VII. [THE PLEASURE HORSE]
VIII. [THE SOLDIER HORSE]
PREFACE.
By PROFESSOR J. COSSAR EWART, F.R.S.
Roger Pocock's book is in many ways remarkable. It affords evidence of far more erudition than seems compatible with the unsettled and busy life of a frontiersman. In some parts it is highly speculative, deals with problems rarely discussed or even mentioned by hippologists, in others it is severely practical, and affords evidence of the close study of horses and horsemanship in all parts of the world. The more the reader knows of cosmic changes and of the origin, history and habits of horses, wild, feral and tame, the more he is likely to be fascinated by "Horses." The chapters on the History of the horse and on horsemanship are highly suggestive and interesting, but at the moment those on the Pleasure Horse and the Soldier Horse claim and deserve most attention. We soon forgot about the loss of over 300,000 horses in the Boer War, with the result that when the World War broke out in 1914 we were as deficient in horses as in men and munitions. If the suggestions made by a horsemaster who knows more about Range than Indoor or Pleasure horses—suggestions as to the breeding, rearing, and management of military horses—are duly considered we may have an ample supply of suitable horses for our next war.
J. COSSAR EWART.