ESSENTIAL REQUISITES, 135 



that in the various campaigns of the last war, seve- 

 ral British officers lost their lives, in consequence 

 of being mounted on chargers not equal to their 

 weight over every description of ground. In one 

 particular instance, a colonel of a light dragoon 

 regiment was cut down in retreating, by reason of 

 his handsome but powerless charger being unable 

 to gallop with him over a deeply-ploughed field. 

 At the battle of Waterloo, the ground became 

 excessively wet and soft, owing to continued rain ; 

 and, in consequence of it, the Duke of Wellington 

 gave a large price to an officer on his staff for a 

 fine, powerful mare, which had been purchased out 

 of an Eno;lish fox-huntino^ stud. In fact, the sort 

 of horse best fitted for an officer's charger, is one 

 which possesses most of the essential qualifications, 

 as well as accomplishments, of a hunter, as his 

 rider, when on service, knows not how soon they 

 may be called for. He should, however, be of airy 

 form, with light action, and well-bred, or he will 

 not look in character with the smart costume of 

 his rider ; but to his appearance there must not be 

 sacrificed those essential points, substance and 

 strength, which will enable him to struggle through 

 difficulties, in which a weaker, though more highly- 

 bred animal might sink. But a trifling deviation 

 in form in the charger, from the points insisted 

 upon in the hunter, may be admitted. For ex- 

 ample, the shortness of leg — that is, in the cannon 

 or shank-bone — is not exactly desirable in the 

 charger, as his action is required to be of a grander 

 and more showy appearance than we wish to see in 

 the hunter. A moderate length of leg, then, is 



