THE MILITARY SEAT. 95 



ease of the horses' backs ; and the cuirassiers have been 

 all converted into dragoons. Taking 246 Ib. as the 

 total weight, and deducting 66 kilog. or 145J Ib. for 

 the average man, there would remain for arms, saddle, 

 kit, &c., 100 Ib., which ought to suffice. 



The French 'Aide Memoire' gives us 992 J English 

 pounds for the weight of the horse, and 1296J for the 

 trooper complete ; consequently, the burden is 304J Ib., 

 or less than one-third : and deducting from this, as 

 before, 145^ Ib. for the man, there remains 158f Ib. 

 of dead weight. It is no doubt this, and something 

 connected with the seat, which is very far back, the 

 stirrups being very far forward, that we must look to 

 for an explanation of the sore-back disasters of 1859. 

 It may appear absurd to accuse the French cavalry of 

 riding with a " hunting seat," but in truth theirs is an 

 exaggeration of a bad one. 



A Prussian book* gives 1152 English pounds for 

 the weight of the heavy horse, and 1546 English 

 pounds for the cuirassier completely armed; conse- 

 quently, the burden is 394 Ib., or more than one-third 

 of the animal's weight : and having deducted the 

 145J Ib. for the average man, there remains 248|- Ib. 

 dead weight, or exactly 50 Ib. more than Migout and 

 Bergery's estimate of what the total burden should be. 

 The light Prussian horse is set down at 921 English 

 pounds, and the dragoon or hussar complete at 1252 

 English pounds. Proceeding as before, we find, there- 

 fore, that these horses carry 331 Ib. = 23 stone 9 Ib., 

 also more than one-third their own weight, of which 

 185J Ib. is dead weight, or within 13 Ib. of what the 

 French authority lays down as the total admissible 

 * Ludwig Scheme, 'Feldbruckenbau.' 



