WASTAGE OF ANIMALS IN WAR. ' 48 



and "Finishers," and the Veterinary Service "Menders." This 

 broad hne of pohcy--" Fit " and "Unfit" — was laid down by 

 the Director of Eemounts and myself, as Director of Veterinary- 

 Services, from the very beginning of the campaign in France, 

 and was rigidly adhered to throughout. Obviously it was 

 correct ; and its success in avoiding wastage cannot be gainsaid. 



The standard of efficiency and excellence in horses demanded 

 by Units and Formations at the front was very high, appearing 

 sometimes to be bordering on the ridiculous. If the article was 

 not prime, back it came to Lines of Communication with 

 dissertations on the subject of quality. I had great sympathy 

 with Eemount Service in this matter, particularly as horses 

 after a long journey by train, or a dusty or rainy road journey, 

 do not as a rule look their best ; and at the instance of the 

 Director of Eemounts, I arranged with my representatives with 

 Formations not to report on remounts until they had been at 

 least three days with their units. The particularity was also 

 reflected by Eemount Depots on Veterinary Hospitals, and the 

 output from the latter to Eemount Service had to be issues de 

 luxe. It all sounds somewhat absurd when, as the war 

 progressed, there were category "B" horses as well as men; 

 but when one seriously considers it, the procedure was correct.. 

 We were able by all our means to keep down the total 

 inefficiency of our Force to 12 per cent, in winter, and about 7 

 per cent, in summer, only 2 per cent. inefBciency existing at. 

 the Front. 



Horses, too, like ourselves, have their "days." They look 

 fine creatures one day and awful brutes another. And a propos 

 remount purchasing, I like to relate a story of a well-known 

 and experienced Eemount Agent in Calcutta, who on walking 

 round the lines of his purchases one day, stopped at a loose box 

 containing a sorry looking object. " What horse is this ? " 

 asked he. " One you bought from Mr. So-and-so a few days 

 ago," was the reply. " You don't mean to tell me that I bought, 

 such a horse " was his comment. Further on in the line was a 

 horse of noble presence, full of fire and indignity at rejection.. 

 " By jove, there's a beautiful horse," said the Eemount Agent. 

 "Yes, that is- one of Mr. So-and-so's which you rejected a few 

 days ago," was the answer. 



A good many of us have been up against similar situations. 



