The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-01-26
u. S. CAVALRY HORSES.
Not an Easy Matter to Secure the
Kind that Is Wanted.

Kind that Is Wanted.
| Danville, KY, Letter in Philadelphia Times.
/ There are over sixteen millions of horses
in the United States, and yet, according TO
Capt. ]. B. Aleshare. assistant quarter
master. u. S. A, the government finds it
| difficult to procure the seven hundred to
thousand animals needed every year for the
] cavalry service. This seems singular, but ii
is true. Captain Aleshare. accompanied by
an army veterinary, has secured Illinois,
Missouri and Kentucky during the past few
months in search of desirable cavalry stock
and has just recently secured the full quota,
his largest purchases having been made in
central Kentucky, where the blending of
Thoroughbred and trotting strains has
evolved a horse peculiarly adapted to the
service.
| It has been the custom of the government
every year to buy cavalry horses by con-
tract, but this method has been unsatis-
factory and accompanied by so many per-
picking difficulties. 1t is not unlikely that
the purchases will hereafter be made in the
! open markets by agents of the government.
| A great deal of money has been lost by con-
| tractors and their bondsmen, on account of
the rigid requirements and the failure of
| the bidders TO comply with them. The
! government would advertise for SO many
hundreds OF horses. to be furnished in lots
OF different numbers. and award the con-
| tracts to the lowest bidders. The contrac-
tors would be compelled TO give bonds for
the faithful performance of their obliga-
tions and when the horses were examined
they would be compelled to pay the differ
ence in cost between the animals rejected
and those bought in their stead in the open
markets by the government agents.
An idea of the rocky road travelled by
some Of those contractors, as well as an
Illustration Of the rigid requirements upon
the part of the cavalry service, may be
| gathered from the fact that in one con-
signment by a contractor in a certain
State only five out of total of eighty-nine
head delivered were accepted by the gov
eminent veterinary. This left eighty-four
head Of horses on the contractors hands,
and he or his bondsmen were compelled
to put up the difference in the cost be-
| tween the rejected animals and the ones
| bought to complete his contract. Hereto
fore an average of one horse in every ff-
teen inspected has been accepted, but 1t
is frequently the case that thirty or forty
| eminent officials on purchasing tours have
frequently ridden all day through fairly
populous region of some States and found
only two acceptable animals.
The model cavalry horse Is. in color. ell
we'll bred and t of superior Class, gentle un,
der the saddle, free from vicious habits
with free and prompt action at the walk
feet: Of Kind disposition and with easy
mouth and gait. He must be 'gelding"
oft unorm S and haady cSor IN
good condition, from fifteen and one-fourth
to sixteen hands high; weight not less than
broad, eyes large and prominent; from
four, to eight years old; head and ears
shoulders xsGo long Per snd 81 Well
chest full, broad and deep; fore
legs straight and standing well
from girth toward flank; withers elevated;
| back short and straight; loins and launches
broad and muscular; hooks we'll bent and
| under the horse; pasterns slanting, and
feet small and sound horse under five
years old will not be purchased unless he
veloped. Each horse is subjected to a
| rigid examination, and any animal that
does not meet the requirements in every
respect will not be purchased. So 1t can
be seen that a horse which meets the
cavalryman's fastidious taste must indeed
be a model of equine excellence. Much
stress is placed upon the intelligence mani
tested by the candidate, both in expression
and action, and there are certain peculiar
MSeh IN to the the fool the
stubborn brute and the devilish animal.
Another singular phase of the system is.
that while the cavalry horse must be of
perfect shape and faultless conformation,
he is purchased at from s125 to $3.50 COM
paratively small sums for even desirable
'-roadsters." This, however, is explained
in a measure by the fact that the cavalry
horse is useless for breeding purposes and,
as a rule, not fast enough as trotter TO
make q race horse.
In the United States cavalry service there
are ten regiments OF twelve troops each,
with sixty men to the troop, not counting
officers, and there are over seven thousand
horses in the service.
The average working life of the cavalry
| fo md oh
per cent. of those in the service die or are
discarded every year. The horses bought
every year are sent at once to the different
forts and stations. and to the riding school
at West Point, where rough and fancy rid
ing is taught. and are put to work without
delay. the soldier taking the green animal
and commencing it's education. Each cav
alryman trains and cares for his own horse.
ana no discrimination is made in the dis
tribution. the soldier boy out on the plains
getting just az good mount as the dandy
who p.arades the gay thoroughfares of the
capital.
The horses adapt themselves very readily
to the new condition of things and become
familiar with all their duties and the sig
nails in a surprisingly short time. The most
| difficult thing to teach them is to become
| acoustic to firearms. Every evening as
| they pass from part OF their quarters tc
| another to be fed. a carbine is fired near the
head of every animal. and in this way they
are finally made so familiar with the noise
| of musketrv that IL fails to attract their at.
tention. and during the rapid firing and con
| fusion of a skirmish with Indians they will
| browse along calmly and c0nplacently. un-
| mindful of whizzing rifle balls or bursting
cartridges.
When the cavalry horse is purchased he Is
| branded with the familiar "U s." on his
| side or shoulder, and with certain number
on one of his hoofs. The agent records his
| number in a book provided for the purpose
| and opposite the mineral writes a full de-
scription of the animal. cost former owner
| condition when shipped. etc. When the
| horse arrives at its destination. the record
| ia copied into another book. but this time
| the animal is entered by name instead OF
| by number. The curious might ask how sc
| many names, short. appropriate and dis
| tinctive were provided. Horses of one color
| are given to one company, and their names
| usually begin with the letter which Classics
| the company Thus, the horses in Company
| G. are called Grover, Grant. Garfield. Gree
| lev Grimes and so on. The horses soor
| learn to which company they belong Many
| OF them from several troops may be grains
upon a prairie. but when the bugler sounds
| the stable call. they quickly assemble. the
| BAYS 10 themselves. and the sorrels and the
| grays and blacks to their respective com
mards They are taught many difficult
manoeuvers. one of the most interesting o.
| which is to lie down so that the soldiel
. | may use their body a protection ant
from which TO fire at the enemy.
Very warm attachments naturally sprinl
up between the cavalryman and his horse
and rare indeed is a case OF cruelty heard
80 Cartafr Alecharp saws he has known