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: t 1 1 s i : : i j 1 i : i : I ; i ; - ; i 4 : i - - - - 1 - r - - 1 . WAR MAKES RACINGS OPPORTUNITY. Col. W. E. Wilder, commanding Fort Meyer, when questioned regarding the modern and lest type of cavalry horse, said: . . - , "It is greatly to be lamented that racing in tltis country received such" a terrible blow, as the thoroughbred is the best type of cavalry horse we have, aud the fact that racing was discontinued, forced owners to ship their best mares abroad, and the business of breeding these splendid animals has been to a great extent stopped. "The cavalry horses which are used abroad are of a heavier" type than We require, since the cuirassiers, arid other cavalrymen abroad, are so" much more heavily equipped than we are. Our equipment is so much lighter that the ideal horse is about 15.2, and must have speed, endurance and poise. But, of course, the one. great factor which is of absolute necessity; is stamina. The heavy, slow, hair-heeled animal is certainly not to be compared with the lean animals, which t-omes from the thoroughbred pure, or from the thoroughbred cross, whose inuscui ar development, stamina arid speed, are far beyond his lethargic rival. "Furthermore, this type of thoroughbred has a" good digestion, which is a" most important factor. Also the horse should not be too big, as the recuperative" powers are greatly lessened with eveo additional inch of height, and it takes more power of the. heart to pump to the extremities. So many splendid mares have been shipped abroad that the best types are becoming scarce. The fact that the interest in the breeding of horses has greatly decreased also has- been a great factor in injuring thd standard of the. cavalry borre. "Cavalry, when, rnounted, is practically fresh, when compared vi tit troops that have gone on foot, and Instead of having traversed about 3J iniles they have gone seven or. -eight. As a matter of reinforcement, cavalry can gain a. given, point so much riidre rapidly, than infantry that. in this regard there is a great saving. In fact, the usefulness of a::.nari is. nearly doubled, and this is also true in withdraw-ing. -The: usefulness of the. horses is .only, limited by the veperise-,and:. accessibility-of forage. "Aftpr racing- was -in .a greatymeasure stopped, a riumtior of ; geutleuien contributed stallions to .thb governments and the xesult . lias, beeir- ijibst satis1-. factory,-butt instcad-of ,having, a.great-many; stallions i arid hundreds, of mares . to give us splendid c61ts, there are only how a handful, as compared with a fe"y years ago- - "It seems" tb me that it must be evident to everyone that the consumption .of horses in the present European -war will .make, them expensive, and that this is a tiilie when all Ayho are interested in horses should breed theih. It would seem to me an opiwr-tunity for a revival of the sport of racing and the breeding of thoroughbreds. Horses that are destroyed must be. replaced everywhere, and it behoves even" man to breed and-raise the best horses that he can." Brig. Gen. E. A. Garlingtou, Inspector General of the United States Army, said: "There is at present a great scarcity of fine horses for cavalry service. The best type of cavalry 111011111 is a half-bred horse for the trooper, and a three-quarter or seven-eighths bred one for the; onieen. and the horse must have breeding stamina enough" to go through any kind of country. It should not be much over 15.2. as a big horse cannot stand the strain which the small; compact horse is capable of standing. This" is a particularly good time to foster in the minds of everyorie the desire to breed good horses", as in three years time, or -liefore, horses will be" in great demand and at a prcmiilm. and it is hoped that all those who have horses, and are interested in tliem, will take advantage of this great opportunity to increase the supply of this splendid animal, as the- market for him will be the greatest In the near future the world, has ever known," "Horses are high now, llii.t I make the prophecy that if the. European war lasts twelve months they will be so high that the ownership, of one will be accepted as a sign of wealth," said a Wasbingtoli man. who is a horseman as well as a horse dealer, to the Washington Star. "For several years horses have been high, and this hhs been partly due to the automobile, paradoxical as that may sound; partly due to the extension of the custom of delivering small parcels at the homes of buyetg and to a number of other carises. "With the development of the automobile it was widely believed, dr at least widely alleged, that the end of the horse age was at. hand, and some horse breeders cut down their output or retired from the business altogether. The ban on horse racing that Is, ruririiiig races and the decline of harness racing forced a good many breeders out of business and sent some of the best studs abroad. This cut down the supply of horses. It cut down not only tin; supply of race horses, but horses of numerous types. . All horses bred for racing do not turn out to bo race horses, and these horses, in most cases splendid horses, but not fast enough to win. went to work for riien under the saddle or in light harness or for breeding purposes. "A horse is not much good for any kind of work unless lie has some thoroughbred blood In him, and when the thoroughbred, or running horse, and the standnrd-lired or trotting- horse, are blended in varying proportions the jnost useful horses in the world are produced. Then, too, many race horses, their days of racing ended, found their way into what might be termed legitimate work. For these reasons the ban on racing caused the supply of horses to fall off. "Though the number of automobiles increased at an amazing rate, the demand for horses also increased. TlC light delivery business increased. Grocery stores", flower stores, meat shops, laundries, tailor, shops, etc., now deliver the goods bought and this delivery business is one of the causes of the increased cost of living. A few years ago $ man or woman would make a purchase and take the bundle home. That habit is nearly extinct in cities. If a woman buys a soup" bono, or a bunch of carrots, or A pair of gloves or a box of collars. the storekeeper delivers the goods, and if be wants to keep his trade or develop his business lie must make prompt and frequent deliveries, If a mail has a shirt and a pair of socks washed at the laundry and the old-fashioned wash woman has nearly passed away ho. expects his laundry to be delivered. All milk and bread are delivered. This has made a great demand for horses, "In the country the demand for horses has ini-; creased because of the cutting up of largo tracts into ftnall farms and a man working a small farm needs horses. A few years ago a big farmer might use a one-horse plow or a yoke of steers, but even the small farmer today if be has any sense of progress uses a two-horse plow. There has been a marked increase In thft demand for horses of saddle, hunter, charger and polo types, and among prosperous or ambitious people there lias grown up a strong demand for high-c"ass horses. So you see. iu spite of the fact that trolley cars have super-i seded horse Cars, and the .streets are full of motors. the demand for horses has Increased, while the sunnly lias diuiiriished. "The war Is going to make a drain on the Anirri- c!lh :horse: riihrket. Ilbrse- mortality in war is Iiiirli. Army horses in campaigns die from many other causes than .gunshot wounds. The.v die froin over- work, lack of water, lack of feeding, overwateriiu;. overfeeding, lack of rest, lack of care after ovcr- eating and various diseases. Cnvalry. field artil-r lery, ammunition and commissary trains require .n-.constant supplyof horses. ;I have read that neno- ly-:o-ieli:tl..op.3lli..the."hitrse! In the German army had lieen destroyed or worn out when the German advance readied high-water mark, Sept. 0. "Perhaps this is an overstatement, hut the horse losses of the German and Austrian armies anil of the allies have no doubt been stupendous from overwork alone. These losses inust be made up. and Europe has already been nearly depleted of horses for military purposes. Germany has been re- h d n I d p J li c s h a ; i t t f c i horsing her armies by purchases In Norwav, Sweden, Denmark and Holland, and England" after making heavy drafts on the horses of England and Ireland, is drawing on Canada, which, in turn, is drawing on the Inited States. The news iu certaiu papers devoted to the horse business shows that British army buyers have appeared Iu the great horse markets at Kansas City. St. Louis and Chicago. It has been said that the British biivers are shipping nil their horses to Canada, and are really buying or paying for them there, presumably to avoid complications. French army buyers are reported as buying in the United States as well as iu Mexico and South America. "An idea of the use of horses may be gained from the fact that England in the first call for horses took 74,000 for artillery and wagon trains and 50 000 for cavalry. The war is going to make the price of horses in the United States much higher than it is now."
