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114. The Officer Commanding. 7th Bombay Lancers, states:—
"The horse known as the Northern cannot be treated as of one class only; there are the better bred ones
from Meshed, Herat, and Kandahar, and the coarse grey which comes from Afghanistan generally; all greys do
not come under the latter heading.
"In answering your questions, I will class the first named (1), the latter (2).
(1)
" (a) Stands both heat and cold well.
" (b) Not delicate in any way.
" (c) Not more susceptible to skin disease than
other classes.
"(d) Would stand hard wort, either fast or
slow, and also long days ; whether he
would be outpaced by the Bengal
Cavalry country-bred in a fast gallop
it is difficult to say. In the actual
work of a campaign I doubt his being
behind the Bengal country-bred even
in a hot climate, and I believe he
would outwork him in a cold one."
(2)
" (a) Stands cold well; can stand heat, but not so
well as the other class.
" (b) Not delicate in any way.
"(c) More suscaptible to prickly heat in the hot
weather of the plains, i.e., in excessive heat.
" (d) Difficult to beat in the cold, hard fare, and long
slow work; would be behind hand in fast
work in hot weather."
115. Referring to the class of Northern horse considered the best for
Cavalry purposes, this officer states:—
"The better class of Meshed and Herati is the best stamp of horse brought to Quetta; there is another
breed, the Kadaghan, which comes from beyond Kabul, he is a fairly well bred horse of good bone and power;
very few are brought down. Up to comparatively lately, there has been no trouble Quetta way about the horse
supply, but last year the difficulty in getting horses of 4 and 5 began to be felt: in the present state of the
market, the number of remounts which come to the Baluchistan and Sind Fairs are sufficient only for the 3
Bombay Frontier Cavalry Regiments, and perhaps one or two more."
116. I now purpose analysing the objections brought against the Northern
horse by the Bengal Cavalry—
(i) Constitutionally unfit to stand the climate of the Punjab in the
hot season.
(ii) Difficult to keep in condition and feel the heat greatly.
(iii) To this I would add another complaint which has frequently been
made to me by the Bengal Cavalry against this class of horse,
viz., that he suffers greatly from skin disease.
(iv) Thick necked, slow, and short of action. This remark is that made
by the Inspector General of Cavalry.
117. Having enumerated the faults brought forward against the Northern
horse, I would simply draw attention to the remarks contained in (2) by the
Officer Commading, 7th Bombay Lancers, and would ask whether the fault
does not lie in the fact that Bengal Cavalry, not being as well acquainted with
the different breeds of horses brought to Quetta as are the three Sind Regi-
ments that are always on the spot, do not buy the wrong stamp; the
objections brought forward by the Inspector General of Cavalry, viz., short
neck, and short of action, certainly do not refer to the Meshed horse, but they
do to the inferior class of Herati and Cabuli generally. The only objection
that may be maintained is, that brought forward by this officer, viz , that they
are slow. This, it will be seen, the Officer Commanding, 7th Bombay Lancers,
is doubtful of, but still they have not been tried with Bengal Cavalry.
118. I would only ask for a careful consideration of the remarks by the
Officer Commanding, 6th Bombay Cavalry, and also of those under heading
(1) by the Officer Commanding, 7th Bombay Lancers, and would ask whether
in the class of horse therein described, we have not one in every way well
calculated to make good Native Cavalry horses. I would not have brought
forward this question again did I not feel that want of demand will crush the
supply, and I think I am borne out by the remarks of the Officer Command-
ing, 7th Bombay Lancers, as to the present state of the market.
Scheme for the
collection
of
horses at conve-
nient centres for
purchase
as
Native Cavalry
Remounts.
119. This scheme is one which must commend itself to everybody
interested in the supply of horses for Native Cavalry. Under present arrange-
ments, purchasing officers only frequent the Fairs, frequently to find that the
dealer has swept the district of all the best horses. It is to do what the dealer
now does that I am anxious to try to perfect some system of this kind; the
difficulties are still great, and as yet, I regret, that no success has met my
efforts, still, I do not despair. The district of Dera Ghazi Khan offers more
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