A CAVALRY OFFICER ON UNSHOD HORSES. 155 



that the feet of every horse in his regiment should 

 be stopped twice a week during the summer to keep 

 their feet soft, because the roads are so hard.' 



It is refreshing when we find cavalry officers not 

 bound by red tape. But as regards that twenty- 

 year-old unshod pony, unbelievers will immediately 

 say that he only had to carry children (from one to 

 three probably), and so he stands for nothing as a 

 proof. But let some of these unbelievers be asked 

 for the loan of a pony for children's use, and then 

 we should find them refusing it, because, as they 

 would say (inwardly), ' they know how children 

 knock ponies about,' which is really true. The re- 

 mainder of the letter coincides strikingly with a 

 great deal that has been insisted upon in these 

 chapters; still, for the generality of people, this 

 letter may almost as well have remained unwritten 

 it is so hard to make horse-owners believe that there 

 remains anything for them yet to learn ! 



