I'he Patient at the Front. 



A cliloriifiinued /tarsc about to scUlc i;en//y itowtt before 

 cm opuriifioit. 



'J'he\- emphasise the good work being 

 clone by the Army \'eterinary Corps and, 

 infer alia, show lliat the inspectors of the 

 Society are upholding, in war, the reputation 

 for energy and humanity w hich they deservedly 

 enjoy in times of peace. 



b'rom I'rixate H. C. I)., Army Vet. Corps. 

 " We are very busy with our four-footed 

 patients, wounded, lame and sore, pitiful 

 sights some of them are, poor things, but how 

 patiently they stand to have their wounds 

 attended to. One realises fully the horrors 

 of war when we are in contact with our dumb 

 friends. But you can rest assured that all is 

 being done that is possible to relieve their 

 sufferings. We are the most advanced 

 hospital, and expect to be moving nearer the 

 firing line shortly." 



From Prixate W . K., Army \'eterinary Corps. 

 " W'e have a great number of horses in 

 hospital, about 800 I believe — wounded, sore, 

 lame, and no pains are spared in trying to 

 alleviate their sufferings, and making them as 

 comfortable as it is possible to do. Our 

 Officer Commanding is a splendid man for 

 both horses and men under his command." 



I""rom Sergt. A., 35th Brig. Ammunition Col. 

 " 1 am pleased to say the horses in our 

 Army out here are receiving every possible 

 care and attention. Also, now the cold 

 weather has set in, our horses are getting 

 rugs, which, when taken into consideration 

 for active service, is good." 



From Sergeant B. 

 " During the early stages of the war 

 when the British E.xpeditionary Force was 



called upon to lake the brunt of the German 

 advance, and retreat before it towards Paris, 

 there were, naturally, many instances of 

 horses ha\ing to be ridden with sore backs, 

 caused by hard riding. It was practically 

 impossible to avoid this, as the closeness of 

 overwhelming numbers of the enemy gave 

 the B)ritish Force little or no rest, and a 

 number of sore backs was the result. Where- 

 e\er possible e\ery thing was done to minimise 

 suffering. In cases of sore back the blankets 

 were folded to remove as much pressure as 

 possible from the affected part. In the case 

 of transport horses, harness galls, etc., were 

 relieved by paddings of sheep's wool, and, 

 when possible, a change of horses. Horses 

 wounded by shell or rifle fire were always 

 destroyed, and the men sent back on the motor 

 supply lorries, which were usually in touch 

 with us. I saw many instances, when the 

 enemy have been hot on our heels, and their 

 guns keeping up a continuous shell fire, of 

 wounded horses having been mercifully des- 

 troyed by a farrier sergeant or some other 

 N.C.O. shooting theni by means of their 

 re\ol\^ers. When the German advance was 

 turned into a retreat, every attention was then 

 given to all horses suffering from saddle or 

 harness galls. Fresh horses were procured in 

 a good many cases, and the affected ones 

 were attended to or destroyed, according to 

 the nature of their ailment. Lameness, how- 

 e\er slight, was usually met by the animal 

 being destroyed. After the battle of the 

 Aisne there was formed in each regiment of 

 my brigade a column, called B. Echelon. 

 This echelon consisted of officers' spare 

 horses and sick horses, and it marched along 

 in rear of the brigade'"and' always mo\'ed at a 

 walk. 



R.S.P.C.A. Float at the Front. 



