»00 Scats and Saddles. 



A Prussian book* gives 1152 English pounds for the 

 weight of the heavy horse, and 1546 EngHsh pounds for 

 the cuirassier completely armed ; consequently the bur- 

 den is 394 lb., or more than one-third of the animal's 

 weight; and having deducted the 145J lb. for the aver- 

 age man, there remains 248^ lb. dead weight, or exactly 

 50 lb. more than Migout and Bergery's estimate of what 

 the total burden should be. The light Prussian horse 

 is set down at 921 English pounds, and the dragoon or 

 hussar complete at 1252 English pounds. Proceeding 

 as before, we find, therefore, that these horses carry 331 

 lb. = 23 stone 9 lb., also more than one-third their own 

 weight, of which 185^ lb. is dead weight, or within 13 

 lb. of what the French authority lays down as the total 

 admissible burden. Now it is remarkable that, not- 

 withstanding this unfavorable state of things, we have 

 hitherto heard nothing about Prussian sore-back disas- 

 ters in the campaign of 1866, although the cavalry did 

 an immense deal of work ; and this can only be attrib- 

 buted to a better seat and method of riding than the 

 French, for the dead weight is absolutely greater. 



If anything is to be made of cavalry in future wars, 

 the burden of the horses must be diminished. The most 

 obvious way is by lessening the dead weight ; but why 

 should not smaller men be selected.'' After all, what is 

 really necessary is, that the soldier should be tall enough 

 to mount with ease and to clean his horse. Anything 

 beyond that is superfluous. 



Let us compare with the above, in order to show how 

 far a " hunting-seat" method is applicable to cavalry 

 purposes, some English standards of weight for flat-ra- 

 cing and steeple-chasing, taken at random from the news- 

 papers. For five-year-olds we find 10 st. 12 lb., or 152 

 lb., for half a mile flat, and 12 st, or 168 lb., for aged 

 horses. For five-year-olds, 10 st. 12 lb. = 152 lb., and 

 * Ludwig Schone, " Feldbruckenbau." 



