How long it would take to complete Cavalry Training?

[67th Tigers]

It took six months to complete the initial recruit training, consisting of three courses:

1. School of the trooper, dismounted;
2. School of the platoon, dismounted;
3. School of the trooper, mounted.

At the end of this, the soldier is qualified to serve as dismounted cavalry at a fort or fixed garrison.

I am wondering how long it would take to complete the syllabus:

4. School of the squadron, dismounted
5. School of the platoon, mounted
6. School of the squadron, mounted
---
7. Evolutions of the regiment

From reading reports in the 1890's, which still followed the same syllabus, it appears the cavalry school ran recruits through the first three schools from spring to summer, and then did some of the schools of the squadron in autumn and winter. They then sent them to their regiments to complete the training.

Does anyone have the number of lessons for the later courses (bearing in mind that each "lesson" was typically 15 actual lessons, or about a week of instruction for much of the early courses)?

 

[7thWisconsin]

Not a specific answer to your question, but that was without a war going on requiring fresh reinforcements. It takes about 3 years to fully train a cavalryman and his mount. When you put together that the vast majority of recruits had to be taught simply to ride before they can do any complicated evolutions of horse, and most horses purchased didn´t have time to be really trained as cavalry mounts, you get a situation where a lot of boys and their mounts went off to war with only the rudiments of instruction. I think one of the reasons American cavalry operated primarily as dragoons or mounted infantry was that there simply wasn´t time to raise a true cavalry force in the European sense.

 

[Woods-walker]

It took six months to complete the initial recruit training, consisting of three courses:

1. School of the trooper, dismounted;
2. School of the platoon, dismounted;
3. School of the trooper, mounted.

At the end of this, the soldier is qualified to serve as dismounted cavalry at a fort or fixed garrison.

I am wondering how long it would take to complete the syllabus:

4. School of the squadron, dismounted
5. School of the platoon, mounted
6. School of the squadron, mounted
---
7. Evolutions of the regiment

From reading reports in the 1890's, which still followed the same syllabus, it appears the cavalry school ran recruits through the first three schools from spring to summer, and then did some of the schools of the squadron in autumn and winter. They then sent them to their regiments to complete the training.

Does anyone have the number of lessons for the later courses (bearing in mind that each "lesson" was typically 15 actual lessons, or about a week of instruction for much of the early courses)?

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