WAR-HORSES IN ACTION.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 255, 11 December 1914, Page 1 (Supplement)

WAR-HORSES IN ACTION.

KISKS THEY RUN ON THE BATTLE-HELD.

It will probably surprise you, said a retired coionul oi iiusoars, to learn that j a cavalry horse usually enjoys a battle at ieaat as much aa ins rder, and disp*ajs a» much courage in it. tie will cnaie and stamp wiui impatience wh.le waning ror the order to charge. and at j the signal will dash forward luce a grey-' hound released from the le&sk, lull ot j tire and lury, and often neighing wild- s ly. At ihe moment of contact with the' enemy he will rear, striking and biting savagely at the opposing Horses and' trampling down the infantry. I \> nen his rider fails he win dash along with ins-fellows and crash a s gallamly into the toe. in the famous cnarge ot tne Light lingade scores ot riderless noises s"'ept down tlie " V alley of Ueath,'' thuuder.ng through the smoke un to ihe Kussian guns, and galloped uacK to satety witu tne snattered rem- j naiit of tlie lirigade. Eire horses raced : necK aud neck with Lord Alfred Paget, | wlw rode in advance of the line, so eager Mere tliey to get at the enemy. And not only is the well-trained charger as brave as his rider ; he is often as intelligent. He knows the bugle callg just as well, and answers them a» promptly. In fact, 1 have known many a case in which a horse has put his rider right when he has mistaken an order, and has gone faultlessly through a manoeuvre iu spite ot the ©ttorts ot hit mistaken master to make him do tlie wrong thing.

TRAINING THE WAR-HORSE. No, the process of training is neither long nor difficult. The first step is to accustom the horse Jo the sound of firing att cloee quarters. With this object he is put on the ground with legs tied, and while in th's position a pistol is fired close to his ear, over his back, between his legs, and so on, until his feai is overcome. After a tew such lessons it is safe t 0 mount him with a bridle furnished with a curb-bit, and under this control lie is taught to stand still while a pistol or carbine is fired from hus back —the latter naturally coming last, as both hands ar e required in using this weapon. . Then follows sabre-practice on o mUar lines, until the horse is as indifferent to the whirl and flash of a sword about his head as to the explosion of acarbme above it. Within a tew weeks tho hors® not only loses all trace ot nervousness; he really enjoys the experience and enters enthusiastically into it. In battle the cavalrv horse faces even a greater risk of death or disablement than his rider, although tho gallant animal ly gets any of the laurels of war. His danger, however, is by 110 means so great as it was. MORE KILLED THAN MEN.

In tho eighteenth century 150 horses fell in battb for every 100 men; from 1800 to 1863 the proportion had fallen to 1-0; and m more recent wars the ratio has been approximately 12 homes to iM men. In some charges, however, the proportion has been greater, as in that of the L'ght Brigade, in which eighty more horses than men sacrificed their But while the war-horse seldom gets credit for his prowess and devotion, there have been happily a few cases in which he has shared hi* master's glories —am-ong them Lord Roberts s pretty little Arab, Yolonel, who carried him in tho famous march from Kabul to Kandahar, and round whoso neck, at Queen Victoria's express wish, lie hung tho Kabul medal, with four clasps, and the bronze Kandahar star.