Hast thou given the horse strength? Hast thou clothed his neck with
thunder?
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength; he goeth on to
meet the armed men.
He mocketh at fear and is not affrighted, neither turneth he back from
the sword.
He saith among the trumpets, "Ha! ha!" and he smelleth the battle afar
off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
My readers will probably be interested in the mode of procuring and
management of troop-horses. In the first place, the horses which are
purchased for the cavalry are selected of a sufficient height and
strength, so as to be able to carry a man of average weight and four
stone in addition, that being about the weight of a cavalry soldier's
kit and necessaries, which he must always carry with him when on a
campaign or the line of march. The most favourable season for
purchasing troop-horses is considered the autumn, and the commanding
officers either attend the large fairs themselves, or they leave the
business to a contractor, who has to supply the horses at a stated price
(35 pounds for dragoons, hussars, lancers, and artillery, and 45 pounds
for black horses for the Horse Guards,) subject, of course; to the
inspection of the commanding officer and the professional examination of
the regimental veterinary surgeon.
Except in time of war, when large drafts are required to supply the
places of those killed in action, or that die of disease, exposure, and
want of forage, no horses are purchased for the cavalry at a younger age
than three years, and all must be perfectly unbroken, so that their
instinct is untainted by any manner of training except the one uniform
system in use throughout the entire service.
The trumpeters are generally mounted on grey horses, but the prevailing
colours of troop-horses are bay, brown, and black. The Horse Guards
(1st and 2nd Life Guards, and Horse Guards Blue, or Royal Horse Guards)
are all mounted on black horses, and the 2nd North British Dragoons, or
Scots Greys, are all mounted on grey horses. The most scrupulous care
is of course taken of them in barracks. The veterinary surgeon is
responsible as to their health, as reported to him by the
troop-sergeant-major and the troop-farrier daily, the latter being more
particularly required to examine each foot of every horse in his troop
twice at least every week for any appearance of loose shoes, broken
nails, or any change in the healthy condition of the feet. The
troop-sergeant-major is supposed to be always present in the stable when
the horses are fed, watered, and groomed; and he is therefore
responsible for their condition, grooming, and general appearance.
Every horse, as a rule, is supposed to be shod once a month; but so
great is the variety in size and formation in feet, and in the degrees
of toughness and rapidity of growth of the hoof and sole of different
horses, and even on different feet of the same horse and at different
parts of the same shoe, that no particular pattern or form of shoe is
prescribed. This is left to the skill and judgment of the farrier, to
make according to the shape of the foot with which he has to deal. In
this particular branch of his business he is far superior to the village
blacksmith or the more pretentious shoeing-smiths in large towns, even
London itself, where many veterinary farriers keep a lot of shoes by
them that have been made by machinery; and, as a rule, they pare, cut
down, and model the poor horse's foot to fit _their_ shoe, instead of
making the shoe to fit the peculiar conformation of the foot. Hundreds
of valuable horses used by civilians are constantly ruined by the
pernicious practice of cutting the hoof and sole of the horse's foot
into a shape quite contrary to that intended by Nature, who has cast it
in a mould necessary and proper to support the horse's weight or the
peculiar shape of its legs, which differ more or less in all animals,
although the basis of their construction is essentially the same. All
unnecessary loading of the horse's foot with iron is carefully avoided;
and if any farrier is caught in the reprehensible practice of applying a
red-hot shoe to the foot, he is very severely dealt with.
A very important point in the care of troop-horses is the prevention of
predisposing causes of disease, such as exposure to extreme cold and
heat. Of course this cannot be so well carried out in camp as in
barracks, and the consequence is that disease is much more frequent in
the former than the latter. I, for one, think it very questionable
policy on the part of our Government to take horses out of warm
barrack-stables and picket them in the open air, as at Aldershot and the
Curragh camp, when there is neither war nor rumours of war. Such a
course of proceeding only exposes the extreme ignorance of those who
have the direction of these affairs. Alternately exposing either horses
or human beings to heat and cold is the surest way of bringing on
disease and undermining the constitution. The horses, at least of those
regiments who are first on the roll for a campaign, ought to remain in
camp, and never be allowed to enter a stable, the atmosphere of which is
much warmer than the open air, and then they would be always in
readiness to proceed to any part, without running the risk of disease
and death by exposure, as occurred in the Crimea, where more than half
the number of our cavalry were rendered non-effective from want of
horses. This plan would not entail the necessity of submitting the men
of the regiment to which the horses belong to the hardship of remaining
constantly in camp, for there would be nothing to hinder them from being
relieved by soldiers from other regiments, who could march to the camp
with the whole of their kit and necessaries, and the men who are
relieved could pack up their own kit and march out with the horses of
the relieving corps. This system would be far better than, for
instance, marching our troop-horses from the stables of barracks situate
in the inland towns of England to Ireland, and exposing them to the cold
blasts that, both in winter and summer, sweep through the camp at the
Curragh of Kildare, one of the most bleak and cold parts of either
Ireland or England. The soldiers themselves are aware of all this, and
it is fast spreading discontent among them, especially those who are
stationed at the latter place, where I have myself witnessed horses
standing at their picket-posts nearly up to the hocks in mud, while a
cold north-east wind was blowing and causing their backs to stick up and
their coats to stare like hedgehogs. Let us hope that, if not for the
sake of the poor animals, the legislature will, for the benefit of the
service and consideration for the soldiers, see the necessity of
changing so suicidal a policy as exposing our troops and troop-horses to
such sudden changes from barracks (in some places absolutely in want of
ventilation) to the most exposed places they can possibly select
throughout the length and breadth of our proverbially capricious and
changeable climate.
When horses become unserviceable from any cause, they are disposed of by
public auction to the highest bidder. Many a gallant old trooper is now
dragging out his existence in omnibuses, cabs, and the like, being
generally bought for harness work. Every troop-horse is marked on the
front of both hoofs of his fore-feet with the number and initials of the
regiment in which he served. Sometimes these "cast horses" are bought
by dealers, who file out the marks and sell them to novices as young
fresh horses just up from the country; but an experienced man may always
detect an old trooper by the hollow place left by filing out the marks;
and if the horse be mounted, the rider may find out in an instant
whether he has been a trooper if he will feel the off-rein and lightly
press his left leg to the horse's near side, or _vice versa_, when the
animal will commence to cross his legs and move sideways, as if to
"dress" to some imaginary companions in forming line; for whenever a
horse has been taught anything and practised in it he never forgets it,
and needs but the necessary signals to again remind him that the
movement is required.
It is a spirit-stirring sight to witness the embarkation of a cavalry
regiment for a sea voyage. In the first place, it is considered
advisable, when circumstances permit, for the embarkation to take place
immediately after a day's march, when the horses are more quiet and
manageable, than when brought fresh out of stables, time being always
allowed for wisping them over and picking out their feet to clear them
from gravel or any dirt which may accumulate between the edge of the
shoe and the sole of the foot (a point too often neglected by
gentlemen's grooms after their horses come in from a journey). When all
is ready for business, a sling is passed under the horse's belly, and
also supports his chest and quarters; the ropes attached to this sling
meet over the middle of the horse's back, and are hitched to the chain
of the windlass or crane. Two soldiers have each hold of a rein
attached to the head-stall on either side of his head, while they soothe
and allay his fears by hand and voice, or, if he violently resist, hold
him by main force, until he is snatched from the ground and swung over
that portion of the sea which intervenes between the beach and the
vessel. Some troop-horses fight with all the strength and old-fashioned
tactics for which they are especially famous, and they lead the sailors
a nice dance when they are guiding them over the hatchway, and
conducting them through it into the hold of the vessel.
Once deposited in the hold, however, and released from the slings, a
lock of hay and the voice of his master will soothe the animal's fears
and reconcile him to his new situation. Horses that are embarked for
Ireland are generally conducted on board by means of gangways, as the
ships are brought sufficiently near to the piers at Liverpool for that
purpose. Great care is taken that they are not overheated or overfed
during a sea voyage, and, therefore, bran, with occasional doses of
nitre, forms a large proportion of their daily food. The face, eyes,
and nostrils of each horse are washed with a sponge and sea-water at
every stable hour, and the hold of the vessel is ventilated by means of
wind-sails. Sometimes, however, in stormy weather, the hatches have to
be closed, or partially so, and it is then very close and hot below, but
great advantage is in such cases obtained by washing the manger with
vinegar and water, and occasionally sponging the nostrils of the horses
with the same. The use of dumb bells, dancing, and any diversion
calculated for the purpose of daily exercise, is permitted, in fact,
encouraged as much as possible, in order to maintain the health and
strength of the men, and they are put through the sword, carbine, and
other exercises in parties, according to the extent of the accommodation
on deck.
To return, however, to the relation of current events at head-quarters.
While our regiment was lying in York, the country, especially the
manufacturing districts, was much disturbed by what were called
"Chartist riots," or "plug drawing," the latter term being derived from
the rioters drawing the street plugs, so as to allow the water that
supplied the mill with steam and power to escape and run to waste. The
regiment was divided into detachments, and marched in various directions
to be quartered in towns where the civil power was considered
insufficient to preserve the public peace. Manchester, Oldham, Bolton,
Bury, Blackburn, Hyde, and all the manufacturing towns in Lancashire,
were in a state of siege for more than a month. Mills and warehouses
were fired, machinery broken, shopkeepers were pilfered and openly
robbed of their stock in trade, which the lawless mob either destroyed
or consumed, and the peaceable inhabitants were kept in a continual
state of terror bordering on despair. Nothing but the devoted loyalty
of the soldiers, aided by the superhuman exertions of the police,
preserved the whole country from revolution and the public buildings
from being sacked by the off-scourings of society.
The detachment to which I belonged was despatched to Dudley, so as to be
in readiness to aid the civil power in the Staffordshire Potteries. We
were there upwards of three weeks, and never slept in bed; some of our
horses were kept ready saddled, and we could have turned out the whole
fully equipped in "field order" any time at a few minutes' notice. No
part of a soldier's duty is more disagreeable than to be called out to
quell a riot. To fire upon, ride down, or cut down with the sabre,
indiscriminately, any individual that may come within reach, is a
proceeding exceedingly repugnant to the feelings of a British soldier;
therefore it was with no very pleasureable feelings that we one day
noticed a mounted policeman ride hurriedly up to the Stork Hotel, where
the commanding officer of the detachment was staying, and in a few
moments afterwards the trumpeter sounded "Turn out the whole." We
rapidly formed; the command was given, "Threes right," and off we
marched at a swinging trot to the place indicated, a town some miles
distant, where we found the house-tops literally swarming with human
beings, who had ripped the tiles from the roofs to throw at the police
and a small troop of yeomanry cavalry, who were totally surrounded by
the mob, and getting by far the worst of it, no orders having been given
by the civil authorities for the yeomanry to fire; which, indeed, it is
questionable whether they could have performed with safety to
themselves. As fast as the police arrested any of the mob, they were
rescued. The road, or rather street, by which we approached the
market-place (a wide thoroughfare) was crammed full of the most
lawless-looking ruffians--men and women--it was ever my lot to see
together, before or since, in England; they were all armed with sticks,
pikes, stones, and some had old guns too, which they now and then
fired--more from bravado, I should imagine, than from any intent to
kill. The sea of human faces and glistening eyes were turned full upon
us as we swept at a rapid trot round a corner into full view of the
yelling, screaming mass.
The shops were all closed, and the timid inhabitants were here and there
peeping from the corners of the window-blinds from the rooms above.
Crash! crash! went the stones at the windows, wherever the mob were
foiled in their attempts to break open the doors and plunder the shops.
Barrels of ale were rolled into the streets and the ends driven in for
the mob to drink out of, many using their hats for drinking-vessels;
flitches of bacon and cheeses were handed to and fro over the heads of
the rioters; loaves were pitched from the bakers' shops among the
people; a draper's shop was on fire, and the contents of a toy-shop were
showered among us, just as we arrived in the _melee_. The trumpet
sounded "Walk," and the babel of yells and shrieks was hushed as if by
magic; not a stone was thrown, nor a weapon raised to attack us; all
appeared astonished when we came upon the scene, and, with the exception
of an occasional cry of "The regulars! the regulars!" scarce a sound was
heard above a low hum of human voices, as if in conversation with each
other.
The space immediately in our front was soon cleared, as the dense masses
opened out, fell back, and trampled upon the more helpless. We walked
our horses steadily on, with our sabres still in their scabbards, to the
market-place, where our captain found the chief of police surrounded by
yeomanry and his own men. An attempt had just been made to break open
the doors and sack the town-hall, and they were all in a terrible state
of excitement. We rapidly took up our ground and formed in double rank,
with the yeomanry and police in our rear. Just then a shower of stones
was hurled at us, but they did but little damage; the Riot Act was read,
and the captain in command gave the order, in a clear, ringing voice, to
draw swords; but when those ominous-looking weapons flashed in the
blazing sun, the dense masses scampered off helter-skelter, and, with
the exception of a few rioters, whom the police succeeded in
apprehending, we were soon left alone in our glory.
Such is the amount of fear and respect with which disciplined soldiers
are regarded by an infuriated and misguided mob, and the simple
exhibition of such discipline is generally sufficient to prevent a
collision with those pests of society, who, happily for the peace and
prosperity of England, do not exist in numbers sufficient to endanger
the peace and happiness of its respectable and industrious people.