change 

 about for ten miles until we found the best 

 mount for his peculiar needs. After that there 



