IOO 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1906 



At a Command from His Rider the Well-Trained Cavalry Horse Will Drop to the Ground 

 and Remain there Until Told to Rise 



has a variety of gaits and a set purpose to use all but the one part of the equipment. The muscles of the recruit soon be- 

 most wanted. But as the horse is the most intelligent of come hardened to the uses to which they are put in holding 

 animals, he soon learns that the soldier is his master. After this seat, and even the unusual efforts of a fractious animal 

 learning the gaits, he is next taught to jump, and finally to will fail to unseat him. The ability to hold his seat by means 

 lie down at a command. The rest of his training comes with of the legs only is of great advantage to the trooper, as it 



gives him free use of almost 

 every other muscle in his 

 body. 



The recruits are taught 

 to guide the horse by press- 

 ure of the leg, or the rein on 

 the side of the neck, and to 

 use a light but firm hand 

 under all circumstances. A 

 steady pressure of the knees 

 and a light touch on the 

 reins send the horse for- 

 ward ; a slight tug at the 

 reins brings him backward; 

 too hard a pull will put him 

 on his haunches; by carry- 

 ing the hand to the right 

 and permitting the left rein 

 to touch the left side of the 

 neck the horse turns to the 

 right; a similar movement 

 to the left turns the horse to 

 that given his rider, not the least difficult part of his work, the left; by carrying the hand to the right and touching the 

 The first thing in which the recruit is instructed is the use horse lightly on the flank with the left spur the horse will 

 of all equipment issued to him. He learns to care for it, and "passage," or side step, to the right; a similar operation in 

 then to attach it to his horse, or his person, as the case may be. the opopsite direction will send the horse to the left. 

 Before he is placed on a horse he is taught the various parts When the recruit has learned to sit and manage his mount, 



of the saddle, bridle and halter and given oral lessons in the saddle is removed and he is made to perform a variety 

 horsemanship. He has to recite what he is told, and further of fancy evolutions on the animal's bare back. He learns to 

 training does not begin until he is letter perfect. Then he is ride at all gaits and over hurdles, first with one horse, then 

 placed on a horse and taught the seat. There are two with two, and finally with three and four, leaping to the 

 methods of finishing the trooper's education, both of which horse's back as the animal takes a hurdle and leaping from 

 have advantages. One requires the new man to go through the ground to a standing posture on the mount, 

 a series of practical lessons in horse- 

 manship before he is permitted to drill 

 with the troop. By the other method 

 he is mounted on an old horse and 

 put in the troop drill, where he gets 

 the benefit of working alongside old 

 troopers. 



The recruit's instruction in practical 

 horsemanship begins when he is placed 

 in the saddle and given detailed school- 

 ing in the proper manner of "sitting 

 his mount." In this training will be 

 found the secret of American army 

 horsemanship. He must sit erect, with 

 the weight of his body resting on his 

 hips, trunk bent slightly forward, legs 

 hanging naturally, with the ball of the 

 foot resting in the stirrups, the sole of 

 the shoe on a line parallel with the 

 body of the horse. The reins must be 

 held in the left hand, the right rein 

 passing between the third and fourth 

 fingers, the left rein between the 

 fourth finger and the palm, and the 

 end of the reins passing out of the 

 hand between the thumb and fore- 

 finger, falling to the front. The hand, 



with the forearm horizontal, thumb uppermost, must be held The recruit is next taught to pick up objects from the 



in front of and six inches from the center of the body. The ground while riding at a lively gallop. His instruction be- 

 right hand, which is never used in the management of the gins with a hat, then a glove, a saber and finally a comrade, 

 horse except in extreme cases, is supposed to hang naturally although in the last named feat the speed of the horse is con- 

 at the side, except when carrying the saber or some other siderably lessened. The lessons require him to jump clear 



With One Trooper Sitting on the Shoulders of Another, Hurdle After Hurdle is 



Taken Without Mishap 



