ARMY REMOUNTS

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2723, 18 March 1916, Page 12

ARMY REMOUNTS

TRAINING IN THE HORSE-LINES

THE MAN WITH THE LANTERN

(By Will Lawson.J

_ Dusk ivas warm over the Upper Hutt Valley and a now moon, riding above the western hills, gave assurance that darkness would' not come for some time. The silver mistiness in the sky below the moon was cold by contrast with the ruddy hush fires that blazed on the hills beyond Trentham Camp and made lurid tho clouds above them. The evening was very still, and from .a-paddock close to the' main road at Tipper Hutt camo the stamp of hoofs and tho rattle of head-stall chains. In the dim light a line of ghostly, sheeted shapes told where some horse-lines wore, an -offshoot of flie main Remount Depot, for it is tho practice now to deal with the remounts in scattered groups, rather, than in .a mass of animals numbering several hundreds, though tho hulk of tho horses are still accommodated at the big depot.

11l the horse-lines behind the hedge there were about 20 liorses of tho kind that are. used as troop-horses.. Each had been givon a generous bundle of hay in the late afternoon. Their steady chewing was a distinct sound. A. stout rope, stretched along a line of posts, formed their anchorage, the head-stalls being securely tied to the rope, at intervals sufficient to allow each horse a-mnle room without rubbing shoulders with its neighbour. As the twilight waned, and only the dim moonlight remained, a light gleamed in the horselines. The man on'guard was lighting his lantern, which he would keep beside him' all night, during his vigil. For, like the horses of the army, these animals that are being trained for military work are never left unguarded. From the angle of a box on which the watchman sat, the lantern threw a brilliant beam across the paddock; the man's clothing reflected a warmer glow. Presently he stood up and picked up the lantern. Along the lino ho went, the Bright light swinging and throwing odd shadows of his moving legs. The horse at the ond of the row, hichspirited and intelligent, snorted at the light, then nickered at the man's approach. He spoke to it ill a "low voice, bent and gathered its scattered hay together again, and patted it on its strong neck. So, back to his station in the centre of the lino he moved, speaking to each horse and adjusting feed

or halter-ropes. He sat. down for minutes or so, and watched the bloodred fires on the hills and flie lights of a passing train. Then he took his lantern 'again and. visited the liorses on the other half of the lines. As the night wore on, the lights in the cottages about him went out. But if any of the inmates looked out during the still, warm night, they would" see the bright light, sometimes at .rest, at other times moving along the horse-lines, for the man with the lantern was on duty from dark till reveille. Breakfast Time. . In the remount depot, reveille sounds at half-past five; hut no bugles blew in the horse-Hues behind the hedge. There was 110 need for them, for across tfhe_ paddocks came ten grooms, and behind them a dray that carried wellfilled nose-bags. The night guard took his Jantern, long sinco extinguished, and hand-bag, and went to breakfast and bed at the depot, while tho grooms, with dexterous hands, took the covers off the horses, and began their work with brush and comb and currycomb. There was.a stir along the lines that had been so still. Horses whinnied and squealed, lashing out playfully and snapping bared teeth. Army horses are always groomed beforo being fed; the ticklish operation, coupled with the expeotaric'y in regard to their feed, makes all but tho most placid among them high-spirited and gay, feelings which they express in a hundred and one different ways. Tho morning sunshine also helped to make them feel good in the horse-lines behind the hedge; and when, the grooming finished, tho men picked "up the nosebags and began to serve them out, an expression of pleasure that was almost a cheer_ ran along the lines. ' Stnct cleanliness is the golden rule ill the horse-lines. After breakfast each horse had its mouth and nostrils washed with cloths that had been soused in a disinfectant mixture carried 111 a bucket. The dray which had brought the nosebags came lumbering across the paddock again to gather up She refuse, .which was being swept up by the grooms, and as the sweepers cleared the space occupied by each horse, a helper, carrying a hand-sprayer, sprayed the ground and the horses' lioofs with _disinfectant. Many, of the 1 animals objected to this, and executed four-step dances of an extraordinary kind, snorting loudly all tho time. But there_ was no real fear expressed, such as might be shown by a new horse in military horse-lines. An' important part of tho education of troop-horses, gun-horses, and artillery teams is proper behaviour in the lines- -to get used to being tied up to a rope and to all the. cleaning-'up and handling which thfv go through in the lines. Some of the raw recruits even object to having a nosebag put over their heads, though that is an objection which is soon overcome. To stand still for hours, except for a slight change of position, is also trying to some. Every morning, however, tho animals are taken out in threes for exercise, tho grooms, riding one and leading two. It is noticeable that on tho return trip from these exercise parades, there is a keenness shown by tho horses to get back, and that is explained by the fact that shortly before noon another feed is due in tho welcome nosebags. For these horses soon develop most healthy appetites. Th-jy eat an'l drink, and are aroomed and cared for, and at night the man with tlio lantern watches over thorn from dark till reveille. They come from all narts of New Zealand to the Remount Depot, and thoy go. in due time, wherever the British Armv needs them, which Ts often a very long way indeed ironi Lie horse-lines behind the hedge.