MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS 199 



illustrated papers, the ideas concerning it are very 

 vague. This picture purports to show a " Boer 

 Encampment" with the horses (very much scat- 

 tered, by the way !) grazing round it. All these 

 horses are supposed to be knee-haltered {hobbled, it 

 is called), and, though they have got their heads 

 down, and consequently the knee-halter is slack, all 

 have got the leg on which the halter is tied held off 

 the ground. Apparently the artist thinks that the 

 virtue of the knee-halter is that the horse cannot 

 put his leg to the ground with it on ! 



Underneath the picture is written, " The way the 

 horses are hobbled, as shown in the drawing, is 

 certainly as effective as it is cruel. Protests have 

 been made by humane members of the South 

 African Colonies and Republics ; but the custom is 

 too deeply-rooted to be easily abolished ! " 



It would be well if all those who get their ideas 

 of knee-haltering from the above could see the con- 

 tented appearance of the pony in Plate XVI 1 1., 

 in order to prevent their receiving a terrible shock 

 when they hear that all the British troops now out, 

 in, and on the way to. South Africa will knee-halter 

 their horses. 



Knee-haltering, with its clove hitch, reminds us 

 of another very useful hitch to the soldier and the 

 sportsman, that is, the " Diamond hitch." We saw 

 this hitch described in The Field in 1895, cut the 

 description out, learnt to make the hitch, and found 

 it very useful on active service in Rhodesia in 1896. 

 Through the kindness of the proprietors of The 



