AMERICAN HORSES IN BELGIUM. 29 



francs. The descriptions of the horses in the army here and those 

 of our own service are practically the same, but the animals them- 

 selves are quite different. This seems paradoxical, but it is due to 

 the different needs and the ideas in the two countries. We have 

 weight carriers, with large barrels, to stand hard work and to become 

 " rustlers " when forage gives out. The horses here are more care- 

 fully treated, have much smaller barrels, and are more lightly and 

 gracefully built than ours. I think that our Government horses are 

 better than those of this country, but the officers here have much 

 finer mounts than our own. 



I came from London a few days ago on the same boat with 30 

 Irish horses being brought over for the Belgian cavalry. They were 

 animals of the small hunter type, rather well bred, although many of 

 them had large ears and not pretty heads. The dealer said that he 

 paid £30* for them in the south of Ireland; the cost of bringing 

 them over was about £2 ; he got for them 1,150 francs. His profit was 

 then about £14 ($70) a head. 



Horses for the service are inspected at the barracks of the regi- 

 ments by boards consisting of two officers and a veterinarian, and the 

 colonel or his representative is always present. When accepted they 

 are paid for at the contract price. The contractors become expert in 

 buying the type of animal that they know from experience will prob- 

 ably be accepted, make few mistakes, and have few horses left on 

 their hands. 



Officers are allowed to choose and to take from the contractors at 

 the fixed price horses that they wish, but frequently they will buy 

 outside and pay much more for horses that suit them. They, too, are 

 fond of the high-stepping, stylish saddle animals, and, like the Mexi- 

 can in regard to his sombrero, will give more than their year's pay 

 for a fine mount. 



Those who wish to import horses to this country or to the rest of 

 the Continent will do well to communicate with Mr. B. Gregoir, 5 

 Place de la Commune, Antwerp. He is a Belgian who has traveled a 

 great deal in the United States. He has built large stables, now 

 accommodating more than 300 horses, in Antwerp for the convenience 

 of shippers. The sellers have the use of the stables, etc., apcording 

 to the following: 



AMBBICAN STABLES. 



[Cable address: American Stables, Antwerp. ABC code used. Rue Montigney, Antwerp. 

 Space for 160 horses, 10 box stalls.] 



The largest stables in Belgium, with, best accommodations for foreign shippers; 

 near the quay, railway depot, great boulevards, street cars coming from any part 

 of the city. Nice and cheap rooms and boarding same place. Great manage, and 



*The State Department gives the value of the & sterling as $4,866 in United 

 States money. Ordinary calculations in round numbers are usually made on the 

 basis of five dollars to the pound (£). 



