It is the riders' task to guard the territory at any time. They ride each day through an other part of the territory,  in groups of two, and each group can accept to ride with an apprentice, who will take over their task in due time. 
All day long, at any hour of day and night, the horsemen are present over the whole territory. After being seated on their horses for five hours, they get a seven hours rest. They get four days free, every fourteen days to have social life. 
The horsemen are independent. This means that they maintain themselves as far as possible within the territory. They completely organize themselves and make their own living, but they also organize their horse supplies. During their journeys the horsemen bivouac in tents. 

Apprentices:
Each couple of riders are in charge of an apprentice, who will thus be trained to be a real rider. When the apprentice becomes a real rider, he follows a training on the stock farm. 

Another task of the riders consists in supplying meat to the inhabitants of Graciosa. Moving over the whole not habitable area, they are in charge of supplying goods and water basins for the game, which will be deposited on well determined places. Deer, gazelle, fallow deer, antelope, chamois and all ruminant animals with split hoofs (sheep and goats: shepherds). 

As food they will shun the following birds, if these are present on the territory: eagle, lammergeyer, kite, sparrow hawk, little owl, ibis, white owl, pelican, fox eagle, cormorant, heron, hoopoe, bat and other birds of these kind and al winged insects. 

They are in charge of the game: they maintain and count it, they set new game, where necessary and they hunt in such a way that the game gets maintained. The chase area is divided in five parts, so that always each of the five chosen hunters are responsible for the maintenance of the game in a well determined part. 

The total number of horsemen that are necessary will be determined by practice. 
Although the horsemen always bivouac in tents, they have a permanent residence. They live in simple bachelor apartments, in housing units, which consist of a number of private rooms as well as common apartments such as kitchen, living room and bath room. 

The apprentices live in the same village, which is situated near the agriculture area, where the farmers live, as well as a number of people related with the horsemen such as veterinarians, farriers, etc. 

Services and supplies:
There is one veterinarian, farrier and saddler for each well determined number of horses. 
The farmers are in charge of the food supplies of horsemen and horses. 

This report is the first step to find out how some of it can be realized.

Public services:
On this border area, there are no hardened roads. To conceive a public supply system, which on the one hand can function on these roads, and which on the other hand would not modify the nature of the landscape, the idea arose, to base it all on the use of horses and carts.
By  public supply, we understand the public transport of people and goods, but also, when this is wished, private transport and distribution of all those goods needed by the inhabitants. When these services start working, they can be supplemented with other services. The organization of the whole will lie in hands of a qualified person.
The total amount of horses that are necessary for the fulfilling of the above described tasks is estimated at this moment on 300 horses. Those horses have to meet a series of specific demands, so that they are fit for living in Graciosa. This includes that they must be able to move quickly and easily on very variable ground. As they will be used for all possible public services that include some kind of transport, they must be capable of carrying or drawing heavy loads. They also must be resistant against extreme weather conditions. Further on, they need to possess resistance, be fast, strong, have a sure step, and be neither too small nor too large. They must be proud, brave horses.
For the supply of horses which meet all these demands, a nursery will be set up, where the right kind of horses will be bred. For the nursery a suitable place is necessary  in regard to all the medicinal plants that grow there, which can be profitable for the horses while grazing.
The aim of the nursery is to achieve a type of horses which meet all the above mentioned demands. Therefore, in a begin phase, a research will be done for all the existing horse races which may partly or totally meet these demands. A mayor part of the research will consist in literary research and in visiting those places where horses are bred which might be fit for the task.
When no suitable race is found, the results of different crossbreeding will be investigated. This will then be the main activity of the nursery . Finally, one horse type will come further of these investigations, which will meet as much as possible, all the needs. The nursery will then apply itself to the breeding of that specific race.
 

The following part will deepen on both activities of the nursery.

Horses:
Space for the breeding mares.
Summer:
For the mares are needed some large fenced areas of pasture, on which may grow no poisonous but yes many eatable plants. The soil must be of a varied structure, here and there patches of level meadow land, alternate with rocky areas with few growth. There must be some trees, providing enough shadow, depending on the total amount of mares with or without their foals. The meadow has to be supplied with drinking water. If there are no natural sources, this water has to be supplied in sufficient quantities (see "food"). The fences are to be visible and adapted, between 1m and 1,50m high, well visible to the horses and not edible. Suitable are, for example, concrete or wooden beams, treated against humidity (for the wooden ones) etc. The stakes and laths have to be from 15 cm to 20 cm large, in regard to their visibility and security.
Winter:
For the winter, a wide stable has to be foreseen, large enough for many mares and foals, of for example 20x10m for about 10 to 14 horses. The soil can be made of concrete or stone, with a slight inclination and, on the lower side, a gully to the outside or to a well, to carry off the urine. The natural soil cannot, in case of an intensive use on a relatively small area, be used as underground, because after some time the natural carry-off of the urine would not be sufficient and the concentration of ammoniac in the stable would harm the health of the mares and their foals. The floor has always to be covered with a thick layer of straw or wood shreds, so that
the cold coming in from the floor is countered and the horses cannot slide on the slippery floor.
In the stable there must be troughs for food and water, and walls and roof must be provided with enough windows and doors to let the air and light come through. For example, transparent tiles or shutters, windows (without glass) and shutters on a whole side of the stable, etc. and electric light. The doors to the stable must be large enough so as to easily let through a mare and her foal at the same time, that is, 2m50 to 3m large. In front, or next to the stable, a large paddock is foreseen. The paddock is a relatively small area (fenced as above) with sandy soil. The passage from the stable to the paddock may be left open and has to be large enough for two horses at the same time.

The living area of the horses has to be as much as possible as a natural untouched surrounding. Therefore, the spaces have to be large and have to vary in their structure, as much as possible as it is in real nature.
The horses choose then the most suitable place to stay at every moment of the day and of the night.
Space for the foals:
Until the foals are weaned, they stay with mares. After the separation, in summertime, they stay on large patches of fenced meadow, on a distance far away enough from the mares so as not to be heard. There also, drinking water has to be foreseen. In winter, depending on the temperature, the foals can stay on the meadow. However, the drinking water supply has then to be controlled regularly for frost and, if necessary, fresh drinking water has to be brought daily. When it is too cold to let the foals outside, they have to be brought inside. For that purpose, a large stable is foreseen, about the same size as the one for the mares, and with it, some individual stables, where "difficult" horses can be put. At that moment, separate stables are foreseen as well for the mare foals and for the stallion foals. Here, also a paddock has to be available next to the stable.
Space for the stallions:
Often, stallions and more so breed stallions cannot stay well together in one and the same stable. But this is not the case with all stallions. That is why in summertime, a small common stable and a few individual stables will be foreseen. In all stables, there have to be troughs for food and drinking water, drinking water supply, light and air supply, windows and a paddock, just as for the mares and the foals. In summer, the stallions will stay in the field most of the time. However, there always has to be a possibility of separating this field in more different smaller fields, as much as there will be "difficult" stallions, in such a way, that they cannot fight together.
In the same way, this area has to be situated far enough from the mares, to avoid unwanted coupling. The drinking water supply has to be installed in such a way that it permits the supply to all the possible separated smaller areas.
The drinking water supply for the fields can be of natural water sources. This will be taken into account when searching for the adequate plot. If there are no natural sources available the drinking water will have to be brought in large water tanks, or else, automatic water pumps can be installed.
The field that will serve as meadow has to be large enough to allow for the horses to be changed from time to time. Those areas where the grass has been all eaten thus will have time to grow again and the horses will always have enough food.

Food:
The food of horses, which work hard during the day, consists of corn flakes, oats, barley, bran, melasse, carrots, beets, straw and grass. The amount of food a horse needs depends on its activity and on the horse itself. So, in the breeding farm  we will see differences between mares with or without foals, pregnant mares, stallions, foals, resting and working horses. This is the reason why it is difficult to establish only one measure for all. It will show itself after some time.
Besides the daily amount of (parts of) the above mentioned food, the horses will receive once a week or once a fortnight boiled linseed to clean the bowels. After some time it will be clear, which horses are suitable for the envisaged aim. Anyway there has to be a possibility of quick expansion. Thus, on the moment that the amount of horses starts growing, there will always be enough food. As the period of time between mating and teaching a horse is of four and a half years, there should be time enough to take all the necessary steps for an eventual expansion.
Food supply in Graciosa:
The food supply for Graciosa will be a completely local supply. This means that all the necessary crops, in the needed quantities, will have to be grown and transformed in situ, with the possibility of an eventual expansion or reduction.
For that, it is necessary that there be a person in place, who takes the responsibility for the organization of both the crops and the distribution of the food.
Storage of food:
In Graciosa, there will be a room foreseen, next to each stable, for the storage of food. These rooms don't have to be very large, depending on the total amount of horses per large stable, so that each supply is enough for a few months. The rooms, as well as the troughs, in which the food is stored, have to be hermetically closed.

Care:
In the care of horses is included the care of the horse itself, but also the maintaining of its living space, which means the stables, the meadows and everything around it.
Daily care of the foals:
Each horse must be cleaned and brushed daily, and their feet be cleaned, except for the foals, which have to be almost completely left in peace.
As long as the foals are walking with the mares, which work every day, they have to be cleaned regularly, but not necessarily every day. As soon as they stop sucking, and stay outside on the meadow all day long, the care of the hoofs and normal care of the veterinary should suffice. On the moment when their training starts, their daily care will be the same as for the mares and stallions. 
Daily care of mares and stallions:
The horses, which are used daily for the lessons and the work have to be cleaned thoroughly before and after the work sessions. The mares and stallions, which do not have to work every day, will mostly stay on the meadow. Then, they will not have to be cleaned. Only their hoofs need to be cleaned and when necessary, they will have to be treated by the veterinary.
The nursery can appoint a permanent veterinary for the treatment of the most important illnesses, but it could as well use an external veterinary. There will in any case, be one permanent veterinary, to lead the daily care of the horses, where necessary. This is also true for the farrier. There will be at least one, which will be responsible for the production of the horseshoes. For the shoeing of the horses on the nursery, an external or internal farrier can be used, depending on how the necessity of it develops.
Care of the living space:
The stables have to be cleaned at least once a day. This means taking out the dung and the wet straw. When necessary, dry straw has to be added. In winter the cleaning of the stables can be slightly reduced to keep the warmth in the stables. But then one must take care of enough fresh air supply. Regularly, all stables have to be brushed and disinfected. The surroundings of the stables are cleaned, and the dung heaped-up daily. When the dung heaps get to high, a business specialized in the transformation of dung has to be contacted to take it away. For the nursery, this will probably be an external one. In Graciosa, there will probably be a proper installation to deal with the dung more quickly, so as to avoid any damage to the environment made by the concentration of ammoniac and other harmful elements. The different meadows have also to be cleaned regularly and the dung taken away, more so when there might have been ill horses that could infect other horses.
The riders will learn in the nursery how they have to clean the stables and the meadows.
Care of the harnesses and carriages:
In the teaching, a part of “driving” will be foreseen. Therefore, the necessary carriages will be supplied. They will be used in different weather and on different grounds. The harnesses have to be cleaned and fatted against drying, and the carriages have to be maintained as one would do with a car. Near the stables, an area will be foreseen for keeping the carriages and the harnesses, which will be larger or smaller depending on the amount of carriages that will have to be kept there. In Graciosa, that is also true, although probably the area will only be used to keep few of them, as most of the horsemen might want to arrange their own individual space to keep their horse and complementary materials.
For the nursery an external or internal carriage and harness repairer can be used. For Graciosa there will be need for at least one permanent repairer.

Stables in Graciosa:
The most efficient way of stalling the horses is putting them on different central places in common stables in groups of e.g. 20 or 30 horses. Then it is possible, as described for the mares, to build a certain amount of large stables, in which more horses can stay. For those horses called "difficult ones", individual stables can be built, as those described for the stallions in the nursery.
The drinking water supply and the paddock are planned in the same way as in the nursery. Depending on the existing possibilities, meadows will have to be foreseen in Graciosa, to allow the horses to spend theirs rest periods. Near every stable complex, places for straw and food, as well as a place for saddles and carriages and one for the dung heap have to be foreseen, and in such a way that they are easily reachable.

The training:
We part from the basic idea that the mayor part of the men that start with the training aren't horse riders yet. Their character however, makes it easier for those men to learn it, than it would be for others. They don't start from nothing, but unfold as it were. That is why in a relatively short time they still can become good horse riders.
The training they will receive to reach that, will consist of all the parts which are taught in the classical horse riding school, as dressage, jumping and voltige, to which will be added other parts specially aimed at their  function, as is the handling of weapons on horseback, the training of the resistance, the dexterity and resistance in extreme weather conditions. The training will also include a general dexterity training in the form of playing the Polo sport on horseback.

Beside the necessary ability in horse riding, the riders also have to learn to clean and feed their horse, to clean and take care of their carriage, harness and saddle and to do the daily cleaning and maintenance of the horses' living area.
The whole training will take place mostly in the nursery, and starting from there, all the other departments will be organized.
The first part of the training will consist in making acquaintance with the horses and the horse riding. During three months, the riders will be taught the basic principles of horse riding, simple exercises of equilibrium and relaxing on horseback. Besides, they will receive lessons about general care of the horse, how to clean it before and after the work, how to clean the hoofs and the stables. In those three months, they have all the time to learn to know the horse in its different aspects.
In the second part of the training, they will continue with those exercises, although more directed at the heavier equilibrium exercises, as voltige.
In that part, the riders also receive theoretical and practical lessons about the feeding of the horses. The accent will not only be laid on the daily food, but also on those illnesses related to food, on edible and poisonous plants which might be present in the area, on medicinal herbs, etc.

In the third part of the training, the riders will be taught mostly horse training, including the initiation in the saddle training of young horses. As a continuity of the two first parts, more attention will also be paid to illnesses and infirmities given in horses and the remedies which can be applied by either the horse rider or the veterinary.
The different parts have a duration of about three months. When the riders have learnt during nine months how to manage their horses, then comes the moment to start teaching them the extra skills they need to know. That is why amongst other things, in this fourth part they will learn to take obstacles, to take short quick turns on horseback, to take up speed, to ride with objects in their hands, etc. In this part, all the things taught in the previous lessons will be reviewed but with an extra dimension. At the same time they will learn from the farrier how they can take care of the hoofs of their horse.
In the fifth part of the training, or at the moment when the riders have acquired enough aptitude in managing their horse, the attention will shift towards the general endurance of the riders. In this part they will also learn to drive the different teams. In all different weather conditions and on every possible ground, they will learn to drive single-, two-, three- and four-horse teams. The driving of the different carts and carriages will also be included here. At the same time they will be taught how to maintain and take care of these carts and carriages, how to restore old material, etc.
As a last part in the training, they will learn the polo game. This will again take place in San Lucar. The idea is to get a real polo Team. The Polo game counts in the whole training as a kind of finishing examination in which the riders can test their skills and capacities.

Organization:
The setting of the whole network of public services and defence of the borders will in the beginning be on a very small scale. There will only be few horses because the nursery has still to start and there will only be few men able and willing to take this their heavy task upon them. As has been said, it is not yet clear how the recruitment of the riders will take place, but it shows already within the idea that exists about this kind of men, that there will be an almost natural very severe selection. If this selection will take place during the recruitment, during the training  or in the real service will show from man to man. The end result will be the elite, the best ones, those who are not only physically strong and healthy but who also stand for their actions, live for what they do and for where they're going.

From a small scale, the organization will grow with all the rest to the greater aim: a means of defence of Graciosa, which in times of peace will only be visible because the men which form part of it are strong wilful and courageous men and they irradiate that. But in situations of need, the defence will be immediately ready.

Apart of that, the public services have to function in a normal, smooth way.
According as more horses and people join the whole, the organization will adapt and expand.
In the beginning there will be an investigation made by one person, eventually with help, if need be. This investigation concerns the horse type and the training. At that moment, depending on the investigation, maybe there will already be sought for some riders. The riders get in touch  with the first person  which heads the whole organization. They make up a contract in which on the one hand they put themselves at service of Graciosa and on the other hand prepare for the training they have to follow. In it will also be included the purchase of a horse with which they will form the serving unity of Graciosa. eventually, it can suffice in a beginning to rent a horse