Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-06-28

w WASHINGTON, c., May S.-This is the
w first war in which any organized attempt
has been made to conserve the lives of
horses. In the Crmean war, the Boer var, the
Russo-Japanese war, and even recently in the
war of the Balkans, horses were sacrificed
enormous scale. Tales of horses that lay for
Gays, wounded and helpless, battle helds de-
serted by an advancing army of plind horses
that died slow death of starvation, and of riv-
ers changed to red by horses blood we're suhi
clehtIy horrible to start a movement among
horse-lovers to prevent their reoccurrence. But
1t is from an economic, rather than sentimental
point of view that the lives of horses are so
carefully guarded in this war.
1t is the same kind of economy that demands
the conservation of all human wreckage of the
battle field. and of metal shrapnel well. 1t is
the economy that has created reconstruction
force equally numerous, equally scientific
and equally as necessary the force of destruc-
ton
The horse that goes to war today is as care
fully protected with the exception of insurance,
as the man who rides him. He is chosen by the
purchasing officers with as much to his
physical capacity and suitability And when he
gets to the firing line there is army veterina-
rian to look after him.
The purchasing of army horses is done by the
Quartermaster's corps of the department.
After being passed upon by purchasing board
of experts, they brought in large numbers by
agents of the war department to the horse re-
cruiting stations, where they carefully in
spected by the army veterinarians. AS in the
OF enlisted me1, when great many horses
are brought together it usually develops that
strangles, CHAMBERS and influenza. Hence, the
sick cases must be isolated, and the other horses
inoculated with vaccines prepared preventives.
1t is interesting to discover that the practice
of taking the patients temperature and making
him display his tongue is not one originated by
physicians merely to embarrass impress their
cases. For they take the horses temperature,
and look at his tongue, too Moreover, the same
drugs are administered to him that admins
tered to the human animals only (poor horse!)
in larger doses
when the horses have been thoroughly in
snected and their physical condition brought up
to standard they then distributed among the
various training camps. Even here, the horse is
kept under close surveillance by army veterinarians
detailed to each camp. They must see that MS
living quarters are clean and comfortable, and,
above ALL that they are we'll ventilated The
horse is a fresh air fend. They must also make
sure that his drinking water is fresh and uncon-
taminated There certain water-borne diseases
that are contracted by horses, so that his drinking
supply requires careful analysis as that OF man
His forage, moreover must be scrupulously
inspected by the veterinarian, for the horse is an
animal which is very fastidious about MS loou
and possesses firm and unalterabe habits OF eat
ing Unlike the amiable COW and the hog, the
horse insists upon his food being clean, which is
not an unreasonable demand when you consider
that horses arc subject to attacks OF forage pol
soning quite terrible as the human p.omalne
poisoning. furthermore he likes his 1000 10 DC
served at tho same time every day. 1t Is we'll
known horse fact that animals fed at diherent
intervals every dav lose their appetites and finally
their robust health.
pected that nothing could happen to disturb the
life of the horse but this is not correct assump
ton. Manv things happen to him. He can
contract bronchitis, CT pneumonia, or tuberculosis,
or a sprained tendon any number of Affections
visited also upon There is still plenty of
work for the army veterinarian. Distributed
among the various training camps are horse hos
pitfalls in charge of veterinary surgeons, and
horses becoming i'll debilitated imme-
diately removed to them. Here they are treated,
operated on if necessary, and then put in nice
green meadow for period of convalescence.
Frequently, veterinary finds that there is
nothing the matter with horse except his teeth.