A CAVALRY OFFICER ON UNSHOD HORSES. 155 



that the feet of every horse in his regiment should 

 be stopped twice a week during the summer to keep 

 their feet soft^ because the roads are so hard J 



It is refreshing when we find cavalry ojBQcers not 

 bound by red tape. But as regards that twenty- 

 year-old unshod pony, unbelievers will immediately 

 say that he only had to carry children (from one to 

 three probably), and so he stands for nothing as a 

 proof. But let some of these unbelievers be asked 

 for the loan of a pony for children's use, and then 

 we should find them refusing it, because, as they 

 would say (inwardly), ' they know how children 

 knock ponies about,' which is really true. The re- 

 mainder of the letter coincides strikingly with a 

 great deal that has been insisted upon in these 

 chapters; still, for the generality of people, this 

 letter may almost as well have remained unwritten — 

 it is so hard to make horse-owners believe that there 

 remains anything for them yet to learn ! 



