ARMY HORSES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2669, 15 January 1916, Page 10

ARMY HORSES

SCENES AT REMOUNT DEPOT HORSES FROM ALL PARTS 1 , 'At the present time horses suitable for military purposes avo being purchased by the Government in all parts of New Zealand and sent to tlie Remount Depot at Upper Hutt, to be transformed, in outward appearance as well as in trained intelligence, into troop horses and horses for-gun-teams and teams for the transport wagons. On Thursday there were about 500 horses in the horse-lines at tho depot, and in tho evening another batch from tho south came in. In the early hours of yesterday morning, however, over 400 of these horses were to be entrained and taken to other quarters, in continuation of their training for use at the front. Altogether 1000 horses will be required by the end of tho month to make np a draft for the Imperial Government. After that the buying and training of horses will go on steadily, as the mounted forces of all future reinforcements will tako their horses with them. Classes of Horses. Of the three classes of -horses now being bought, the artillery teams averago about £30 each, while tho threequarter draughts and those for mounted work cost approximately £20 each. Some, of course, run to a higher figure, and some a little lower. Looking at the hundreds of animals standing, row after row, in. , the liues, one was struck by the fact that the colour of them, as a mass, was a brownish black. The lightest shade was a medium chestnut and the darkest a pure black; but tho predominating colour was a light bay. Light chestnuts, roans, and greys are not favoured, chiefly because horses of these colours do not stand the sea voyage well —they are highly strung and have not always the stamina of the darker coloured animals. .White markings were also absent.

Location of the Depot.' The situation of the Remount Depot is about a quarter of a mile from the railway sidings where the trucks are handled and the grounds are sheltered by trees and hedges from the winds, having been originally used as a nursery garden. Two large buildings are used as forage stores and a blacksmith's shop has been erected in a sheltered corner. The horse lines are of the army pattern, a strong rope, stretched between posts, forming each line. To this the halter ropes are tied and each horse has ample room to move about and to lie down if it wants to. Coming, as they do, from all parts and many being rather wild, in some places the lines are distinctly lively. But the men in attendance say that it is wonderful how quickly even the most intractable horse submits to discipline.

A Scene of Animation. Yesterday afternoon the depot was a lively place. In the smiths' shop, eight horses were being shod, and four more were being fitted with shoes outside. A rubbish firo was smouldering a few yards from the end of tho second horseline, and tho end horse , was almost going into convulsions because the smolra was blowing over him. He sprang back in his halter, making the post jump and creating a stir of .interest along tho line. Heads were turned, and ears pricked up. Then ho sagged back steadily, and hung there for several minutos, only to leap into tho air, plunge and snort and spring back again. Soon ho learnt that the smoke could not hurt him, and that the post and ropes were stronger tlum he; so lie settled down to nibble his hay, and the excitement died down;.

Their Army Rig, At another place, in the open air, a long-coated bay mare was being clipped, probably for the first time in lier life. Tho smooth way m which the machine trimmed tho long hair off and left a shilling coat of a rmich lighter colour was pretty to watch, though her ladyship did not approvo of the process at all. Clipped horses stand a sea journey better than undipped ones. In addition to this smartening Tip, their maues and tails are trimmed squarely eff, hogged and tanged, to use the technical terms, and each horse is branded with the Government brand on tho near fore hoof. Taken altogothcr, the whole 500 horses were a good-look-ing lot, in good condition, and full of lifo and intelligence. And no doubt there would be some lively doings in the _ eanrly hours of this morning in getting them safely bestowed in their trucks, a process calculated to occupy four hours.