980. Formations: The habitual formation for marches is route order in column of fours (par. 754). When the roads are unsuitable or the command is small, column of twos or troopers is permissible. To economize road space in large commands double column or parallel columns should be used if practicable. Squadrons in regiment and troops in squadrons alternate in leading, the rule being that the one in front one day automatically follows in rear the next day.
981. Halts: The first half hour of a march should be made at a walk and the first halt of 10 or 15 minutes toward the end of the first hour after starting; it should, if possible, be preceded by a short trot in order to make apparent any faulty adjustment of equipment. This halt gives an opportunity for the horses to stale and for the troopers to attend to the calls of nature, to tighten girths, and to adjust saddles, equipment, and clothing.
Other halts of 5 to 10 minutes should be made at hourly intervals, and, if the march is to be prolonged into the afternoon, a longer halt should be made at noon, when girths are loosened, bridles removed, horses fed, and the men eat their lunches.
An invariable rule on the march and in camp is to have all troopers dismount promptly on halting; in other words, never to permit a man to sit a moment in the saddle while his horse is standing still, and under no circumstances to lounge in the saddle.
982. Watering: On the march horses should be watered whenever opportunity occurs, conforming as far as practicable to the rule of watering before feeding and of removing the bit when by so doing the horse can drink more freely, as when the stream or watering place is shallow. Public watering troughs should ordinarily be avoided on account of danger from infection. The use of buckets or of portable, collapsible canvas watering troughs (articles of issue) will often make watering places otherwise insufficient thoroughly satisfactory. On the march and in camp watering is always done under supervision of an officer.
983. Feeding: In time of peace when a regular supply of grain and long forage can be counted on, effort should be made to follow, as far as practicable, the routine to which horses have been accustomed in garrison. In time of war regularity of supply of forage, and especially of the long forage, can not be expected, and officers must neglect no opportunity of anticipating the needs of their animals when passing grain fields, pastures, or stacks of hay and other fodder. A supply for the night can often be gathered and carried along on the wagons or it may be tied up compactly with the lariat and carried on the horse.
The trooper with habitual solicitude for his mount will, if permitted, be prompt to remove the bits to let his horse graze (facing the wind in hot weather) at every delay or check, and he will miss no chance to pick up an extra feed of grain.
984. Camps (see also Care of Troops, F. S. R.): The ground being suitable, a troop encamps in line, with first sergeant's cook and officers' tents on one flank, the men's sink on the other, and with picket line 15 yards in front of and parallel to the men's tents, the open ends of the tents toward the picket line. A squadron or regiment encamps in column of troops as above, but with picket lines on the flank of the column on the side opposite the cook and officers' tents, each in prolongation of its own company street. Intervals and distances should approximate those of the normal semipermanent camps (F. S. R.), if space is available. For a shelter-tent camp in column of troops with picket lines stretched between the rows of tents the guidons which mark first sergeants' tents should not be less than 15 yards apart. The squadron or regiment may encamp in line similarly to the troop if the ground is more favorable for such form of camp, but ordinarily they encamp in column of troops with picket lines between the rows of tents.
985. On nearing the end of a day's march, the regimental commander will send his adjutant and supply officer ahead to locate the camp and provide for the arrival of the column: On approaching the camping place, squadron adjutants and the guidon of each troop will be summoned by the colonel's bugler sounding adjutant's call followed by guidons (or otherwise according to circumstances). At these calls each squadron adjutant followed by the guidons of his squadron will move rapidly to the front and will join the regimental adjutant, who indicates to each the ground which his squadron is to occupy. If the available ground is sufficient to encamp the entire regiment as prescribed in the Field Service Regulations, the regimental adjutant causes the guidons to be aligned and planted at the prescribed intervals, thereby marking the first sergeant's tent on the flank of each troop, otherwise each squadron adjutant has the guidons of his squadron so placed on the ground allotted to his squadron as to conform, as nearly as conditions will permit, to the normal camp, having in view the comfort of horses and men and convenience to supplies. The object in marking off the camp as prescribed, by establishing the guidons before the arrival of the column, is to relieve the horse of his rider and pack as soon as possible. To further minimize delay, commanding officers, unless under exceptional circumstances, will, immediately on reaching the ground, direct majors to dismiss their squadrons and have their troop commanders proceed directly to their guidons, dismount at once, and pitch camp.
The foregoing principles will also, in so far as applicable, be enforced by commanders of all units smaller than the regiment.