MOUNTED INSTRUCTION 123 



To check a horse who is running- out of hand, never exert steady pres- 

 sure on bars of mouth, but intermittently "give and take" with leg and 

 rein aids, leaning weight back, and turn horse in circle. 



To ascend a steep slope, yield the hand as soon as the horse has been 

 given his direction, carry forward the upper part of the body, and seize 

 a lock of the mane near the middle of the neck under the reins. 



To descend a steep slope let the reins slip through the hand suffi- 

 ciently to give the horse complete liberty of action. If necessary, grasp 

 the cantle of the saddle with the right hand and maintain the body in 

 a position about perpendicular to the horses back. 



Riders should be practiced in crossing a V-shaped ditch, about 18 

 feet wide and 10 feet deep, so that they go down one side and up the 

 other. This is a valuable exercise, as no horse will face the opposite 

 bank viuless his head is left free. 



Long steep slopes should be ascended slowly and quietly and when 

 the top is reached the rider should dismount and permit his horse to 

 -blow. 



All slopes should be descended directly; short, steep slopes should be 

 ascended directly ; long slopes may be ascended obliquely if the surface 

 is not slippery. 



In difficult ground the horse should be allowed to take the initiative; 

 his instincts are a more reliable guide than the aids of the rider. 



If marshy ground must be crossed, go slowly and avoid following 

 in trace. If the horse goes down and becomes nervous and begins to 

 plunge, dismount and lead. 



The driver must learn to seek every means to spare his horse, es- 

 pecially when carrying a pack. In particularly difficult places dismount 

 and lead. 



The instructor gives the men much practice in riding across ditches 

 and ravines, such as might be encountered in draft. He impresses them 

 with the necessity of confirming the horses in crossing such places 

 willingly, quietly, with even gait, and with no tendency to jump. 



In riding over broken ground or across country, let your horse have 

 rein so that they can use their head as a counter poise in a natural man- 

 ner. In jumping never allow reins to jerk bit in horse's mouth. 



Advantage is taken of the work during this period to teach the men 

 how to cover the distances at the different rates of s])eed as employed 

 by couriers and artillery scouts and agents. The rates of sijeed pre- 

 scribed for. this duty are ordinary, about 5 miles per hour; rapid, 7 to 8 

 miles per hour; urgent, the highest speed consistent with certainty of 

 arrival at destination. Then men must be taught that the condition of 

 the horse, the weather, and the state of roads may make it necessary to 

 diverge considerably from the speed ordered. The messenger must get 

 his horse through. In peace this must be done without injury to the 

 animal ; in war it may be necessary to do it at the cost of fatally 

 exhausting him. 



The messenger rides the regulation gaits unless these are manifestly 

 unsuited to his horse, in which case he rides at each gait, the tempo 

 best suited to reserve the animal's strength. 



