When people rode horses

Years ago I had a riding student who told be her grandfather had been un the US Cavalry. I asked her if he was still alive and she said he lived in a nursing home. I went o visit him. Turned out he was in the US Mounted Artillery, similar to the video. He had never ridden a horse before signing up for the Army in 1928. He was sent to Fort Hoyle (now part of the Aberdeen Proving Ground north of Baltimore), which was an artillery post. On his third day as an Artilleryman he learned that his regiment was leaving for Fort Indiantown Gap PA the next day, a three day 100 mile "hike". When he arrived after three days riding in a McClellan saddle, he said he could not sit down for a week.

He started out as middle or "swing" rider of the six horse hitch, the rider with the least responsibility. Next he was promoted to "wheel" rider, who is responsible for being the 'brakes' of the hitch. After years he was promoted "lead" rider up front, who was responsible for guiding the entire rig. His name was Jim Miller and his favorite horse during his enlistment was a gelding named Halifax. He told me how dangerous it was to be "flying artillery" because if the lead rider cut a turn path that was too quick the gun, a French 75 mm that weight 3,400 pounds



would swing out as if to pass the hitch and crack all the horses and riders to the ground like a bull whip.



That was when riders rode.

Jimmy, you know that in the past I have taken some heat in forums for sticking to my traditional views and the Fort Riley Seat, used by my friend Jim who served in in the US Mounted Artillery. I met him in the late 1980s when Morris' Hunter Seat Equitation was on the rise. He was thankful that I was teaching his granddaughter the "old way". He gave me his US issue spurs and his regimental photo with him sitting on Halifax. He said, "You should have them".

I tell this because I knew several of these men who rode horses in ways no one can anymore. They, like Jim, saw later in life that the horsemanship they had learned and used was being diminished with time. All the difficulty that came with their horsemanship was a vast reservoir of something deeper than how we experience as horsemanship today. He told me of his First Sergeant, who got so drunk he missed roll call, was busted down to Pvt. and lost the pay to support his wife and kids. The men under him contributed some of their meager Army pay to his family until his Sergeant's rank was restored. Jim told me of the difficulty of having to care for two horses, as every Artilleryman was required to do. He was quick to tell remind Cavalrymen only had one horse to look after. In our visits, he shared stories of a time in his life that he felt was the best. He also told me that only a couple years after his discharge from the Mounted Artillery the Second World War broke out and he reenlisted. Since the horses were gone and because he had handled high explosive shells, he was assigned to the Ordinance arm of the Army. He went ashore at Normandy carrying a back pack full of over 100 pounds of explosives. His landing craft was sunk not far from the shore but somehow he made it to the beach, picked up an M1 Carbine from a fallen soldier and made it to the cliffs. Not your average guy.

Therefore, you can imagine how I feel, having known such a horseman as Jim and others who valued their horsemanship training so much, when I encounter some of today's horse owners who insist on making pets out of the horses Jim, and men like him, so loved and rode so powerfully.

Great video. The desensitization with the rack of uniformed dummies was great. It was interesting to see all the volunteers who help train the horses by participating in the gauntlet of noise makers and movement. I liked the burning smoking piles of hay too. In another topic I told of my friend in the Philadelphia Police Mounted Unit who trained their horses. A lot of it was desensitization to machines, heavy equipment, fire trucks, jack hammers, etc. I'd like to see more mounted units of police. I think they build a connection with people and neighborhoods.

I don't see horses as cars but I do see them more as utilitarian than most rider/owners today. As the Cavalry recruiting poster says, "have a courageous friend". That friendship was part of how I was taught, but also that the horse was not mine, as a Cavalryman's horse was not his. The horse was government property and as such required a certain level of care or there were consequences like a court-martial. The summary emotion might be more like teammate than anything else for me.

Amen to that.

It's a freaking advertisement! What if you  could learn to teach horses tricks?
I am just soooo unimpressed by this stuff. I know I am supposed to feel something, and maybe feel almost like crying.
But it makes me roll my eyes!