THE AMERICAN HORSE 69 



carcass to transport, and never spares his many ponies, as 

 the soldier must his single horse. It has been suggested 

 that the California horse be tried, and in the South-west 

 this has been done, but without such results as to satisfy 

 all authorities. The California horse is small — fourteen 

 and a half to fifteen hands — weighs under nine hundred 

 pounds, and cannot well carry a heavy trooper and pack 

 whose weight overruns two hundred and thirty pounds. 

 But given light men of not exceeding a hundred and forty 

 pounds, recruited in the South-west, given a pack reduced 

 to the lowest limits, this horse would be of the greatest 

 utihty. He is acclimated, has the much -enduring stom- 

 ach of the old stock, is more active, and does not so soon 

 get used up. 



In thus criticising the American horse, it will not do to 

 underrate him. He is capable of very great feats of en- 

 durance. Without question, the hardest continuous dis- 

 tance rides are those habitually performed by our cavalry 

 on the plains. This is partly due to the exceptional 

 knowledge of the capacity of the horse to perform which 

 our cavalry officers have acquired in their hard service, 

 but partly also to the horse himself. And when we note 

 that this animal is the common country horse, bought by 

 the Government at a low price — the horse which will not 

 command a price high enough to be worth sending far to 

 market — it speaks well for the quality of our American 

 stock. After a second summer in the ranks he becomes 

 used to exceptional feats, and can be kept on hard service 

 without grain for a month. 



Considering all the circumstances — that the cavalry re- 

 cruit is often a city -bred lad, who knows practically noth- 

 ing about a horse, and has to be taught it all ; that he 

 is employed too much on duties which unfit him for his 

 work ; that he as well as his horse has to be acclimated : 



