HORSES FOR WAR WORK

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 230, 17 June 1918, Page 8

HORSES FOR WAR WORK

i GOOD 'DEPORTS OV AUSTRALIAN | ANIMALS. : 'The Premier of New South AValns ; (Mr. Holman), at the instance of the I Minister of Agriculture, recentlv wrote | to the Commonwealth Government ask- | ing for a report on the various classes of ; Australian horses used in the war. Tho I Acting-Prime Minister Ims replied slatthat "reports'received from the front ' invariably speak of the Australian mili- !. tary horse in general as being at least '■ the equal of (he remount supplied by j. any other part of the world. This j opinion is contributed by. observant offij cers'whose responsibility it is to give \ the greatest ai lent ion to the horsing I of iroops, guns, transport, vehicles, I etc." Mr. AVatt stated also: "The Dej fence' Department has reports froAi I Egypt whirh go to show that the hard--1 ships of desert travelling have proved j: that the Australian lior.se stands out j superior to the horse of any other eountry. A private report from France ; deals with the wonderful. response'that 1 'wounded Australian horses -made. :to i veterinary treatment, as compared wllh

i remount.? raised in Europe and America. I All horses shipped abroad since the war ! started to have given the, greatest ;• satisfaction. The keenest .horsemen, in- : eluding some widely recognised authoj rities, speak in (he most glowing-terms ; of the Australian horses of all services. : All the classes of Australian horses more J than held their own, and in every way ' were superior (o the American or Cana- : dian animals by ..which thev were reI piaced. The Ist Australian Divisional j. Train at the end of December. 1017. in , spite of very heavy casualties inj:he I'as- ■ se.hendaele stunK had still ovei' 50 nei" ' cent, of the original horses wilh which i it left Australia (19141, the record of the ; train being a Tery line one."