The San Francisco call., 1904-08-07
FINDING HORSES
FOR CAVALRY
Officers of the German Army
More Successful in Solving
Problem Than ANY Others
WORK ON A FINE SYSTEM
Our Horse Population About
21,OOO,OOO by the Census.
Russia Has 25,0OO,0OO

The problem Of supplying the cavalry
with new horses to take the places OF
those grown old or disabled In service,
says the author Of The Cavalry
Horse" is better solved IN Germany
than IN any other country.
The foundation of the solution in
every land is a thorough knowledge OF
the horse population" Our own CEN
sus report shows more than 900
horses Of all sorts and ages. Our army
needs 5000 annually for all purposes
and buys them on contract, paying an
average price Of SIS. The cavalry
horses are the best Of these. They are
bought when five years old and the
price for them is above the average.
average price Of SO. The cavalry
man has his own animal and trains Il
himself
Russia, the only nation which has
more horses than America, counts rs
O0O, 900 in Europe and ASIA The Rus
sian Government buys very young
horses and trains them hard. with the
exception Of those for COssack regt-
ments. The Cossacks are master train
ers and educate their own horses. Great
Britain and France each has 100000
horses. France. with an annual ire
mount in time OF peace OF $4,000 horses
had to buy in America IN the war OF
1871.
GREAT BRITAIN'S SUPPLY SHORT
Great Britain uses only about 1000
remounts a year and does not supply
every cavalryman with a horse In
deed, for $4,000 cavalrymen in the Brit
ish army there are but $4,000 horses.
This proportion Is maintained on the
theory that a certain percentage OF the
men are always sick or otherwise unflt
for duty and do not need the mounts.
Austria has a horse population Of
nearly 1000. 900. but the Government
maintains its own breeding farms for
cavalry horses. In Germany the mat
ter of obtaining remOunts has been re-
duced to an almost perfect system un-
der Government paternalism. The
Government provides fine-bred stall
lions at convenient posts throughout
the country and in return for this serv-
ice every horse owner is required to
bring his animal to the local horse
muster once in ten years. From the
muster are exempt stations. horses un-
der years old or those which are blind
in both eyes, mares with fOal and horses
working in mines. The muster serves
TO show exactly the available horse
strength of the nation.
HORSES BOUGHT BY OFFICERS.
Horses are bought every summer by
commissions of veterinary surgeons
and army officers. They pay about $3.50
each for horses between 8 and 4 years
OF age, and send them on trial to four
depots, where they are kept one year
under scientific training to develop the
chara cteristics necessary in cavalry
horses. Nine thousand are needed each
year, but per cent more are bought.
They run free in paddocks and sheds
on the depot farms, are groomed ten
minutes a day and fed the regular ra-
tion of twelve pounds OF hay, seven and
a half Of oats and fifteen OF straw each
day, with green food part OF the year.
Each regiment has a certain number
of horses condemned each year and
sends a squad to the depot for an equal
number of new horses. There Is al
ways a reserve Of several thousand In
the Government depots and In an
emergency a considerable reserve force
can be mounted without delay and
without the uncertainty due to buying
on contract