THE SADDLE. 63 



a crupper the saddle was liable to turn over in the 

 act of mounting or dismounting. This is very probable, 

 nay ! it is almost certain to take place when the whole 

 pack is built up into a mountain and the hinder knob 

 of the tree, which the rider uses to help him into and 

 out of the saddle, sticks up in such a manner as to 

 supply a most powerful lever for turning the saddle 

 round. The author has a strong suspicion that the felt- 

 plate favours this turning of the saddle much more than 

 a well-folded blanket would, especially when the former 

 has become less flexible and at the same time more 

 slippery by use. However that may be, it is certain 

 that if the saddles and packs of mounted troops are 

 found to be liable to turn round when the rider mounts 

 or dismounts, other evils of at least equal magnitude 

 will not be cured by the retention of the crupper as an 

 article of horse furniture. 



Sometimes it happens that this saddle turning is 

 owing to a short man being put on a tall horse. No 

 doubt the average height of a squadron may be made to 

 look more uniform by this ingenious cookery, but the 

 real efficiency is scarcely improved. In countries where 

 general obligation to military service exists, there 

 should never be much difficulty in selecting cavalry 

 recruits of a size suitable to the average height of the 

 remounts obtainable.* In Great Britain this is not so 

 easy, the recruits that offer themselves must be taken 

 whether they are too tall or too short for the horses, 

 and even for the latter there is no well denned average. 



* There are however even then some difficulties to overcome ; 

 for instance the Magyars want, all of them, to be Hussars and 

 dislike infantry service whence it often happens that very tall 

 men are found mounted on small horses, and vice versa short ones 

 in the infantry. 



