52 CAVALRY HORSEMANSHIP 



and a proficiency as horsemen, without which there 

 is no hope of success. In fact, if it is the wxll-trained 

 horse that makes the good horseman, it is also equally 

 true that the only man capable of training the horse 

 is the man who is skilled in riding him. 



Care on arrival at the regiment. — On arrival at 

 the regiment the young horses should be placed by 

 themselves, and entrusted for some days to the 

 veterinary officer, who considers them from the point 

 of view of health ; but this isolation should be as 

 short as possible. They are then handed over to the 

 squadrons to which they are allotted, stabled together, 

 and given a special treatment, intended to acclimatize 

 them. 



The first care should be to keep them healthy, to 

 adapt them to military life, to develop their strength 

 by well-regulated feeding and exercise, to get them 

 accustomed to men, to being shod, groomed and 

 saddled, and lastly, to the weight of a man on their 

 backs. 



The object of the education of a young horse. — 

 The training lessons are given either in company or 

 alone, taking into consideration the horsemanship of 

 the riders and their experience, the character of the 

 horses, and certain considerations of service, of time 

 and of place. 



The troopers' horses before they can be considered 

 completely trained, should be able to execute all 

 movements prescribed by the Cavalry School, and 

 especially they should be perfectly quiet when being 

 mounted, should walk freely and regularly in a straight 

 line, should be handy in all the paces and in all changes 

 of direction, and should pass or jump every kind of 

 obstacle, endure the pressure in the ranks, and leave 



