The method by which the French conscript is trained at riding school is
of such a nature that it trains horse and man at the same time. At the
beginning of training with saddles the ride is formed of about sixteen
men who walk, trot, and canter their mounts along sides of a square in
single file. The man is made to ride his horse well into the corners
of the square and to make three turns sharply, and, when men have
acquired full control of their horses so as to be able to perform this
simple movement properly, they are taken on to more complex matters.
While strung out along one side of the square, at the word of command
each man turns his horse at a direct right angle, proceeds across the
square, and, turning again at a right angle on the far side, the ride
forms single file again and proceeds. A diagonal movement of the same
nature is then taught; men are taught to halt their horses suddenly and
rein them back a length or two; they are taught when at the canter to
cause their horses to passage sideways across the square, and, in fact,
are instructed to make every movement of which a horse is capable.
At first, as may be assumed, the tuition is carried out with trained
horses, but, as men become advanced in the art and practice of riding,
they are put on to younger horses, and it will be easily understood
that, in learning himself to make the horse execute the movements, the
cavalryman trains the horse to its work as well as increasing his own
knowledge.
In the matter of foot drill there is not so much to learn in the
cavalry as in the infantry. Cavalry foot drill, as a matter of fact, is
practically a replica of the drill to which troops and squadrons of men
are subjected when mounted. The principle governing cavalry foot drill
in practically all armies consists in assuming that a man shall not be
called on to execute a movement which he cannot execute on horseback,
as, otherwise, confusion might arise in the course of mounted drill.
It would be interesting, for instance, if cavalry were taught infantry
drill, to see what would happen if a squadron of mounted men were
ordered to form fours in the infantry style.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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