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HOW OUR CAVALRY HORSES FARE Just how Uncle Sam cares for his cavalry horses is told by Lieut James E Masterson veterinary corps U S A now at Camp Greenleaf Chicka mauga Ga Among many interesting things Lieut Masterson writes writesWe We have had an exceedingly hot summer down here and no doubt you are wondering if the horses ever get overheated sunstruck etc Well ordi ¬ narily the latter conditions might happen but all kinds of precautions are taken We work our ani ¬ mals six days a week and only about four or five hours a day two in the morning two in the afternoon and occasionally a little extra work now and then is allowed Every tiling in the United States army is done by system This wonderful system extends to the stable work and care of ani ¬ mals as well as men menAll All horses and mules are quartered in corrals These corrals have a threesided long shed extend ¬ ing on each side It is 200 feet long 10 feet wide and 15 feet higli with a flat roof pitched just enough to let the water drain off All parts of the stable except that reached by horses heads are whitewashed often Feed boxes are washed and cleaned daily also disinfected at least once a week weekThe The front sides of our stables are entirely open shielded only from wind and rain by a can ¬ vas If horses do riot stand in a draught the colder the stable the better This is especially true of the cavalry horses because if called to take the field suddenly they will not suffer a sudden chill chillIn In case a horse comes in wet he 1s nibbed witli dry straw until fairly dry care being taken to follow from hindquarters to head and always against the way the hair grows In case lie is wet hot or cold he is sometimes blanketed The legs arc handrubbed and later blanket is removed and horse is groomed groomedEach Each cavalry man as a rule loves his horse far more than words can describe but some of the workhorses packtrain and mules dont fare quite so well They cant be abused however especially if nu officer is near If you think of anything the society would ijte j0 kjiow about camp life or the animals let me know and Ill tell you if possible possibleUncle Uncle Sam certainly takes good care of his men We have meat three times a day plenty of sugar real butter etc and in fact everything a person could wish for except fruit and I believe there must be a scarcity of fruit here iu the south or we would have itl
