INTRODUCTION 11 



of his horses and men. " Disobedience," he said, 

 "is as grave a fault in a horse as in a soldier," 

 and he would tolerate neither. 



One day he was hacking across a bridge in 

 company with Frederick, who suddenly halted, 

 and turned to Seydlitz. " The enemy is pursuing 

 you, and in front is a squadron who are waiting to 

 take you prisoner, what do you do now? " With- 

 out a moment's hesitation Seydlitz turned his 

 horse and jumped over the parapet of the bridge 

 into the water below ! When he eventually suc- 

 ceeded in getting both himself and his horse back 

 on to dry land, he returned, just as he was, wet 

 from head to foot, saluted, and said : " Sire, that 

 is what I would do." The bridge bears the name 

 to this day of Seydlitz Briicke, and is a standing 

 memorial of what can be done by training. The 

 complete confidence of the horse in his rider, and 

 unquestioning obedience, can be produced by 

 systematic and thorough education only, and is 

 something worth aiming for. Few of us can hope 

 to attain such a standard as this, but the principle 

 is there for all the world to see, and its undoubted 

 advantages will help us on many an occasion if 

 we only have the patience and the determination 

 to put it into practice, whether it be in battle, the 

 hunting field, or in less arduous pursuits. Many 

 accidents would be avoided if we always have our 

 horses under complete control, and much more 

 pleasurable our hours in the saddle would be. 

 The point of "jogging" is one. All horses can 

 and will walk; it is only a question of patience. 



