Forums at The Military Horse

Uncle Arthur:

Well, on closer inspection I also see clearly that the leathers are placed correctly. I am also not too fond of a buckle against the shin!

John:

I agree entirely that the stirrups leathers are reversed--I was unaware of the saber protection function--sort of along the lines of a spare curb chain on the browband...I guess it couldn't hurt!

John:

I was at the Invalides last spring--their collections are magnificent!

I wonder why the stirrup leathers are so long--notice how their long tail has been folded up on itself and passed through a captive keeper.

Hello John:

Well, once in a blue moon it pays to be in academia--Forbes V1 is held in several libraries where I have inter-Library loan privileges. I can ask our head librarian to request it on my behalf.

U of Michigan has it on-line fully searchable, but no views--due to copyright restrictions. I ...

Hello John:

No, I have no 3D drawing of it--I suppose I could have my students loft one using AutoCAD as a nice real world exercise.

I'm looking at Tylden, p. 130, Figures 6 and 7 right now--all three Forbes are expensive--they are on Google Books in "snippet view" though. I'll see if Mr Hansen ...

Gentlemen:

Thanks for the consolation--yes, it is much in the same category as "Horses and Saddlery", "Riding and Schooling Horses", "American Military Horsemanship" and "The American Military Saddle"; always within reach!

Todd:

Wow; I'm torn--I'm glad it is readily available now, but I wonder what this does to the value of my hard-sought copy...

Larry:

These are great primary accounts--incidentally, there are some great watercolors of remount depots and duty in teh collections of the Australian War Museum on-line.

About seven years ago I found some really good plates at the LOC of the acceptable "types" that remount purchasers were to ...

Hello John:

There are also excellent photos of the Jabez-Royal Armoury saddle (AL.218 1) on p. 169 of "The American Military Saddle" by Dorsey and McPheeters.

I have Tylden open to plate 11 at this moment, and it brings to mind anotehr saddle altogether--I have plates for an 1842 Prussian ...

Larry:

The Illustrated VAOS is definitely Post-WWII. Proof of that is found on the final plate, which is of the memorial collar for war dogs, with the dates of the war inscribed on it.

I have VAOS D-1 lists and VS Section 2 lists from 1893 to 1946 if you need them.

Larry and Sandy -- I use a ...

Bruce:

That is on Plate 66 of the Illustrated VAOS; unfortunately, I am missing plates 66 and 67.

Here is the nomenclature from the index:

http://mysite.verizon.net/vzeeir49/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/00avaos.jpg



Regards,

John Ruf
Culpeper, Virginia

"God forbid that I should go ...

Tom:

We use the clove hitch exclusively, but we loop the bight-end back through towards the horse, to ease the release in an emergency.

It is easy to teach, prevents sliding along the line, and yet it is easy to release, even when wet, in the dark, with numb fingers, and after having been jerked ...

Philip:

Thanks for transcribing and posting the WWI US instructions; I was about to start scanning them, but you saved me the trouble.

I have scanned the British illustrations, which I will post in a seperate thread.





Regards,

John Ruf
Culpeper, Virginia

"God forbid that I should go to any ...

Pat:

That British WWI cartoon is so appropriate: It captures the joy of horse watch on a large picket line perfectly.

In my experience it is worst when the horses are fresh, usually on the first night out. After a hard day in harness they tend to be pretty calm all night through.

Of course there ...

Pat:

I read it when Couvi was kind enough to e-mail me a copy.

It was interesting reading, and I enjoyed the photos, especially of the portees. The statistics are fascinating and eye-opening.

My overall impression was one of sadness at the irony of General Herr's position. Instead of seeing the ...

Jim:

I just finished reading your book, and I have to say thank you.

Excellent scholarship, and you make observations and points that I would never have realized on my own.

Even though I was familiar with much of the raw data, you have made sense of it all, and imbued it with a deeper meaning ...

Dusan:

Yes, I have seen it, but I don't own it.

It certainly needed to be added to this list!

Regards,

John Ruf
Culpeper, Virginia

"God forbid that I should go to any Heaven in which there are no horses."
Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham 1852-1936

U.S. Army Headgear References:

Howell, Edgar M. (1969). United States Army Headgear to 1854.<i>United States National Museum</i>, Bulletin 269.

_______.(1975). United States Army Headgear 1855-1902. <i>Smitsonian Studies in History and Technology</i>, 30.

Langellier, J. (2002). U.S. Army Headgear ...

Pat:

Excellent points, and important enough to bear closer examination.

The best concise work on the history of logistics I have read is <i>Supplying War</i> by Van Creveld. While brief, he does touch upon the transition from horse-drawn to rail logistics, on through to motor transport.

I also ...

Gentlemen:

You are being to hard on Renault on the radiator placement.

Think how nice it would be in the winter, especially with that open cab.

The driver could also brew a cup of tea or coffee, and keep it warm, right as they drove. (Fry an egg for that matter)

Logistically, it must have been a ...