Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-11
I raining Horses to Draw &
the Heavy Fire Engines

~ ~ = 49,
IN the >twenty-three engine houses Of
which Washington can boast there
! are approximately 200 horses. that
night and day stand ready to carry their
| wagons to the scene of the fire. They
are not the ordinary horses which one
sees so frequently on the street. but big
! Thoroughbred specimens that are espe-
cially. fitted for the service they have. to
perform. II the life Of fireman is
looked upon as exciting, the life OF
/ fire engine horse is no less SO. And it
can truly be said that many times the
horses show almost human intelligence.
and do just as much In their way to save
| the property of the citizens of the cap
| ital as do the men who man the wagons
The horses that are used i'm the Dis
| trict fire department are secured from
| one firm. under contract to supply the
government with certain class of horses
| The price paid for each animal must not
be more than ESQ. When horses are
needed Fire Chief Wagner. accompanied
/, by the fire department veterinarian, goes
to the Office of this firm. and there they
examine and try out whatever number
OF horses they may require Once brought
to Washington, the education of a fire
] engine horse begins.
! One Of the most important features in
a horse destined to pull an engine is
10 De long-winded. To be short winded
! Is fatal to his future and any horse so
afflicted is promptly returned The man
/ ner In which this is determined is to
| Hitcn the horse to a light hose cart and
run him up and down the block several
times. If at the end of that time he
| he 10 n 10
for service.
washington has one special engine
mouse at which all the horses bought for
future Laui use use In the fire department are
| kept. This is the house OF engine COM
pany No. 8. on North Carolina avenue
between 9th and eth streets southeast
| Back or the engine house Is a stable,
anu there the animals are housed.
AS to the manner in which they are
trained for service in the department, the
lieutenant OF No. s company explained:
When we break I'm a new horse we
orlng him out here and put him in the
stan he is to occupy. Then we ring the
DELL just as It would be rung in case of
hre The button is pushed which frees
the horses and all the rest run out to
! their places. 1t is the most natural thing
4 III the world for the new horse to follow
! the. old ones. OF course, the men are
waiting, and as soon as the new one
comes out they shove him where he
should be, and hitch him up. We 20
| through that stunt two or three times
DAY and he soon becomes accustomed to
| 1t.
! 'Or we may stand behind the stable
with whip. while some one else is at
the bell. Each time the bell rings we
| q ST ,la,ff1 he
with the first sound of the bell what is
expected Of him. The horses are So in
telllgent that they soon come to realize
what is expected Of them. and in the
comes in. every one Of those horses
jumps UP without a word from anybody,
whether they are asleep or not"
AS he spoke the lieutenant stood strok-
ing the head of a giant gray horse. The
animals big brown eyes were intelligent.
and the occasional culver Of his alert
ears seemed to indicate constant
watchfulness and readiness.
One of the men Of another engine
house, in speaking of the horses said:
I'VE can't always tell when We get
new horse whether or not he has been
broken in. Sometimes they are not.
| Whenever we get new one all the boys
are on the lookout. We ring the bell
and then watch. II he is new his carr
will prick up. and he will commence to
CULVER all over. But if he has been
broken in he will just run out Of his
stall to his place. and not mind the COM
motion at ALL"
And what about the life of fire
horse?"
why. I reckon it's as exciting as ours
is. At 5 o'clock in the morning each
horse is fed, his stable cleaned and his
bed taken out. At noon comes house
drill That means that the bell sounds
and the horses come out Just as IL an
alarm had been turned in. The men also
take part in this drill and go through
the motions of getting ready to leave the
house. After that the, horses are fed
again. At in the evening house drill
| again. and the horses are fed for the
last night that day. and their beds are
| fixed.
During the entire day the horses never
| have the bits out of their mouths with
the exception of the times when they are
eating. Each horse is tied to the side OF
his stall in such a manner that when