78 OUR CAVALRY HORSE 



It is plain that one man or horse travelling- alone can 

 go much farther or faster than two travelling together, 

 and the more the individuals the slower the speed. The 

 speed and endurance of a troop is that of the pooi-est horse. 

 Extra weight infinitely adds to a horse's task and dimin- 

 ishes his course, and his capacity to go depends upon the 

 chance to feed, water, and care for him suitably on the 

 road. It is in marching detachments over great distances, 

 under exceptionally difficult conditions, that our cavalry 

 officers show peculiar success. Perhaps a knowledge of 

 pace and the instinctive feel of the horse's condition is the 

 highest grade of horsemanship. Civilians are wont to 

 think that to play polo, or hunt, or win a race over the 

 flat or over sticks, or perform high-school airs demand the 

 highest skill ; but let any one undertake to ride a horse, or, 

 better, to lead a troop one hundred miles in twenty-four 

 hours, and despite all he may have learned in peacefid 

 sports, he will find his knowledge of real horsemanship dis- 

 tinctly limited. jS^ot all our cavalry officers are equally 

 gifted, but some have made rides which are unsurpassed. 



It must be remembered that our cavalry horse is, ah 

 origuie, a very common felhnv. He is bought by the Gov- 

 ernment at a price which brings out mainly those ani- 

 mals which are not quite good enough to command the 

 top of the market, and are held for sale at a rather low 

 figure. They go out to the plains, and are there got into 

 condition while at work. Thej?^ are not, as abroad, raised 

 in studs boasting sires of the highest lineage. On the 

 march the troo]>hoi'se carries very little less than two 

 hundred and fifty pounds — eighty-eight pounds for equip- 

 ment and baggage, and, say, one hundred and sixty for 

 the rider. In camp he is well fed ; on the march he can- 

 not always be, and he is watered at irregular intervals. 

 All tliese tiiin<:s tell amiinst him. 



