The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1899-08-12
CHOOSING ARMY HORSES.
A RIGID EXAMINATION PASSED BY
THOSE WHICH JOIN THE CAVALRY.

|
must have his full quota Of good cav
airy horses every year, and he will
not retire from the business until some
fertile Drained inventor finds o good
mechanical substitute that will accom-
plish 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
intelligence little short of human to
replace them satisfactorily.
The cavalry service needs about 700
new horses every year, and prices
varying from $125 to $3.50 are paid
for these. A few years ago these
prices were considered so low that the
offers of fine horses were not very
numerous.
But to-day there has been a radical
change inaugurated, and Uncle Sam
never had such al opportunity for Sc
Letting fine horses at his own price.
The price of horse flesh has dropped
to such point that 5000 is now con-
sidered o fair sum for some pretty fine
animals, racers as we'll as roadsters
and work horses. When the quarter
master goes into the field to select his
horses to-day he is deluged with offers,
and such fine animals, tool There
are trotters in whose veins courses the
noblest blood of the leading racers OF
q past generation; sleek, well-formed
animals, whose slender, rounded limbs
and intelligent eyes and gracefully
curved necks betray their Arabian an
cestry; and pedigreed stock whose arls-
tocratic lineage goes back to the days
of the Normans and Romans.
For the cavalry service a certain
type of horse, however, must be selec-
| ted, and the claims Of others cannot
be listened to, no matter what they
NAV be. The animal must be gentle
ard free from all vicious habits, and q
fair, nimble trotter. Each one offered
must pass rigid examination before
veterinary experts, who test every part
Of the body and limbs for defects or
blemishes. Even the mouth must be
moderately sensitive, and not SO hard
ened to the bit that o 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 thai
will wear well, and not require toe
much grooming to make it look pre-
sentable. Sorrel, black and bay are
the colors chiefly desired. Every AMI
NAL must be gelding, and from fit
teen to sixteen hands high, and thu
weight ranging somewhere between
$50 and 1850 pounds. Horses unde:
five wears will not be taken, nor thos'
over eight. The average life OF tn
horse in the cavalry service is ffteel
wears. and to stand the rough MT
fancy riding required Of them the,
must be in the prime OF life whel
selected and trained.
Next to being perfectly round an
free from all defects, the general II
telligence and brightness Of the horse
largely decide the officers who choos
them for the service. The ideal cay
airy horse is o kind, affectionato on
NAL, but withal so intelligent that h
! can oil but guess the thoughts al
wishes of the rider and owner. Wine
the horses are chosen they are sent
the different forts or to West Poin
where the soldiers begin to brea
them in. As one man has full chare
y of each animal the two soon becom
fast friends, and the horse, if ct all il
teIligent, soon learns to love his ma
ter. Sometimes the soldiers get choi'
animals, and after years of trainir
and close association their compa'
ionship is almost human.
There are over 1000 horses in use
the United States cavalry, and abo'
" ten per cent. of these die or are di
carded each year. To fill up this o
nual gap the quarter-master and b
A' assistants make their purchases, selet
= ING promiscuously all candidates tn
mass the examinations. Many Of t
> horses come from the western plain
and are easily adapted to their NE
life; others come from the large ea'
ern breeding establishments and frc
the farms; but probably the large
70 percentage of them come from cent?
| kentucky where the strains OF be
I thoroughbred and trotting horses ha
been blended through many years
) careful breeding.
y The cavalry horses, when Ill
j" purchased, are branded with the
tiers ST. S." on the side or should
49, and n number is burned into the hi
- Of one foot. The same number
e recorded in book kept for this p1
3 pose, with q full description OF I
3 animals appearance opposite. WI
q this has been performed the animal
8 regularly established in the Unit
9 states cavalry service, and the n
8 step is to pick out master for HI
q His future owner may be some fr
3 Young student at West Point, an
g cor in the service, or some CONN
8 cayalryman stationed OF far west
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