6 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



Still high above all these virtues which the instructor 

 should possess, there is one which surpasses all the 

 others, and which ought to illuminate his teaching ; 

 and that is the faith he has in his instruction. To 

 transform a class of recruits into a troop of intelligent 

 and keen horsemen, to train the brain and create in 

 them the spirit of duty, of self-denial and of sacrifice, 

 that is to say the military spirit, is surely a mission 

 worthy of the exercise of the highest gifts and zeal of 

 a leader of men. 



What should be aimed at. — The objects to be kept 

 in view in this first part of the instruction are : to 

 give confidence to the horseman, to show him how 

 to sit firmly on the horse, to bring him to acquire 

 perfect control of his nerves, muscles, and limbs, and 

 to give him the regulation position in the saddle. 



Giving confidence to the horseman.^The instruction 

 of the young soldier is hindered at first by the in- 

 stinctive revolt of his nervous and muscular system, 

 which causes contraction. 



This universal defect is tackled by vaulting, 

 carried out cheerily ; by conversations with the 

 instructors, who take the men out on the leading 

 rein for rides in the country — in a word, by distraction. 



The particular contractions, which are experienced 

 at the very commencement of individual work, are 

 soon made to disappear by the suppling exercises 

 laid down by the cavalry school. 



So as not to neglect any of their useful effects, 

 a consecutive order should be adopted, commencing 

 with the seat, the loins, the shoulders, the arms and 

 the head, and not undertaking movements of the 

 thighs and legs until the body is thoroughly at its 

 ease. The best supplers, however, are good humour 



