6 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



It is incontestable that the English, as a nation, pos- 

 sess in a high degree the physical and moral qualifica- 

 tions that go to make good riders. Where, then, can 

 the fault lie ? Evidently in something connected with 

 the mechanism employed in enabling the horse to carry 

 its rider, and the rider to maintain his seat and preserve 

 the mastery over his bearer; in other words, something 

 peculiar in saddles and seats, bits and bitting. 



It will perhaps seem to many persons impossible, or 

 at least improbable, that mere saddles and bridles, or 

 the manner in which they are adjusted to the horse's 

 body, can produce such very material results as those 

 suggested here. Well, it does seem strange ; but let 

 us listen, before passing judgment on the case, to some 

 documentary evidence bearing upon it. On the 20th 

 May 1859, the French cavalry had in Piedmont 9008 

 effective horses, increased subsequently by the arrival 

 of a whole brigade (Perouse), so that on the 24th June 

 (Solferino), the total number borne on the lists was 

 10,206.* But it subsequently transpired, from the 

 report of the Cavalry Commission ordered by Marshal 

 Eandon to inquire into the causes of the tear and wear 

 of horses during the campaign, that, on the day of that 

 decisive battle, not more than about 3500 horses were 

 really fit for service, the remainder having been dis- 

 abled by less than one month's marching; for, with the 

 exception of one or two squadrons that fought at Ma- 

 genta, the French cavalry was never under fire up to 

 the 24th June, and an immense proportion of these 

 had been rendered unserviceable by the saddle and 

 other portions of the equipment. 



* ' Campagne de 1'Empereur Napoleon III. en Italie en 1859 ' 

 (official). 



