Democratic messenger., 1888-02-25
SELECTING CAVALRY HORSES.



The Trooper and HIS Mount.
In the selection Of cavalry remounts
great knowledge In horse lore Il necessary.
The form, temper and action Of the
animals must be considered. Many young
and sound horses that would be useful In
the shafts or at the pole would make
sorry chargers. The best trooper mounted
upon miserable beast Ii but an incubus
TO his troop, and no one knows this better
than the trooper himself. Put him astride
OF q good animal and he Il another man
at once. The trooper should have some
voice In che selection Of the horse he IN 10
ride, and which II to become In great
measure his alter ego. lt Is not, Of course,
recommended that remounts be furnished
to dissatified men Unfortunately, but
when good cavalryman complains 20 his
troop commander and satisfies him that
his complaint has reason In &c, attention
should be paid 70 his demand.
The eve necked horse is particularly un-
nc for the saddle. Such animals, al.
though generally active, are weakly.
Other parts Of their bodies are generally
narrow and misshapcn, which detracts, Of
course, from their bottom. A good Judge
can tell at . glance whether or not horse
be purely or well bred. The thorough
bred has a straight Group, fine legs, 10
broad between the eyes, with ears sensi.
tive, small and pointed. The low bred
animal has sloping quarters, into which
the tail 10 set; large foppy ears, and some-
times o mustache. Much Of value re-
garding the horse can he learned from his
eye. That OF well bred animal In open
and alert; that OF the low bred dull and
half closed. Much Of the white showing
denotes timidity and sometimes vice. or
course, 70 mount the cavalry on thorough.
breds would be too much like creating o
troopers paradise. Such q millennium
can never be hoped for. but the introduc.
tion Of low bred horses into the cavalry
service can and should be avoided. Tho
better his breeding the better n likely TO
he his action, although some thorough.
breds are deficient in this respect.
In selecting horses fer remounts those
with hoofs pointing inward should bc re-
jected, rs should those that have them
turned out. When tho framework Is
properly constructed the hoofs point
straight TO the front. Such horses seldom
interfere or overreach. and generally have
good action. The horses action Is gener-
ally governed by his formation, and hence
too much care cannot be bestowed upon
his general make up. The animal with .
deep chest combined with high withers
possesses as q necessary adjunct slant
ing shoulder. Tho conformation, when
accompanied by an arched crest and .
head well set on, makes q model cavalry
horse, granting, Of course, that he Is
sound and not ruined In the training.
Much Of the usefulness Of the troop
horse depends upon the trooper who rides
him. Every cavalryman should be taught
something Of ''the nomenclature OF the
beast" Why should not man Of the
mounted service know as much about the
animals construction that he rides rs the
artillcryman knows Of his weapons. ln.
stead of wasting time over studies which
do not pertain 70 his arm Of the service,
instruct the trooper In pharmacy, In
veterinary surgery, in shocing and In tho
secret lore Of the knowing horseman. Re-
mounts will then be less frequently re-
quired, and when they are they will be
bcttcr.--New York Times.