5.1
Every horseman should know at what distance a horse can overtake a man on foot, and how much start a slow horse needs to escape from a fast one. A cavalry commander should also be able to judge of the ground where infantry has an advantage over cavalry and where cavalry has an advantage over infantry.
5.2
He must also have sufficient ingenuity to make a small company of horse look large, and conversely, to make a large one look small; to seem to be absent when present, and present when absent; to know how to deceive, not merely how to steal the enemy’s possessions, but also how to conceal his own force and fall on the enemy unexpectedly.
5.3
Another neat ruse is to create a scare among the enemy when your own position is precarious, so that he may not attack, and to put him in good heart, when it is strong, so that he may make an attempt. Thus you are least likely to come to harm yourself and most likely to catch the enemy tripping.
5.4
That I may not seem to demand impossibilities, I will add a solution of the problems that seem most puzzling. Success in an attempt to pursue or retreat depends on experience of horses and their powers. But how are you to get this experience? By watching the friendly encounters of the sham fights and noticing what condition the horses are in after the pursuits and flights.
5.5
When your object is to make the number of your cavalry look large, first take it for an axiom, if possible, not to attempt the ruse when you are near the enemy: for distance gives safety and increases the illusion. Secondly you must know that horses look many when crowded, owing to the animal’s size, but are easily counted when scattered.
5.6
Another way of exaggerating the apparent strength of your force is to arm the grooms with lances or even imitation lances, and put them between the cavalrymen, whether you display the cavalry at the halt or wheel it into line. Thus the bulk of the company is bound to look denser and more massive.
