The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-01-30

more our instructor seemed to like it.
Mount wal the order. and soms Of us were
up in q second, and SOME were down.
Then 10 got a. on the track and the fun
began, He had a long whip, such ~ il
used BY oirogs-rinanastsrs, and his sole
man in the squad. With most Of
them there was no difficulty. They shot
or slid off at every swerve, but those b
were aocustomed to riding from early boy
hood wsrs not SO easily disposed Of, and on
those he rsdoublsd his eforts-the girls in
the gallery tittesing and gikgling the while.
and the horses kicking and %plunoing in
response TO the ringing crack of his whip.
We had many 4 day of this sort of thing;
some of our fellows were seriously bruised
and hurt and all felt more or less aggrievsd
at being made q gpeetaole OF on the first
rides, just ~ We had been at plsbs drills
the year before. No one cared for our feel
ings, however. That sort of sentimentality
same up afterward, and when I was detailed
to instruct certain ''ysarling" squads in go
and 10 I found that visitors and spectators
were ~sxsluded-as they should have been
before.
Nevertheless, by the time Of our gradua-
ton we had a score of excellent hersemsn
in the olass-and six or eight who never
could be taught a secure or graceful scat
or what is even more difficult, 3 good hand.
Now, the riding lessons are 10 systematic
md thorough that very few cadets are grad
uatsd who are not really good riders.
But here is the other side of the picture.
We who entered the mounted service at the
fag end of she war aa lieutenants of light
artillery or cavalry had indeed learned to
sit q horse passably wsll-some, of course,
very well-but of the details Of stable man
agemsnt, grooming, feeding, bedding
DOWN. Of those vitality important matters,
ch1ai~r hittiun orH ssl3Jirr ~ thA ON
atomy ana structure Of the horse, we had
been taught absolutely nothing, and knew
little or nothing beyond what We knew
when We entered or could pick up from for
eign books in the library. Indeed, e1psr-
ience has proved that some things We were
taught as to adding and s~hosingaex-
cerpts ftom Prussisn text books of 1871
were radically and utterly wrong. and
though, undor the instruction of 10 accom-
plished"A csvalryman as Captain Dorst, a
few years since. moro attention was given
to these matters, the cadet still reads in
his cavalry dill book such snormitics as
place the saddle on the horse's back,
we'll orward or the withers''-a system that
brings the weight of the trooper and his
heavy arms and equipment down upon the
''forehand' of his luckless stsed, and
broken knees are the frequent result. l
used TO wonder why 30 many old cavalry
horses looked "knee-sprung." Now I only
Az" v ~ Ao"s lAV A0"
drill-book for the cavalry will doubtless
correct that blunder, and 80 saddle the
horse as to bring the weight of tho rider
and his accoatremsnts directly over the
center of motion of the horse, which is
at the fourteenth dorsal vertebra. English
hunting saddles and the ''hat'' seat ars apt
to place tbs weight about where it should
tall, except when the rider rises in the
stirrups, but OUT Mcclellan tree, placed
well forward on the withers," and the
forked seat. infallibly throws the weight
on the already overburdened front lega.
IAsn there is the matter of biting a
horso. 1t wore to judge from what | saw
in the parade Of Oct. 7 in Chicago at the
unwilling of tho Grant monument, SCORES
OF National guard cavalrymen, dozens OF
civilians, aides. and not a few regular army
ottleers were ignorant Of or indifferent tc
tho biting OF their mounts, and some OF
the examples were actually painful. Nc
matter whether the bit used be the single
rein, cavalry curb, the reliable old English
Daniel or tho natty double rein Pelham
= the prinoiples of proper biting are this
m The check pieces of tho bride
ahonld DO just so long that the mouthpiece
OF the bit should rest over "the bars' lthat
portion OF the lower jaw which lies in from
of the grinders" or molar teeth and il
rear OF tbs incisors) directly opposite the
chin grooye,' Or az soms foreign horse.
men call it. the curb groove Any on,
oan AoCAeo tus groove. BELOW II il
the soft, almost rulpy projection OF
thslower lip. Abov is the expansion of tn.
jaw-sharp bones covered by a thin, beard.
less and often sensitive skin. Resting or
ths bars opposite this groove the bit Light,
touches the corners of the mouth without
drawlng them up the fraction of an inch
lhls point assured, the exact width shoulc
Do sseertained from the outer surface OF
the lip. OF jaw. and the mouthpieoe of tn.
ut DO .est so longthat the branches can no
chafs or clamp ths lips. and 40 short thai
u cannot aide from side to side in th,
lnoutn. This, especially if there be u port
" curve, can not be tolerated. As for the
the pot" it should never bs so deep as tc
gfaze the palate ana BIS regulated a. t.
Isptn ~ the thickness of the horses tongue
tnlek tongue that does not lie fat in til,
sosEue groove "'uxs have a corresponding
~sA u ''ne moathpisos beginning SO tal