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FEATS OF U S CAVALRY HORSES Endurance Journey of Military Service by Chargers of American Army The United States has a larger supply of horses than any other country in the world Ytt in spite of tins we are one of the most poorly supplied with cavalry mounts Returned army officers have just started a movement to better this condition conditionW W R Brown president of the Arabian Horse Club of America Washington has started an open discussion upon the question of what constitute a satisfactory test for young horses in the fall of their threeyearold form to prove them of suffi ¬ cient soundness speed and endurance to qualify fo cavalry mounts after they reach maturity He als wishes opinions upon what should constitute a longer and more severe tost for mature horses to parallel the most severe exercise they would have to undergo in actual war conditions conditionsIt It is interesting to dig up some of the famous rides in American history The old Indian day were full of them In most cases the names of tin men who performed the exploits are gone Tlieru conies to us the story of an unknown express rider in Texas who carried mail from El Paso to Chi ¬ huahua a distance of 300 miles with a weight of 200 pounds taking a week to go nnd a week to return Tho aspect of especial interest in the present discussion is the fact that the rider used the same pony continuously for six months without diminishing cither his flesh or his fire The country was infested with Apaches and tho man had to ride by night and hide during the day lie rode a hundred miles at a stretch and rested his pony four days between trips tripsIn In 1879 several singl couriers of General Wesley Merritts company rode 170 miles in less than twentyfour hours This was at tho rate of seven miles an hour Again in 1880 there is the record of four men of tho First Cavalry carrying dispatches from Fort Harmony to Fort Warner 140 miles in twentytwo hours or at the rate of six and four tenths miles an hour Tlie horses were in good condition at the end of the ride and after a days rest made the return trip at the rate of sixty miles a day dayAll All such endurance tests are extremely interest ¬ ing but hardly of vital importance to the present situation There lias never been a continuity of similar tests over a considerable length of time Without doubt u test can be devised which will show the true endurance of a horse and can bo continued year after year
