Horses

=HORSES IN WAR=

HOW HORSES WERE USED
Horses were used more in the olden days than they are now. Before trucks, cars and motor-bikes were invented they were used to carry soldiers and equipment to the war zone, and soldiers rode on horseback into battle. Sometimes the soldiers had to ride very long distances and could not rest at night so they slept in the saddle. My Kingdom for a Horse (html) orFlash enhanced Pack animals carrying equipment

The most famous unit was the Australian Light Horse. They were mounted troops who served a long time ago in the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902) and World War 1 in Europe and the Middle East (1914-1918). They mostly did not ride horses into battle. They used to horses to ride to the war zone and to get away afterwards.

Survival
Soldiers did their best to look after their horses but it was often very difficult. 25,000 Australian horses were taken to the war zone by ship, and then unloaded using a special harness. Many of them survived but they could not be taken back home because of quarantine rules.

One horse did come home from World War 1. His name was Sandy. Read his story on page 37 of //M is for Mates.// Have a look at page 16 of //M is for Mates// to see how they protected horses from flies and how they fed the horses in World War 1.

Dangers to horses in World War 1
Look at the pictures on page 30 and 31 in //M is for Mates// to see two dangers to the horses in World War 1. What could happen to the horses? On the same page, how have the soldiers kept the horses safe from the heat?

Boer War (1899-1902)
In the Boer War, 300,000 horses from both sides died and there is a [|horse memorial in Port Elizabeth], South Africa. The horses died for many reasons:
 * they were killed or injured in the war, or they got diseases
 * they were overloaded with unnecessary equipment and saddlery, (have a look at page 17 in the book M is for Mates to see how much equipment they had to carry).
 * they didn't get enough rest
 * they didn't get time to get used to their new surroundings after long sea voyages and,
 * sometimes they weren't looked after properly
 * their food was lost or damaged. Click here to find out what happened to the horse's food on one ship.

World War 1
Things were better in World War 1. It took 6 weeks to sail from Australia to the war zone. On board the ship the horses were kept in clean surroundings with fresh air, they were well fed and they were rubbed down often to keep them healthy. Sometimes horses went lame. This could happen if a horse stood on a nail. Soldiers used to chop up old boxes for firewood so that they could cook their meals. After the fire went out the ashes were spread out on the roads but there were nails that were in the boxes in the ashes, and sometimes a horse would get the nail stuck in a hoof. Check out //W is for Welfare// on page 45 of //M is for Mates//for pictures of horses on board a ship. . There is a special unit called the Australian Army Veterinarian Corps which looks after all the animals used in war. It was formed in 1909. They fix wounds and infuries and vaccinate the horses so they don't get diseases. Check out //V is for Vet// on page 44 of //M is for Mates// to see a horse having a tooth pulled out!
 * Vets**

Training
Have a look at page 22 of //M is for Mates// to see how horses were trained to give shelter to soldiers in World War 1.

Sources: Australians at War/Through My Eyes Wikipedia/The Second Boer War Wikipedia/Australian Light Horse //M is for Mates,// Department of Veterans' Affairs, 2009 page 16-17 (H is for Horses) page 22, (L is for Lifesaver) pages 44-45 (V is for Vet and W is for Welfare)