RIDING HORSES. 127 



made pair to the Commissioner or other notability, but for their 

 generally satisfactory service as light troop-horses and their 

 superiority over the country-bred of Es. 250 value. Their vs^ar 

 record on the frontiers of India, with the Indian Cavalry Corps 

 in France and in Palestine, clearly proves their merit and 

 usefulness for Indian Cavalry men, who are not as heavy as the 

 British soldier, though the sowar went up in weight consider- 

 ably in France. Their value as trained troop-horses was also 

 appreciated by the Indian Cavalry Corps in France, who 

 specially asked that arrangements might be made whereby 

 units could get their own horses back after treatment in 

 Veterinary Hospitals, which could easily be effected by 

 Bemount Service, as the animals were branded with the 

 regimental designation. 



Australian horses are all branded, and it . is comparatively 

 easy to tell the part of the Commonwealth from which they 

 come. The largest number of military horses that I see in 

 India at present hail from Queensland. Importers also have 

 their own brands, placed under the saddle, and the merits or 

 otherwise of the importer's purchases can therefore be duly 

 observed. 



New Zealand horses are much more like English horses in 

 appearance than Australians, and they are unbranded. 



It was unfortunate and regrettable that the Australian horses 

 sent to South Africa during the Boer War of 1899-02 were 

 adversely reported on. The reason was that shipments were 

 not typical of what Australia could produce as their real or most 

 suitable war horse. Most of the animals required during that 

 war were for Mounted Infantry purposes. Small horses of the 

 cobby, type were asked for. Such animals did not exist, at least 

 not to any appreciable extent. There were " brumbies," 

 " bounders," and small, weedy thorough-breds — the result of 

 breeding for speed in five-furlong racing, a veritable curse in 

 the horse-breeding of any country. One can quite understand 

 the disappointment in Australian shipments of this class, and 

 the bad report which followed. Moreover, during that War 

 the wastage was so severe that importations were practically 

 sent straight up the line, and never had a chance of showing 

 any merit. 



