SADDLERY AND SORE BACKS. 
503 
ciency. I merely repeat this suggestion because I think it is one well 
worthy of consideration. 
You will observe in Colonel Hutton’s equipment that the principle 
weight is carried in the pack-saddle bags, which hang below and in a 
line with the centre of gravity, consequently the forehand and loins 
are relieved of the mass of dead weight at present carried by the 
cavalry trooper. As Colonel Hutton remarks in his paper on “ Mounted 
Infantry,” “ Fatigue is saved to the soldier and the minimum of incon¬ 
venience is caused to the horse.” The saddle is of the American 
(Whitman) pattern, and the kit is carried in the detachable saddle¬ 
bags which rest behind the soldier’s thigh. Whether such equipment 
would answer for the close knee to knee formation of our cavalry I am 
not prepared to say, it does not come within the scope of my paper; 
but at the same time I think that such an arrangement for carrying 
the kit is an admirable one, and might be considered. 
Girth galls are caused by the saddle shifting forwards, by the girths 
becoming stiff and hard from perspiration, and by careless saddling. 
The remedy is to change or re-fit the saddle, and, if possible, to use a 
soft split, or raw-hide girth. Crupper galls are caused by an unduly 
tight crupper. This article of saddle furniture is at all times a useless 
encumbrance, and has, very properly I think, been more or less dis¬ 
continued in our cavalry. I am aware that many officers are still in 
favour of the crupper, but for what reasons I am at a loss to understand. 
If a horse is so badly fitted as to cause a crupper to be necessary, 
every time the saddle works forward the crupper will become unduly 
tight, and in this condition it is very likely to cause a more or less 
severe gall. 
The same remarks will apply to the breast-plate. If a strain is put 
upon this article by the working back of the saddle, the free action of 
the horse’s forehand is impeded unless a breakage occurs. Carbine- 
bucket and sword galls are frequently met with on service, but these 
injuries are never, as a rule, severe, and can be remedied by slightly 
altering the position of the weapons. Surcingle galls are often very 
numerous, and sometimes severe. The cause has already been alluded 
,to in my remarks on the cases of sore back in Egypt. A very simple 
and effective remedy is to place a pad of straw, hay, or grass on each 
side of the spine, under the surcingle, if the ordinary stuffed pads are 
not available. A surcingle should never be knotted to reduce its 
length, because the knot very often causes a severe gall. Collar and 
harness galls are neither so frequent nor so severe as those caused by 
the saddle, and do not require special mention. If a collar becomes 
too large, as the result of a horse falling off in condition, the best 
remedy is to pad it with strips of numnah felt. The same method can 
be adopted to save a gall from pressure. Chambering the collar for 
this purpose should be avoided, as it is practically useless. 
I will now proceed to describe the different kinds of saddlery galls 
and injuries generally met with, and offer some simple suggestions for 
their treatment. 
A very simple gall caused by saddle pressure sometimes occurs on 
one or both sides of the withers which scarcely amounts to a contusion, 
