FOREIGN HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP

tbe udrsge. IWs clam of marches bas ahnust disappeared, mrwivwm d tbst acbool Beihg only occasionally met with. A much larger propmtion of the troop and squadron ofthdee day6 brd the habit of letting out their haisceoa the maroh, fiegardleee of what came after them, apd.stheygemwally had the best walkers, the march for the e of the amnuand became a "sdve pi pat," in which molff of the horns n8vet walked. This method of marching M- 9 m - ertincl, aa is known from v e b recent expe-ribna; it will be found whenever ignorance or thoughtless-neae havetheir opportunity. Tb gwinciph of marching are 80 simple that it seems a of time to dwell upon them. Yet the violation of tbum principles anst the government many millions during the Civil War-most of the operations being over rolling -try-hasdecimated cavalry commands since that period, and *I in futmre ware work eimilar destruction. Young cavahy e of tab present generation should familiarize themdvea with the applicetion of these principles on all kinds of ground in order to be able to assist in restraining the "horae kill-," sore to be found in many positions in fittare military opetatiops. 1

FOREIGN HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP.

W. C. SHORT. TSIETUBR.~~

CAVALRY.

NOWING the interest that obtains in our cavalry in K foreign schools of equitation and the number of our oflicers desiring details at these institutions, I am persuaded that some of the notes I made from the report of Captain Feline on his return from the International Concours Hippique, which was held at Turin, Italy, in June xgoz, will be of interest. In accepting the opinion of Captain Feline it must be remembered that he is considered the first master in France, and that means in all Europe. In order that the notes from the repott may be the better understood, I deem it best to state the object sought in the training here at Saumur and the necessity of so much cafe. In the first place, horses and forage are very expensive in France, and a big force of cavalry being maintained, it is necessary that a horse when purchased be made to serve his full purpose, both as regards usefulness and durability. The inspection report is not abused here as it is with us, and when ten horses are bought, it means ten horses for service and for as long as they can be kept on their feet, and with the careful training of the officer and the methods of training the remount, I must say the resnlta are excellent. The objects sought instraining the hotse'are much more exacting than in our service, which I will explain in as few * words as possible.

I. The horw must go ahead calmly, boldly and straight, at a walk, trot aud gallop. a. H e must lead with the leg desired and change at will of rider. .

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710 FOREIGN HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP.

-3. He must jump boldly and at a brisk gait any reason-

4. He must be supple and amenable to discipline. 5. After the training he should be as sound as when he commenced, and without blemish as a result of the work he has been obliged to undergo. All necessary time required for the training is allowed, and no military duty is required of the horse until he is thoroughly trained. The methods are simple but reasonable; the horse is suppled, started well on the walk, trot and gallop in the riding hall, all this work being done while moving and never in place; the horse, then, is taken outside every day for part of his lesson, thus eombining the riding hall with the outside work. Until the horse is very steady all this work is done with the double snafEle. The training with the cavesson and longe is a great feature, and I must say it was a revelation to me. It sefves to supple, to discipline and to make good; calm jumpers. All extremes of training in any direction are eliminated. The French, as a rule, have not very good horses to work on, and the results obtained with the material at hand are due maiply to the splendid training of the officers and the traditions of training which have come down for over a century as being the first horsemen in Europe. These traditions have also the great value of keeping up uniformity in training throughout the French army. . A8 to the horses, the thoroughbred is the favorite, but they are very expensive here, and when one comes within the price fixed for the army, he is not very good or not entirely sound. The thoroughbreds at this school are good, but not excellent from a point of view of conformation, but they are the most pleasant animals to ride that I have ever mounted, this being due entirely to their training. The next favorite horse with the French is the Anglo-Arab, obtained generally by crossing the Arab with the thoroughbred or the reverse, and the result is an excellent cavalry horse. As many Anglo-Arabs as possible are raised s 'ff able obstacle in the open oountry. .. . I.. I

FOREIGN HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP.

711 and purchased by the French government for the light cavalry. They are less expensive than the thoroughbred. The heavy cavalry in France requires a larger horse, and for this the favorite is a half-bred horse obtained by crossing the thorough-bred with Norman mares ; but this cross is difficult to obtain because the breeders (as in America) try to get a fast trotter and cross their mares with trotting stallions. If the horse does not trot fast enough, he is sold to the army, and as a consequence, the average half-bred in the French army is more of a carriage horse than a saddle animal, and he would not do for the saddle at all if it was not for his splendid training. The French government has started a society to encourage the raising of a type of horse for the cavalry, and prizes are given each year in the different provinces. We would do well to follow their example in this respect. There is no question but that the Irish horse is the best all around weight carrier in the world. He is a saddle horse, raised for that purpose, and has none of the carriage horse action or conformation, but he is also very expensive and out of reach of all but the rich officer. One can find it by getting on a bareback horse and letting the legs hang down naturally, with the heels a little lower than the toe when the stirrups are used. When the horse jumps or you wish to push him forward, an additional hold is taken on the horse's sides with the upper part of the calf of the leg, the toes being slightly turned out. Except in the training of young horses, all the work. both in the riding hall and cross-country, is without stirrups on the saddle, and consequently one soon learns to fall into the calf grip. equitation held at Turin in 1902. It was open to the world, and each of the following nations sent three judges and ten contestants from its army, viz: France, Russia, Germany, Austria and Italy. Belgium sent three contestants, Spain sent one judge, and Norway and Sweden one judge. It will be noticed that all great European horse nations were represented except England, which was engaged at that One word about the French seat in the saddle. The Concours Hippique was an international contest in .

719 FOREIGN HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP.

. time in the Boer War. The judges were all field officers or of a higher grade, and were chosen on account of their knowledge of equitation. Of the French officers who were to contest, five were selected from the riding masters at Saumur and five from the army at large. Unfortunately these officers were required by their superiors to take their half-breds, as being a distinctive horse of their country. In spite of this handicap of horseflesh they won almost all the prizes, from pure ability in equitation. One of the Russian officers who was there and who is now at Saumur as a student officer, stated in my presence, that if the Italian authorities had not divided the purses for consolation prizes, the French o5cers would have taken almost everything. Attention should be called to the fact that one of the riding masters now at Saumur won the great international cavalry speed contest from Brussels to Ostend on the famous little fifteen- hand thoroughbred G’ Courageux.” I have had the pleasure of riding the little champion here at Saumur, where he still does his share of duty like any of the other horses. When the matter of the different systems of equitation came up before the class to which I belong, Captain Feline read his report on the Concours, and from the notes I took I have selected the parts most interesting tous, with the view of proving that our War Department is sending our officers to the school that produces riders who win from the graduates of other schools. Also to show that the system followed at Riley, which is on the same lines as at Saumur, should be supported and aided by all as being a move in the line of improvement. Captain FCline stated that he found the Concours itself very‘ instructive to a supreme degree, because he was able to compare the horsemen and horses of all the powers represented. He proceeded to pass them in review successively, basing his remarks upon what he knew, what he saw and what he learned from talking to the officers of the powers in question. He began with the Italians, and expressed the opinion that they have neglected their ttainiug for the love of cross- .

FOREfGN HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP. 713 country riding. *I Formerly the Italians only practiced riding-hall equitation, but at the time of the Concours they thought only of cross-country riding and making their horses jump anything in sight, without regard to how it was done or how many bones were broken.” It can therefore be well understood why the Italians had no contestants for the prize in training. However, the commandant of the cavalry school at Pinerols, Italy, made a visit to Saumur and went away convinced that the methods practiced there were correct. and that a horse could be ridden cross-country just as boldly and with less fatigue and wear, if he was first suppled and prepared by riding hall work. Upon returning to Italy he required his riding masters to follow the system at Saumur. At the Concours the Italian officers were mounted on magnificent Irish horses, that jumped and galloped as saddle horses should, and it was not on account of the Norman half-breds that the French officers won, but rather to their horsemanship. The Austrians believe in training, but their method is faulty somewhere, as was shown by tbe fact that they were not able to perform all the requirements of the Concours. Their horses rushed at their jumps, and the riders were not able to give the necessary amount of rein to allow their horses’ hind legs to go over free for fear they would bolt. However, an Austrian won the contest in training, although it was not considered that the competition was very serious. Only one French officer entered, and his mare, for reasons peculiar to her sex, was contracted and without energy, and would not respond to the demands of her rider. The work in this class was most simple, and for that reason it was difficult to execute well. The German horses brought to the,Coucours were not a pretty lot, with the exception of one, but that one, an Irish horse, was the most beautiful horse present; they were all different, without distinction, and too round. The German riders were much criticised at the Concours on account of their seat in the saddle, tongs across the The Austrian horses are of the Anglo-Arab type.

FOREIGN HORSES A N .

wall, and thie seat is undoubtedly

HORSEMANSHIP.

the cause of their heavy hands. They also overdo the use of their aids, and although their methods are correct and without any grotesque exhibition, yet in comparison with an easy, graceful rider, the German gives you the idea of the differende between an artist and an amateur. However, if the German officers do not ride well, they all ride and ride hard ; they hunt and race and court danger on horseback all the time, which certainly makes better cavalrymen. The Emperor is evidently of this opinion, as he sends all captains who are to be promoted to major during the year to Hannover for a short course, and if they do not care to ride, or cannot ride long and fast, they must get out. Captain Fkline thinks that in or&er to judge a horseman, it is necessary to see him ride fast and in jumping, as the difficulties on horseback increase as the square of the speed. The French government is more severe than the Germans with their officers, and each year a class of majors of cavalry is sent to Saumur for three months, and they ride the same horses over the same country, and juct as fast as do the lieutenants. The Russians came to the Concours with horses of every kind and description, and from every country, and to give an idea of them it would be necessary to describe each separately. The riders also had as much difference in their meth. ods as in their mounts. Some of them were very good riders, but all lacked finish. The judges, at the conclusion of the Concours, were unanimous in stating that the French officers were incom. parably superior to those of any other European cavalry in all the branches of equitation, and the most pleasing souvenir which they brought away from Italy was the remem.- brance of the frank way in which most of their opponents came to them and asked the methods to follow in order to have such calm and well trained horses. Captain FCline stated that he is informed that great prog-resr in equitation has been made in all Europe since the Contours, but he impressed the class with the necessity of .

FOREIGN‘ HORSES AND HORSEMANSHIP,

715 not deviating from the old traditions, and not to follow the new fashion of the civilian, to shorten up the stirrups too much and to sit like a monkey, or the results for French equitation at the next Concours would be entirely different. It might be well to call attention to the fact that this school is very old, and the good effects of its instruction have been felt for many generations in the army, and too much cannot be expected from our young school at Riley, but eventually we will arrive at a good system, applicable to our needs, but this will take time. Let us hope that the day is not far distant when more interest will be taken in “our friend, the horse,” in the American cavalry. I Y 1