Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-05
Vagaries of Equine Tastes-Roast Beef
Instead of Fodder.

| From Forest and stream
MIR. Hardy, in the current number, under
the caption of Cats Eating Corn" gives an
instance of a horse which ate cooked beef
L have in mind some three different horses
which may be said to have had "A perverted
appetite. One a small haf-breeG Texas
horse which had for few months. would
eat fresh piece of beef large as din
ner plate and an inch thick. He ate it Just
as a dog would holding it down with his
forefoot, then tearing off chunks OF it and
swallowing them. This appetite for fresh
beef was so well known that none of IL
was ever left within his reach except by
accident. When it was. whoever left 1t
never saw it again. The troop that | first
served in had horse that died in it when
he was twenty-three years old Seventeen
of those years he had put In with this
troop. fifteen of them under the saddle. He
had been shot several times once through
the neck and once in the flank; but neither
shot had sent him to the rear He never
had been sick day.
The last two years of his life he spent
on the retired list but was still marked fit
for duty in order to keep him there; any
other horse would have been condemned
and sold; but he was kept as matter of
sentiment. and had nothing TO do but eat
and sleep. The only other horse that l ever
knew TO be trea ted this way was the one
which survived the Custer massacre: he was
kept in troop of the eth Cavalry until
he died He was saddled up and led out in
every mounted inspection. Dut was never
ridden by any one.
This old horse of ours 1--WE called him
Bummer) was never tied in the day time
but let go where he pleased. He paid regu-
lar visits to the cook house; there getting
his head in the slop barrel. he would half
empty the barrel. 1t did not seem to make
any difference to him what he found there
bean soup, stale bread cooked meat or
potato parings-all went. He did not need
the stuff: he got just what the other horses
got to eat twice day.
dismounted at Macon. Ga. and sent to
Texas; here We got the cd horses
that the 18th New York had been
riding. and l kept a lookout for a
a small sorrel mare. Mares are never
used in time of peace. but for the last four
years before this anything that could carry
a saddle would be used We had three OF
these mares by the time We were all mount
ed. They had been captured down south.
none of them had been bought My mare
just suited me; she could carry me nifty
miles day. then carry me back again next
day ii l wanted her to do It, / had her
about two days when L found out that she
chewed tobacco. She grabbed small pack
age of fine cut out of my hand. and then
stood chewing 1t. paper and all Seeing that
it did not hurt her. / kept her in tobacco
buying the leaf tobacco that All these
hand of it for a silver dime; that would
not have paid the duty on 1t had any been
paid. but the collector had not got here yet;
when he did come these men had to stop
selling 1t at any price. I never went near
my mare without bringing her tobacco: IL
she did not get it right away she would be-
gin to shove me with her nose and keep
1t up until l gave her the usual chew. When
we were ordered TO turn In our mares
few months after this l parted with her
with more regret than 1 have since felt
when parting with better horse than she
was.
l rode horse for four years. my
horse Charley which would eat half peck
of peaches as fast as 1 could remove the
stones out of them. The same horse could
stopping.