46 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



only by riding a horse, that one can with any certainty 

 decide on his merits. Experience, nevertheless, enables 

 one to establish certain general rules, which fix the 

 good points to be looked for in a young horse, and 

 to form an opinion as to what he will grow into. 



If the horse has a wither running well into the back 

 and rather higher than the quarters, the chest deep, 

 and the girth groove well behind the elbows, the 

 saddle will rest in a good position. The rider and his 

 equipment being placed between the two ends of 

 the balance, near the centre of gravity, will not disturb 

 the equilibrium by overweighting the shoulders. This 

 conformation, combined with well- shaped hocks, 

 causes the horse to be easy to handle and control 

 in a fight, and in the daily work the effort is distributed 

 over the body, which consequently does not prematurely 

 wear out. The paces ought to be such as will enable 

 the horse to cover the greatest distance with the 

 minimum of effort. This condition excludes high 

 action, and places value on the level extended paces, 

 which are the least fatiguing for both horse and rider. 



If the trot is more especially the pace for the road, 

 the pace for fighting is the gallop. More than ever 

 the actual necessities of w^ar require the fast paces 

 maintained for long distances. The army horse ought 

 therefore to be above everything a galloper, and the 

 relative length of the ischium is a characteristic of 

 this aptitude. 



Handiness is indispensable in going through 

 evolutions in open country, and it is acquired all the 

 more promptly and completely in proportion as the 

 horse has the necessary conformation, an open angle 

 at the junction of the shoulder and arm, and powerful 

 hindquarters. If the length and obliquity of the 



