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39-545: The Army Remount Service was the body responsible for the purchase and training of horses and mules as remounts for the British Army between 1887 and 1942. Prior to 1887, the purchase of horses was the responsibility of individual regimental colonels, in the case of cavalry regiments, or of agents acting on behalf of the artillery and engineers. This system worked well enough in peacetime but rapidly broke down during war when demand exceeded supply, prices rose and,

78-449: A Remount Purchasing Officer along with his contemporaries, Cecil Aldin and Sir Alfred Munnings . On being demobilised, he and his family moved to West Tytherley , near Salisbury , where he lived for the rest of his life. His artistic output was remarkable: he wrote almost 30 books and illustrated many more, including editions of Black Beauty , Lorna Doone and The Black Arrow , in addition to numerous private commissions. He became

117-402: A confined circle (such as advanced roundpenning or longeing ), should wait until the horse is at least two years old. Common ground training techniques include: A horse is not ready to be ridden until it is accustomed to all the equipment that it needs to wear and is responsive to basic voice, and usually rein, commands to start, stop, turn and change gaits . For some disciplines, ground work

156-437: A designated discipline. Most young domesticated horses are handled at birth or within the first few days of life, though some are only handled for the first time when they are weaned from their mothers, or dams. Advocates of handling foals from birth sometimes use the concept of imprinting to introduce a foal within its first few days and weeks of life to many of the activities they will see throughout their lives. Within

195-461: A domesticated animal that has previously learned to treat humans with disrespect. There are many horse training philosophies and techniques and details are far too extensive to describe in a single article. Also, horses have different conformation, athletic potential, temperaments and personalities, all of which may influence what techniques should be used to reap the best results. For further information on horse training and specific disciplines, see

234-449: A few hours of birth, a foal being imprinted will have a human touch it all over, pick up its feet, and introduce it to human touch and voice. Others may leave a foal alone for its first few hours or days, arguing that it is more important to allow the foal to bond with its dam. However, even people who do not advocate imprinting often still place value on handling a foal a great deal while it is still nursing and too small to easily overpower

273-405: A field, loaded into a horse trailer , and not to fear flapping or noisy objects. It also can be exposed to the noise and commotion of ordinary human activity, including seeing motor vehicles, hearing radios, and so on. More advanced skills sometimes taught in the first year include learning to accept blankets placed on it, to be trimmed with electric clippers, and to be given a bath with water from

312-704: A further depot, the privately owned Pilckard's Farm in Chiddingfold near Godalming , was given to the War Office by its owners for a period of 21 years. These depots provided total remount accommodation in the United Kingdom for some 1,200 animals. The Remount Service was only responsible for supplying horses and mules for use in Britain. Animals used by the Indian Army were entirely purchased by

351-526: A great deal of work with young horses during their yearling and two-year-old years to prepare them for riding, others merely reinforce the basic lessons taught to the horse as a foal and simply keep the horse accustomed to the presence of humans. Occasionally, a young horse does not possess the necessary basic skills described above which would have been taught to it as a foal. Therefore, its adolescent years are spent learning or re-learning basic lessons. Several ground training techniques are commonly introduced to

390-461: A hose. The foal may learn basic voice commands for starting and stopping, and sometimes will learn to square its feet up for showing in in-hand or conformation classes. If these tasks are completed, the young horse will have no fear of things placed on its back, around its belly or in its mouth. Some people, whether through philosophy or simply due to being pressed for time, do not handle foals significantly while they are still nursing, but wait until

429-429: A human at a walk and trot, to stop on command and to stand tied. The young horse needs to be calm for basic grooming , as well as veterinary care such as vaccinations and de-worming. A foal needs regular hoof care and can be taught to stand while having its feet picked up and trimmed by a farrier . Ideally a young horse should learn all the basic skills it will need throughout its life, including: being caught from

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468-403: A human. By doing so, the foal should learn that no harm will be done to it at a human's hands (hopefully) and that humans should be respected. While a foal is far too young to be ridden, it is still able to learn skills it will need later in life. By the end of a foal's first year, it should be halter-broke , meaning that it allows a halter placed upon its head and has been taught to be led by

507-598: A year later, in August 1915, to 534,971. At its peak in 1917, the Army establishment reached almost 870,000 horses and mules, with remount accommodation for 60,000 animals. To cope with this increase, four additional main Home depots were established, at Shirehampton , Romsey , Ormskirk and Swaythling , and the capacity and complement of each depot were also increased. At Swaythling, for example, on 1 April 1919 (several months after

546-442: A young horse some time after it is a year old, but prior to being ridden. All horses usually have some or all of this ground work done prior to being ridden, though the time spent can range from hours to months. While a foal or yearling can be introduced to a small amount of ground work, a young horse's bones and joints are quite soft and fragile. So, to prevent joint and cartilage injury, intense work, particularly intense work in

585-582: Is also used to develop specific types of muscling as well as to instill certain behaviors. When ground work incorporates both mental and muscular development, it may take considerably longer for the horse to be ready to be ridden, but advocates of these methods maintain that the additional time on the ground allows the horse to advance more quickly or with better manners once under saddle. The age that horses are first ridden, or "backed" (UK) varies considerably by breed and discipline. Many Thoroughbred race horses have small, light riders on their backs as early as

624-462: Is beyond the scope of this article to go into the details of various training methodology, so general, basic principles are described below. The see also section of this article provides links to more specific information about various schools and techniques of horse training. The range of training techniques and training goals is large, but basic animal training concepts apply to all forms of horse training. The initial goal of most types of training

663-501: Is geared toward making horses useful for a variety of recreational and sporting equestrian pursuits. Horses are also trained for specialized jobs from movie stunt work to police and crowd control activities, circus entertainment, and equine-assisted psychotherapy. There is tremendous controversy over various methods of horse training and even some of the words used to describe these methods. Some techniques are considered cruel; other methods are considered gentler and more humane. However, it

702-409: Is ridden, even for the very first time. Horses that have never been taught to be ridden can learn at any age, though it may take somewhat longer to teach an older horse. An older horse that is used to humans but has no prior bad habits is easier to put under saddle than is a completely feral horse caught "wild" off the open range as an adult. However, an adult feral horse may be easier to train than

741-437: Is to create a horse that is safe for humans to handle (under most circumstances) and able to perform a useful task for the benefit of humans. A few specific considerations and some basic knowledge of horse behavior help a horse trainer be effective no matter what school or discipline is chosen: Regardless of the desired goal of training, most horses are exposed to a general series of steps that will ultimately prepare them for

780-662: The Indian Government and those used by the British Army in the Middle East and elsewhere were bought by the local General Officer Commanding . The outbreak of war in 1914 , therefore, found the British Army with a total establishment of 25,000 horses and mules, five Remount Depots and four Remount companies, with a remount strength of approximately 1,200 animals. Within 12 days, the establishment had been increased to 165,000 animals, entirely by impressment, and

819-693: The Mesopotamian Campaign was undertaken by the Indian Government. Over the course of the war, a total of 468,323 horses were purchased in the United Kingdom, 428,608 horses and 275,097 mules in North America, 6,000 horses and 1,500 mules came from South America, and 3,700 mules from Spain and Portugal. Between 1914 and 1920, the Remount Service spent £67.5 million on the purchase and training of these animals. There

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858-565: The Royal Artillery , Royal Engineers and Army Service Corps ) and two in Dublin (for the cavalry), with a total Army establishment of 12,500 horses and mules. The Boer War showed these arrangements to have been entirely inadequate (326,000 horses and 51,000 mules were lost, mainly through disease), so the animal establishment was increased to 25,000 and two additional depots were authorized, at Melton Mowbray , and Arborfield . In 1911,

897-912: The American Expeditionary Force. The mechanization of the British Army during the 1930s substantially reduced the Army's need for horses in the Second World War , although mules were still used as pack animals in rough terrain, particularly in Burma and Italy . However, the number of animals required was relatively small and in 1942 the Army Remount Service was amalgamated into the Army Veterinary and Remount Service . Horse training Historically, horses were trained for warfare , farm work, sport and transport purposes. Today, most horse training

936-702: The Bibliography and the articles below, which cover many of the concepts and different schools of thought on training and handling horses. The websites of The Horse Trust and the Equine Behaviour and Training Association also provide uptodate information on evidence-based approaches. US Equestrian also offers more information concerning international and national disciplines. "Breed & Discipline Updates." US Equestrian, https://www.usef.org/compete/breeds-disciplines . Lionel Edwards Lionel Edwards (9 November 1878 – 13 April 1966)

975-709: The British Expeditionary Force in 1914 and were subsequently supplemented by two further Base Remount Depots at the Channel Ports. At the peak of operations, these had an establishment of 16,000 to 17,000 animals. Depots were set up in Egypt and Salonika for the campaigns in those regions. Animals for these areas were originally obtained from Australia (horses) and North America (mules) although, owing to difficulties with transport, all animals were later supplied from Britain. The supply of animals for

1014-695: The Department having the option of purchasing these animals for a fixed sum in time of emergency. In recompense for this, the owners were paid a pension of 10 /- per year for each animal. In 1891, the service became part of the Army Service Corps (ASC) and the majority of other ranks at remount depots were drawn from the ASC. Initially, there were three remount depots, the Remount Establishment at Woolwich (which provided horses for

1053-450: The age of two and four, and completing all ground training as well as training for riding at the same time. However, waiting until a horse is full grown to begin training is often far riskier for humans and requires considerably more skill to avoid injury. After a young horse is taught to lead and other basic skills, various tasks can be introduced to the horse as it matures while it is still too young to be ridden. Some schools of training do

1092-425: The end goal of all methods is to have the horse calmly and quietly allow a rider on its back or behind it in a cart and to respond to basic commands to go forward, change gaits and speed, stop, turn and back up. Ideally, a young horse will have no fear of humans and view being ridden as simply one more new lesson. A properly handled young horse that had adequate ground work will seldom buck, rear, or run away when it

1131-539: The end of the war), 3,530 horses and mules were stabled and cared for by 757 men. The first three of these depots were used for horses and mules arriving from overseas, whilst Swaythling was a collection centre for animals being shipped abroad. Several other smaller depots were established throughout the country for receipt of locally bred horses. The establishment of officers and men was also increased to cope with this number of animals, from 121 officers and 230 men in August 1914 to 423 officers and 20,560 men in 1917. Many of

1170-519: The fall of their yearling year. Most stock horse breeds, such as the American Quarter Horse , are ridden at the age of two. Most horses used in harness have a cart first put behind them at age two, and even some horses not ridden until age three will be trained to pull a light cart at two, in order to learn better discipline and to help develop stronger muscles with less stress. The vast majority of horses across disciplines and throughout

1209-422: The foal is weaned from its dam to begin halter breaking and the other tasks of training a horse in its first year. The argument for gentling and halter-breaking at weaning is that the young horse, in crisis from being separated from its dam, will more readily bond with a human at weaning than at a later point in its life. Sometimes the tasks of basic gentling are not completed within the first year but continue when

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1248-463: The horse is a yearling . Yearlings are larger and more unpredictable than weanlings, plus often are easily distracted, in part due to the first signs of sexual maturity. However, they also are still highly impressionable, and though very quick and agile, are not at their full adult strength. Rarer, but not uncommon even in the modern world, is the practice of leaving young horses completely unhandled until they are old enough to be ridden, usually between

1287-540: The price that could be paid per horse being set by the Government, regimental purchasing officers and agents were frequently left with the most inferior animals. Consequently, in 1887 the Remount Department was set up in order to ensure the uniformity and suitability of the animals purchased for the army, and their training. Owners were encouraged to register a proportion of their horses with the Department,

1326-457: The remount officers were drawn from the landed gentry , masters of fox hounds and others who had experience with horses in civilian life, thus avoiding withdrawing army officers from their normal duties. Such remount officers included the well known artists Alfred Munnings , Cecil Aldin , G. Denholm Armour and Lionel Edwards , and Scots-Australian poet Will H. Ogilvie . A Base Remount Depot and two Advanced Remount Depots went to France with

1365-456: The world are first put under saddle at the age of three. However, some slower-maturing breeds, such as the Lipizzan , are not ridden until the age of four. The act of getting on a horse for the first time goes by many names, including backing, breaking, mounting, and simply riding. There are many techniques for introducing the young horse to a rider or to a harness and cart for driving, but

1404-582: The youngest member of the London Sketch Club at the age of nineteen. In 1905, he married Ethel Wells and the couple moved out of London to Radley , in Oxfordshire , and later to Worcestershire , before moving back to Benarth. They both were enthusiastic fox hunters: during his life, Edwards hunted with almost every pack in the country. On the outbreak of the Great War , he volunteered as

1443-520: Was a British artist who specialised in painting horses and other aspects of British country life. He is best known for his hunting scenes but also painted pictures of horse racing, shooting and fishing. He provided illustrations for Country Life , The Sphere , The Graphic and numerous books. The son of a doctor, Edwards grew up at Benarth, a small estate in Conway , North Wales . His father, from whom he acquired his love of fox hunting , died when he

1482-680: Was initial concern that the neutrality of the United States might prevent the purchase of animals in that country, but this proved not to be the case and remount purchasing delegations were set up in Kansas City , St Louis , Chicago , Fort Worth and Denver . In addition to the British Army, the British Remount Service supplied animals to the Belgian, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and Portuguese armies, and even

1521-597: Was seven. From an early age, he showed a talent for drawing horses, an artistic trait which may have come from his maternal grandmother, who was a pupil of George Romney . It seemed he was heading for an Army career until it became apparent that his talents did not lie in that direction, so his mother allowed him to study art in London , first with A.S. Cope and later at the Heatherley School of Fine Art and Frank Calderon 's School of Animal Painting. He became

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