The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1920-01-16
PRODUCTION OF THOROUGH.
BREEDS MUST BE EN-.
,COURAGED.
PRESENT SUPPLY IS SHORT
Army Would Need One Animal for
Every Two Men Should We Be
Called Upon to Engage in
Military Operation for
Any Reason.

SuitSu SldiSS army III OTSdulZluS dll1
maintaining a horse breeding and
supply scheme for the future forces
OF national defense may be had by Il
study of the reports OF the remOuni
officers of the \. Z. F., for the period
Of l9l1-191S. 1t was found in France
that The old theory that the prop
OsitiOn of horse strength TO man
strength in armies should be two to
five MAS erroneous. One horse for
every TWO men was needed. To their
establishment the officers Of the re-
mount service, many of whom had
never seen the inside of a military
text book until a few weeks before
they received their commissions, dis
covered that six hundred horses were
required TO equip a single infantry
regiment of war strength, that is a
regiment of 5000 to $500 men.
1t was next 10 impossible to obtain
horses in sufficient numbers to
properly equip even the artillery,
transport and ambulance services of
the A. K. F., because for a period OF
two years before the participation OF
the United States i'm the conflict the
entente allies had been draining the
country of horses of all sorts and
kinds. The A. +. F. had no cavalry.
Modern Armies Are Large.
Nowadays armies are reckoned by
hundreds of thousands, if not by
millions. The strength of q single
division Of the 4. E. f., was greater
in men and horses than the biggest
army commanded by Stonewall Jack
son in his entire career The COM
bined armies of Lee and Meade that
took part In the struggle of Gettys-
burg could have done no more in the
titanic conflict that terminated last
miles of the western front. If the
United States were called TO arms.
whether TO defend some interest
peculiarly our own or TO fulfill 4
League of Nations obligation, the
mobilization OF from 100000 to 1000
600 soldiers might be necessary. If
the old theory that the correct pro-
portion of horse strength TO man
strength in armies was still accepted
by military opinion. 100000 horses
would he required for the QUILTING of
half a million soldiers, 100000 for the
Quitting OF a force Of 100000 and,
if an army of half a million or a
million soldiers had TO be kept in the
field in a state of military efficiency
a reserve of 100000 to 100000 would
be necessary. If the future military
forces Of the United States are to be
QUILTED with horses on a one to two
basis with adequate reserves. and
such scheme Of QUILTING would be
necessary If the armies of the United
States were TO attempt Intervention
In Mexico to protect American or
European interests in the maintenance
of the Monroe Doctrine, 1t will be
Necessary to provide an immediate
mobilization force OF from 100000 to
100000 with reserves equally strong.
Today the United States could not
properly outfit with horses an army
Of 100000 soldiers. There are horses
In the country, many of them. But
they are mostly draught horses-Nor-
mans, Percherons, Clydesdales, Bel
gians, Shires, etc.-whose military use
fulness lis limited TO the dragging Of
heavy artillery. Horses Of these
types are not In the least serviceabla
to a mobile army, or an army Of
,nianeuver, AS the new phrase de-
scribes an army that must perform
marches Of fifteen TO twenty miles q
day or retreat qnsrfuy IL strategy sug
'gests rerreat They are too sluggish,
100 lacking in spirit. The horses that
are wanted are the light types and OF
these there are so few the aggregate
may properly be said to be
negligible quantity In any practica!
scheme of national defense. The gasO-
line motor long since made the pro-
duction Of this type of horse I'M
profitable. Farmers and stockmeh
have ceased TO raise light horse in
considerable numbers. The creation or
a new supply must be stimulated by
the United States government, but
nothing the government could do
would suffice if there was any inter-
ference with tife production OF
thoroughbred stations. Stations Of
the thoroughbred types are indispen-
sibfe because the offspring of sucn
stations, whether from mares OF
thoroughbred blood or from mares OF
no particular breeding, proved best
I'm a half century of experimentation,
conducted i'm Europe by the great
military powers before the outbreak
of the war of nations and the hai1
and three-quarter bred Outstayed anc
Outgamed the representatives OF the
colder breeds under the hard con
ditions of actual warfare between
1914 and 1918.
Light Horse Not Raised.
Since it is no longer profitable foi
farmers and stockmen TO raise hgh'
harness horses for the market omcer'
OF the military service who have