Section
A - General Rules and Regulations
1. The authenticity, style, and type of horse equipment
used will be the decision of each Company Commander
and his Unit. The condition and serviceability of such
equipment will be under the jurisdiction of the Mounted
Safety Officer, who will be known as the "Chief of Mounts",
or his designee.
2. Each Company Commander, or senior Company member,
will perform an equipment safety check on each mounted
member of his Unit prior to 10:00 AM, Sunday morning,
on Ft. Tejon CWP weekends.
3. The Company Commander, or senior Company member,
will perform the same inspection prior to any activity
at which his Unit will participate mounted. (i.e. parades,
back countries, displays, etc.)
4. The purpose of the inspection will be to insure
that each horse is properly saddled and that all tack
is in serviceable condition and properly adjusted,
and that both horse and rider are ready and capable
of safely participating in the planned activity.
5. Unserviceable or questionable equipment will be
repaired or replaced before the person is allowed to
take part in the event.
6. The Mounted Safety officer will confer with the
Unit Commander(s) concerning any problems and will
conduct inspections and spot checks as he feels appropriate.
7. Any disagreement will be settled by the CWP Director,
however, the Safety Officer's decision will stand until
the situation has been corrected or his decision over-turned
by the CWP Director.
8. Each mounted cavalryman and his horse will be considered
a team. Both, together, must take and pass a mounted
safety course before taking part in any FTHA CWP event.
The mounted safety course must be taken each year at
a minimum, and the rider certified on his membership
card by the Chief of Mounts.
9. There will be no rental horses allowed at FTHA sponsored
events. With written approval from the FTHA Board of
Directors, rental horses may be used at backcountries,
encampments, and re-enactments.
10. Mounted Units will leave/not take the field (at
Ft. Tejon) once the dismounted troops have been deployed.
A single mounted courier may be used behind the lines.
11. Mounted troops will maintain a minimum safety distance
of thirty (30) feet from the spectators/safety ropes/other
Units.
12. Any member who owns more than one horse may loan
their extra horse(s) to another member, however, both
the horse and rider must pass the mounted safety course
together.
13. An FTHA CWP Mounted Safety Card will be maintained
by the Chief of Mounts for each horse and rider, as
a team. Any change in the composition of that team
will require a new test and card, showing the make-up
of the new team.
14. Mounted safety infractions will be noted on the
back of the Mounted Safety Card. Three (3) infractions,
within one (1) year of issue date, will cause the team
to be denied access to further events until their training
has been reviewed with the rider, Company Commander,
Chief of Mounts and the CWP Director.
15. Any serious safety infraction will require the
immediate removal of the mounted team from the event.
16. A serious mounted safety infraction may be noted
by anyone, mounted or on foot, and a "Cease Fire" called
if necessary.
17. Anyone found drinking alcohol after 10:00 PM on
Saturday night of a Ft. Tejon weekend will not be allowed
on the field mounted on Sunday. Anyone found to be
under the influence of drugs or alcohol on Sunday morning
will be refused access to the event.
Section B - Inspections
1. Safety inspections will be looking for, but not
limited to, the following:
a) Worn or damaged leather
b) Dryrot, cracked or split leather
c) New leather which has not been properly oiled before
use
d) Old leather which has not been kept properly oiled
e) Worn cinches
f) Particular attention will be given to stirrup, girth,
and quarter straps
g) Although not mandatory, it is strongly recommended
that every man use a sursingle when mounted at any
event.
h) Bridles and halters in good serviceable condition
i) A lead strap or rope attached to the halter and
the free end tied around the horse's neck or to the
left front saddle ring
2. Horses
a) Each horse will be inspected for soundness or obvious
sickness and
injury. Horses with open cuts, bad feet (including
overdue trimming or
shoeing), saddle sores or infections may be removed
from the picket line
and denied use in the event. Whenever possible, these
problems will be
corrected and the horse returned to service.
b) Horses will be kept on Company (or larger) picket
lines when not in use.
The Company(s) will provide a picket line guard(s)
during the hours of
darkness or when necessary to keep the public from
entering the picket
line during the daytime. Any horse that cannot get
along with the rest
of the herd will be removed from the picket line and
his owner will be
responsible for his security at an alternate site.
c) Only geldings and mares will be used
d) To prepare any horse for the unusual situations
that are found at a
typical FM function, it is suggested that each rider/unit
train
their horse(s) using "Cooke's Cavalry Tactics",
ca. 1862, Article VII.
Section C - Cavalry Weapons
The mounted troops are bound by the same rules and
safety standards in regard to weapon safety as the
rest of the FTHA CWP. The following rules are in addition
to the current FTHA CWP safety rules. These rules are
in effect when mounted.
1. Pistol
a) The pistol will be drawn only upon command of the
Unit Commander.
b) When fired to the front while mounted, the muzzle
will be elevated above the horse's head so as not to
cause harm to the horse or his hearing.
c) Pistols may be fired to the flanks and rear in a
more realistic/aimed manner; so long as safe distances
still prevail. The horse covers distance much faster
than a person on foot. Therefore, great care must be
exercised to insure that an action started at a safe
distance still exists before weapons are fired.
d) Once the pistol is drawn, from the holster, it will
be held in the raised/ready position, muzzle up and
right hand at shoulder level, until just before firing.
e) The hammer will not be cocked until the pistol is
brought to bear and fixed. Pistols may not be re-loaded
while mounted.
2. Carbine
a) The carbine will be kept on the saddle and not attached
to the carbine
sling while mounted during battles. Mounted troops
may use a device of
their choosing to secure the carbine to the saddle,
but all methods
must be approved by the Chief of Mounts. Several suggestions
are:
1) The use of a carbine boot that supports the carbine
completely.
2) A metal snap link or hook that would connect the
carbine slide
ring with the saddle, and used in conjunction with
the carbine
thimble,
NOTE: Tie down affairs using leather thongs or cords
will not be
acceptable.
3) These boots or link/hooks should be removed for
living history
displays and demonstrations. At these times, the carbine
may be
attached to the carbine sling.
b) Once drawn from the thimble or boot, the carbine
will be kept pointing muzzle up, with the butt resting
on the right leg, until ready to fire. The same precautions
exist as were noted with the pistol.
c) When re-loading, the carbine will be held in the
left hand at the fore stock, muzzle pointing slightly
forward and downward.
d) The hammer will be placed in the half-cock position
during loading and until ready to fire.
e) Should the carbine be returned to the boot/thimble
while loaded, the primer will be removed before the
carbine is returned.
3. Sabre
a) The sabre may be worn on the field while mounted
and during battles.
b) The sabre may not be withdrawn from the scabbard
for any reason during battles. To do so will require
an immediate "Cease
Fire" to be called and the offending party removed
from the field.
c) The sabre may be used for public displays and pre-planned
programs. These programs must be pre-planned, well
rehearsed by the actual performers, and reviewed and
approved by the Chief of Mounts and the CWP Director.
d) Cuts, slashes, parries, etc., may be shown using
a combination of mounted and foot assistants, as long
as both the demonstrator and assistant are stationary.
e) If for any reason the horse becomes jumpy or hard
to handle, the demonstration will be stopped until
a substitute is brought in, or the program will proceed
to the next event.