RIDING HORSES. 133 



fillip to production on good lines, and towards more valuable 

 animals. 



The Indian-bred horses which went to France with the 

 Indian Cavalry Divisions consisted of (a) those belonging to 

 Silladar regiments and Imperial Service Troops, and (6) those 

 belonging to British Cavalry units, the latter being the best of 

 their kind. The specifications in height of Indian Cavalry- 

 horses are 14-2 to 15-1, and of British Cavalry 14-3 to 15-2. 



A large number of the horses of the Indian (Silladar) Cavalry 

 and Imperial Service Troops were weedy, undersized animals, 

 unsuitable for Cavalry service in France. Many were also 

 unsound — never got beyond Marseilles, and .had to be cast. 

 Under a Silladar system one cannot expect a very high-cl%ps 

 trooper, but for light Indian Cavalry and service in his own 

 country and in the East, the Indian , country-bred justifies his 

 comparative small cost. 



With the greater outlay in respect tO' the mounting of British 

 Cavalry units one naturally looks for something superlative, and 

 it is questionable whether the necessary degree of excellence 

 and suitability has been attained — at least to an extent justified 

 by the outlay. Though the 17th Lancers reported highly on 

 their animals in France, speaking generally as a class, and 

 including both British and Indian Cavalry, I am distinctly of 

 opinion that the Indian country-bred is not up to sufficient 

 weight for service in a European country where heavy going is 

 the rule. So many are weedy, leggy, and split-up, and 

 moreover are excitable. A considerable number were evacuated 

 for Debility, and showed a low standard of recuperative power. 

 One Veterinary Hospital reported that the Indian country-bred 

 was defective in his feet, and that in this class a high percentage 

 of Navicular Disease existed. 



However, as the Indian Cavalry Divisions left France for 

 service in Palestine, and Indian Cavalry Brigades took part in 

 the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, where horses had a 

 more favourable scope for real Cavalry service, it is to those 

 theatres that report as to the merits of the Indian country-breds, 

 and particularly of those better class of animals on the strength 

 of British Cavalry units, should prove most valuable. I have 

 no special information to form an opinion, but the glorious 



