Linking Horses

The classic image of the cavalry is of mounted men clashing with their enemies on horseback. The truth is the cavalry usually dismounted when they fought. The purpose of the horses was to get them to the battle, not necessarily to provide a combat platform. The question is, what do you do with the horses after you dismounted to fight? The Army had a tactic for this in which they would link three horses together and have the fourth man lead them away. Remington illustrated this with his painting titled "Dismounted the Fourth Trooper Moving the Led Horses". The painted shows the horses being moved out at the gallop while the dismounted soldiers form a skirmish line. It is a dramatic painting and an excellent illustration of a little known tactic. However, the reality is more difficult than the painting illustrates. Horses don't necessarily like being linked together and they can easily snap the half-inch wide link strap connecting them together. The procedure of linking horses must be practiced. I have seen first hand what happens when you don't practice it. It isn't pretty. However, once the horses get used to the concept of being led this way and you have an experienced trooper leading them, it is an effective tactic. We, however, do not use the prescribed method of linking the horses from the bit ring. If horses start pulling against each other they can pull the bit right their mouths causing lots of damage in the process. Instead, we link the strap from halter to halter. That way, the worst you will suffer is a broken link strap. The key is practice. Neither troopers or horses will be able to pull this off without lots of practice.