LIGHT HORSE. 199 



pretty handy troopers, though of course they are not all 

 equally pleasant or easy to ride. For a horse to be cast 

 because the men cannot ride him, is almost an unheard of 

 thing, and the men of the troop to which such an animal 

 belonged would consider the circumstance far from 

 being a feather in their cap. The training of a troop 

 horse is a stereotyped kind of thing. He is bought 

 somewhere, at about four years old. An English four- 

 year old is, of course, by way of being quiet to ride. An 

 Irish ditto is not improbably an accomplished hunter, 

 besides being quiet in harness. He is delivered at the 

 barracks, a man is told off to him after it is determined 

 to what troop he shall belong, and this is usually settled 

 by drawing lots. He most likely has strangles to begin 

 with, and when he is through that, and has recovered 

 some condition, his training commences. And here I 

 think a mistake is commonly made. The young horse is 

 allowed not only to get up a due amount of strength, 

 but very often to become " fresh ;" and in this state he 

 is naturally likely to give more trouble than if he were 

 otherwise. Overworking young horses is a grievous 

 blunder, too ; but there is a middle course, which might 

 with advantage be more frequently adopted. The young 

 one is saddled very carefully, the man to whom he 

 belongs being always under the eye of a superior, luuged 

 more or less, and finally mounted, with a "stripped 

 saddle" that is, the regimental saddle lightened of 

 everything that will come off, such as wallets, and with 

 only the bridoon on his mouth. He very likely takes 

 all this easily enough ; and the first bone of contention 

 is often the crupper, an article to which I have a lively 

 hatred. Then come his paces. Commencing with the 

 walk which, by the way, he is generally made to execute 



