Evening star., 1940-10-06
Front Royal Remount
Station Teeming
With Activity
Horses Bought for Army
Duty Being Conditioned
For Modern Bottle
Pictures in Rotogrnpure Sectton)
BY ALFRED TOOMBS,
Star STAFF CORRESPONDENT.

the tnunder tnal was Early, MOSDy
and the other great cavalrymen of
the Civil War the United States
Army is conditioning war horses for
modern battle.
The thump of flying hooves on the
sod and the steady flow Of profan-
ity from the leather lips of mule
skinning Army sergeants echoes
through the clear mountain air
sounds which say that when the
cannon rumbles the cavalry will still
be there.
Through the Army Remount Depot
here-one of three such stations in
the United States-will pass a good
proportion of the 10000 horses which
are being acquired under new mil
atary purchasing program.
Contrary to the opinion of our
leading whisky and soda strategists,
the horse cavalry has not seen its
day-not in Europe. and especially
not in the Americas. There is more
activity at this station than even
the World War brought.
Examined and Inoculated.
Through this and the other two
depots must pass all the horses and
mules which the Army buys. They
are examined, inoculated, condi-
toned and-in the case of the mules
given basic instruction in the pri-
mary curses used by military men.
The horse cavalry, in the mind of
most citizens, has become an an
tiquity. The layman, stepped with
all the military knowledge he has
acquired by reading the newspa-
pers five minutes day, looks at
first upon this place as an anachron-
ism and upon the steeds which gall
lop over its 5000 acres as the ghost
ly get of the Civil War chargers
which raced through the hills nearly
70 years ago.
But any cavalryman can blast this
illusion in few minutes. A cavalry
officer will cite chapter and verse
from the World War, the Spanish
War. the Ethiopian War and the
current fracas to show that without
cavalry recent history would have
been different.
The Germans in their campaign
through the Lowlands and in the
battle of France had 100000 horses
and mules to call upon, American
experts estimate. In the first battles
of the World War before the Ger
mans and Allies dug in, the horse
cavalry played a decisive role and
horses have changed the tide of
battle many time in the little wars
which broke out during the 23-year
truce.
Lacks Military Road System.
In building a defense for the
Western Hemisphere the Army must
contemplate war on terrain where
q tank or scout car would be of
as much use as a submarine In the
Sahara.
Even within the boundaries OF the
United States the motorized cavalry
has its limits. There Is no system
of military roads here such as Euro
pean countries have. In the land
along the Mexican and Canadian
borders there are areas where only
horses can go.
So the building up of cavalry Is
no old-fogey idea. The Army is
trying to make its cavalry units part
horse and part motorized-so that
no matter where 1t has to operate
1t will have the power it needs.
When the call went out for horses
as we entered the World War, Army
officers discovered that they were
getting pretty sorry looking COL
lection of animals. They used what
they could get. but when the war was
over the Army determined that it
was going to build up the American
blood line.
In the 20 years since, the Army
femount service has placed hundreds
OF good stations on breeding farms
In all parts of the country. There
are about 700 such stations out now.
Farmers have been encouraged to
breed their stock to these good
horses.
Far Above World War Average.
At this remount station they are
feaping the benefits. Oficers say
that the horses which come into the
Army now are about 100 per cent
better than the average during the
World War.
Some horses are bought here at
the station from farmers who bring
them in, but most of the horses
which 60 through this depot are
bought by Army purchasing officers
IN other parts of the country. They
are then shipped here prior to distri-
button to the Army posts.
When the horse or mule arrives
here he is placed in quarantine
before being allowed to go near the
animals which have already been
tested. They got inoculations against
glanders and sleeping sickness, are
branded and turned loose in a corral
for three weeks.
Then they are led to the main
tenance area. where for two months
ooiuiCiS sIooil tllCIll, ScIlblc lIlelIl,
fatten them up and get them used
to the Army life.
There are facilities at the re-
mount depot to handle $500 ami
mails at one time. At present there
are about half this number going
through-1.1O0 horses and 900 mules.
s165 Average Price for Horses.
The horses which are bought are
Tor cavalry-15 hands high and more
than 900 pounds-or for artillery
or other draft work The average
price paid is around $165. The price
for mules averages around $780,
They eat more than 100000 tons of
forage every three months.
The age limit on horses is from
4 to years, but under the ex-
panded buying program the Army
flnds 1t necessary to take some s.
year-olds and many over the 8-year
limit.
The remount station maintains a
laboratory, the only one OF its kind
in the Army. where research Is done