SECOND PART 

 THE EDUCATION OE THE HOKSE 



CHAPTER I 



THE QUALITIES OF A SADDLE HORSE.— Tlic many 

 demands made on an army horse require in him a <,a'eat 

 many different qualities. He has to earry a considerable 

 weight,* travel long distances, and often at a fast 

 pace ; he has therefore to possess endurance, hardiness, 

 and handiness. These qualities are nearly always 

 found in a horse which has a naturall}^ good balance, 

 good paces, breeding, and conformation. The naturally 

 good balance, which is the first quality to look for in 

 a riding horse, enables him to have constant control 

 of himself, even with the weight of a rider on his 

 back, to easily change from a slow pace to a fast one 

 and vice versa; to be, in fact, supple in his movements, 

 and easy to ride from the first. The theory of balance 

 has not up to now been scientifically considered ; 

 owing to the rapidity and frequency of a horse's 

 movements, the study of balance or of conformation 

 is practically limited to the study of the animal at 

 rest. Anatomy is nothing but the study of organs 

 from which life has been withdrawn. It is therefore 



* 111 the British Cavalry a man, weighing 10 stone 7 lbs, 

 stripped, rides no less than 21 stone, in full marching order. 



