The enterprise-recorder. (Madison, Fla.) 1908-1933, 1910-07-14
BREEDING THE ARMY'S HORSES.


charged and the vacancies are filled
by taking mp the remounts.
The German army requires annual-
ly about 1900 remounts, the avSr-
age time OF service of a cavalry horse
being about ten years, that Of a field
artillery horse, whose work Is much
harder, about nine years.
The remounts are purchased in the
country by five commissioners trav-
cling over the horse districts in
spring and summer, buying rs a rule
only three-year-old horses suitable
for the military service, The horses
are brought for this purposes to re-
mount markets by their owners. The
average price paid is about SEAS, the
lowest price being about $3.50 for
light dragon or hussar horses, the
highest about $3.50 for cuirassier
horses or artillery pole horses.
The horses are first taken 10 re-
mount depots. There these raw and
as yet unbroken animals are pre-
pared by proper feeding for the de-
mands OF their coming military SER
vice and at the end Of a year are
turned over TO the troops.
There are twenty-seven remount
depots in all, East Prussia is at the
head Of the remount provinces not
only in the quality but also in the
number Of horses bought The great
national half blood stud farm at
| Trakehnen has put Its stamp on all
the East Prussi0n horses; the tough
| East Prussian is the true soldiers
| horse. West Prussia, however, is not
! far behind, and Posen furnishes a
noble light soldiers horse, while the
Hanoverlan Is better suited for the
| heavy cavalry or for field artillery.
! These are all warm blooded animals,
whereas the horses from the Rhine
provinces and SaXony are cold
blooded and are used principally for
! siege artillery requiring no special
care and training at remount depots,
and are therefore turned over directly
| to the siege batteries.
Remount commissioners assign the
horses to the different regiments, Sc
lecting first the officers horses, then
saddle horses (first and second class)
then draft horses 1.-TWO classes). BY
recent order white or gray horses
are no longer purchased, these colors
being unfit for service on account of
offering too marked a target in the
field. In the regiments the horses
are assigned to the different squad
rons or batteries according to color
black, bay or sorrol
In the autumn maneuvres the men
left behind in the various garrisons
begin to accustom the young horses
to the saddle, bit and rider, but the
actual breaking in and training does
not begin till the late autumn after
the troops return from the man.
euvres. The training Of the re-
mounts lasts through two winters and
the summer between, and not until
after that are the horses tnow six
years old assigned to regular service
in the squadrons or batteries.
The mastering out of the unserv-
iceable horses in the autumn takes
place by sale at public auction, but OF
late years many Of these veterans
have been taken up by the train
troops and the horsed batteries OF
siege artillery for use in training the
I drivers to ride.
The United States will no doubt
model its system somewhat on that
Of Germany.
This new departure in horse breed
ing for our military service cannot
fail to be Of great value to the coun'
try, not only as benefit TO the
mounted troops, but also in improv-
ing the breed Of horses generally
throughout our domain.--New YorR
Sun.