REQUIREMENTS FOR GERMAN ARMY HORSES. 31 



tion, and have taken into consideration the fact that horse dealers 

 here as elsewhere are prone to exaggeration, depending, of course, 

 upon the point of view. 



REQUIREMENTS FOR GERMAN ARMY HORSES. 



[Extract from report of Lieutenant von Kuhn.] 



Horses for service in the German army must have good blood, sound 

 legs and feet, a strong back, fit to carry heavy weight. Special atten- 

 tion is paid to the compactness of the back and groin. It is also 

 necessary for the horses to have a regular, swinging action. Further, 

 it is considered desirable that the horses should have a long and set- 

 tled shoulder, well-marked withers, large quarters, a broad chest, a 

 well-shaped neck, a muscular forearm, with short bones and wiry 

 tendons, strong hecks, and fetlocks in good position, neither too soft 

 nor too straight. 



Horses bought for the cuirassier regiments must measure at the least 

 1.53 meters; those for all regiments of the uhlans, for the dragoons, 

 and the hussars of the guard, 1.49 meters; for all other regiments of 

 dragoons and hussars, 1.46 meters; the draft horses of the artillery, 

 1.52 meters, and for the charges of the artillery, 1.48 meters. In all 

 these cases the lowest measure acceptable is given. Horses in the 

 service of the cavalry are expected to do service for a term of ten 

 years; those in the artillery nine years. 



Every year about one-tenth of the horses doing service in the cavalry 

 and the baggage department of the German army and one-ninth of 

 the horses doing service in the artillery are put out and replaced by 

 new animals. 



For the Prussian part of the German army during the fiscal year 

 1897-98 provision is made for the purchase of 8,393 horses. For these 

 horses, which have to be from three to five years of age, the average 

 price paid is 830 marks.* On the same conditions 679 horses are 

 required for the regiments of the Kingdom of Saxony and 444 horses, 

 forwhieh an average price of 1,150 marks is to be paid, are required 

 for the Kingdom of Wurtemberg, while the Bavarian part of the Ger- 

 man army requires about 1,200 horses, at an average price of about 1,050 

 marks. As a rule all those horses are bought at an age of from three 

 to four years. First they are sent to so-called "remounting depots" — 

 large pasture grounds belonging to the Government — where they remain 

 for one year. The purchase of these horses is made by "Remonte- 

 Aakaufscommissionen," i. e., by military boards constituted for the 

 purpose of remounting the German cavalry and artillery and acting 

 under direct supervision of the ministry of war. These boards are 



*The State Department gives the value of the German mark as 23.8 cents in 

 United States money. Ordinary calculations in round numbers are usually 

 made on the basis of four marks to the dollar. 



