The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-28
UNCLE SANS CAVALRY HORSES.
The Bicycle Is Not IA Substitute Yet
For the Army's standby.

NSulsc II. dlSh III country Gentleman.
Notwithstanding the decline of the horse
through the popularity of the bicycle and
electric cars. Uncle Sam must have his
full quota of good cavalry horses every
year and he VIII not retire from the bus
mess until some fertle-brained inventor
finds a good mechanical substitute that
will accomplish all that the intelligent
brutes are credited with our cavalry
horses are noted for their achievements
on the plains and in battles. and it would
require some invention possessing an in
telligence little short of human to replace
them satisfactorily.
Every large breeder of good horses Incl
dentally keeps the United States cavalry
service IN view, for 1t is possible he Will
IND in Uncle Sam a good purchaser for
many of his horses that fail to come up
TO the required standard in other fields.
Not mat the quartermaster of the army
or his assistants are deceived into buying
inferior horses, but the needs OF the cav
airy service are very peculiar. A horse
that Is useless for breeding purposes, ana
not fast enough as trotter to make a
race horse, may yet be eminently fitted for
the cavalry. 1t is for this reason that the
breeders remember Uncle Sam when they
have failed to develop racers out of some
of their stock.
The cavalry service needs about zoo new
horses every year, and prices varying
from $l25 to $3.50 are paid for these. A
rev years ago these prices were considered
so low that the offers of fine horses were
not very numerous. Good horses brought
double these sums in those palmy days OF
morse breeding the quartermaster would
advertise Tor the horses, and the different
lois ohered were of such an inferior order
that not one in fifteen would suit the
needs of the government.
But to-day there has been a radical
change inaugurated. and Uncle Sam never
had such an opportunity for selecting fine
hofses at ms own price. The price OF
horse flesh has dropped to such a point
that WOO is now considered a fair sum
Tor some pretty fine animals, racers as
well as roadsters and work horses. When
the quartermaSter goes into the field to Sc
lect his horse to-day he is deIuged with
offers, and such fine animals tool There
are trotters in whose veins courses the
hoolest blood of the leading racers of a
past generation; sleek, well-formed ami
mails, whose slender, rounded limbs. ana
Intelligent eyes and gracefully curved
necks, betray their Arabian ancestry. and
pedigreed stock whose arstocratic lineage
goes back to the days Of the Normans
and Romans. The work of choosing from
such stick becomes a pleasure rather
regret tnAt
so many finely bred animals are going
begging.
For the cavalry service a certain tyne
of horse, however, must be selected and
the claims of others cannot be listened
TO- no matter what they may. be. The
animal must be gentle and free from all
vicious habits, and a fair nimble trotter.
Each one offered must pass a rigid exami-
nation before veterinary experts, who test
every part Of the body and limbs for de-
fects or blemishes. Even the mouth must
be moderately sensitive, and not so hard
ened to the bit that a rider could not
turn him without running into stone
wall.
The color has something to do with the
selection. White horses have been seen in
the cavalry service, but as rule they are
not allowed there. The object is to get "A
uniform color that will wear well and not
require too much grooming to make IL
look presentabe Sorrel, black or bay are
the colors chiefly desired. Every animal
must be gelding. and from Is to 16 hands
high, and the weight ranging somewhere
between $50 and 1850 pounds. Horses under
five years will not. be taken nor those
over eight The average life of the horse
in the cavalry service is 10 years and TO
stand the rough and fancy riding required
Of them they must be in the prime OF life
when selected and trained
Next to being perfectly sound and free
from all defects, the general intelligence
and brightness Of the horses largely decide
the officers who choose them for the ser
vice. The ideal cavalry horse Is O kind
affectionate animal, but withal so intell-
gent that he can all but guess the thoughts
and wishes of the rider and owner When
the horses are chosen they are sent to the
different forts or to West Point where
the soldiers begin to break them in AS
o If mi ~,
two soon become fast friends, and the
horse, If at all intelligent, soon learns to
love his master. Sometimes the soldiers
get choice animals, and after years of
training and close association their com
partnership Is almost human
There are over 1900 horses in use in the
United States cavalry, and about 10 per
cent Of these die or are discarded each
year. To fill up this annual gap the quar-
termaster and his assistants make their
purchases, selecting promscuously all can
didates that pass the examinations. Many
of the horses come from the western plains
and are easily adapted to their new life:
others come from the large eastern breed
ing establishments, and from the farms;
but probably the largest percentage of
them comes from Central Kentucky where
the strains of both the thoroughbred and
trotting horses have been blended through
many years of careful breeding
Inc cavalry horses when first purchased
are branded with the letters ~. S." on
the side or shoulder. and number is burn
ed into the hoof of one of their feet The
same number is recorded in a book kent
for this purpose, with a full description of
the animals appearance opposite When
this has been performed the animal Is reg.
ularly established in the United States
cavalry service, and the next step is 70
pick out a. master for him. His future own
er may be some fresh young student at
West Point, an officer in the service, or
some common cavalryman stationed at a
far western fort. There Is no dlscrimina-
ton shown in the matter. The cavalry
man thousand or two miles away from
Washington stands as good a chance Of
getting a prize as a West Point student.
Inventions Ahead of Their Time.
A writer i'm Casters magazine c.lIs a.