SADDLES AND SORE HACKS. 1 83 



This wearing out of a tired horse by a tired man is effectually met by Advantage 

 at once dismounting the man, and letting him lead his horse. After he °f occa- 

 has done some distance, his tired riding muscles will have regained their ^^°"^jj 

 tone, and he can then remount. when 



. In long marches, men get tired or cramped through being hours in tired, 

 one position, they twist and turn in the saddle, lean forward, or quit their 

 stirrups and let their bodies sway about. The wholesome corrective for 

 this is dismounting the men. In a long march every man should walk and 

 lead his horse for a portion of every hour, which prevents " rolling," 

 and secures the important advantage of allowing the blood to circulate 

 freely through the skin. 



Irregularities occurring on the line of march should be detected by the 

 officer. If men injure and wear out their horses by rolling about in the 

 saddle, he is to blame, for he should have at once detected it, and 

 applied the remedy. 



These things can never be seen unless looked for, and if all the officers 

 ' of a squadron ride at the head of it, their backs are turned towards 

 what is occurring. Where horses are concerned nothing can take the 

 place of the eye of the master. The troop officer should ride in no fixed 

 position on the march : first on one side of the column, then on the other, 

 now halting and letting his horses pass him, now riding behind and 

 looking at them from the rear. Such supervision repays itself a hundred- 

 fold, while the moral effect cannot be over-estimated, 



General causes of injuries. — Every injury to back, shoulders or other General 

 part of the body due to saddles, harness or collars, is brought about by causes ot 

 one of two means, or a combination of the two, viz. — injuries. 



1. By friction. 



2. By pressure. 



No matter whether the injury consists of a few hairs rubbed off, or a 

 swelling on the withers the size of a child's head, the cause is as above. 



From what has been said in dealing with the structure of the back, no 

 difficulty will be experienced in understanding how friction or pressure 

 acts : the one wears away the part by rubbing, the other by partly or 

 entirely cutting off the blood supply. 



We have shown that no living tissue can stand continuous pressure, 

 not even when a relatively soft and light body is inflicting it, let alone a 

 mechanism of steel and wood like a saddletree. 



That a certain power of resistance to both friction and pressure exists 

 is undoubted ; a horse in hard condition can stand much more of either 

 than one in soft condition. 



