ANCIENT HORSEMEN 119 



saddles, and horsemen had tender interest in 

 the double back — the characteristic back of 

 dappled horses. Of the Hellenic seat we will 

 speak in the chapter on straight-leg riding. 



Among all ancient horsemen the great 

 problem was to reserve both hands for the use 

 of weapons. This involved a life training in 

 steering by pressure of the knee or calf, but 

 dressing in military formation was still im- 

 possible without control of the horse's mouth. 

 Many nations used a nose-band, or a twitch 

 round the lower jaw, and a head-rope for steer- 

 ing ; but still in practice the formation would 

 be that of a mob. So Xenophon seems to have 

 borrowed the bitt from the chariot harness, 

 using a rough one for breaking, and a smoother 

 kind for trained horses. His illustrious cavalry 

 owed their prestige and power to a proper 

 formation, and ingenious tactics. 



The Roman Horsemen. The Romans of 

 historic times were descended from a fair race 

 of the Baltic region, and the blonde aristo- 

 cracy still ruled among a dark Mediterranean 

 population. Their culture was adopted, and 

 mainly Greek. Their original Dun and Dapple 

 horse stock was crossed from early ages with 

 African blood, and as time went on they com- 

 manded the use of every decent horse strain in 



