11/11/2025
It's wonderful for our AAVC Troop to have one of its Troop members with a close connection to these brilliant Lighthorsemen.. Trooper Toni Richards rides in honor of her 2 great Uncle's and Great Grandfather, who were all Lighthorsemen during World War 1
'"Tiger" Richards from Narrandera buck jumping at the AIF Remount Depot. Egypt 1916.'
AWM
notes on horses being bought by the army...
Army horse-breakers were called roughriders. Obviously many horses were bought unbroken, and were mature - unhandled. Supposedly 4 to 8 years but many proved much older. Several men were killed breaking them and several injured badly; no reflection on the horses, just on the army expectation of them being broken in a single day with no prior handling.
Preferably broken horses, or at least basically handled were bought for army use, but these invariably cost more, pricing the army out. So wildies and off the track race failures were common.
If a man supplied his own horse, the army bought it from him for 30 pounds, which the army considered a good price - in fact it was low for the times, at least 40 pounds was a fair price for a remount and the least price expected in our lively horse trade. However at least a man could retain his horse if the army bought it, a horse he knew and trusted and which was broken in and the ideal age.
Prior to WW1, those volunteering with mounted militia and light horse units had to supply their own horse, for which they were given a 1 pound a year allowance. Needless to say this resulted in inferior horses due to the expense of buying and keeping a horse, and men often changing their horse say three or four times a year, as they sold them on, which meant they were constantly getting their new horses used to mounted drill etc. Officers complained bitterly about how nonsensical this situation was, so things quickly changed once war broke out and the army took ownership of all horses it used.
So either a man supplied his own horse and the army paid him for it, while he could still use it as his personal horse in the army, or the army supplied a man with a horse (remount). The army remounts varied from excellent horses to rubbish basically. As horse were being bought up in huge numbers for the war, second rate animals were often taken. Nonetheless the men managed.
Not sure how the Boer War handled privately owned horses. Most were supplied by the army but quite a few of the men supplied horses themselves, presumably the army paid for them and were able to buy them back at war's end, not sure. Kitchener was the worst horse killer in history, about half a million horses died in two short years at that war so constant new supplies were shipped in from many countries. Australia supplied 23,028 horses to that war.
It was forbidden from start of WW1 for an army man to bid at auctions where unwanted army horses were being sold, this was strictly policed in case a horse was passed out as unsuitable but in fact was valuable, or was sold back to the army. So after the war, the men were not allowed to bid on their own horse at end of war auctions.
Officers in WW1 had to supply their own horse. Most did, but as many people donated good officers horses the pressure was off them financially, and they were able to accept a gift horse. They were given an allowance for the upkeep of their horse/s. Horse traders and breeder like Kidman (who donated 200 good horses) meant officers not only had a reliable main mount, but the usual couple of spares too. It appears the army didn't buy officers horses as several were able to rehome them after the war with no bother, e.g. to homes in England for hunting.
