Equine Soldiers of the Great
War (1914 – 1918)
As countries around the world commemorate the
th
100 anniversary of the Great War, it is appropriate
to also acknowledge the significant role of horses
during the conflict.
rough terrain. They were invaluable for
reconnaissance and carrying messengers. Their
strength was used to move artillery and ammunition
wagons, ambulances, supply wagons, and field
kitchens. It took 6 to 12 horses to pull a field gun.
Steady animals were needed amidst the chaos. The
deep mud in many areas of the front proved to be a
dangerous obstacle,
Mules and donkeys served the military, as well as
horses, to move supplies and guns. Those who
served with all these animals had great affection for
them.
The WW1 invention of tanks and aeroplanes and the
onset of trench warfare with its use of poison gas,
barbed wire, and machine guns rendered the cavalry
almost obsolete on many fighting fronts.
It was often said that it was easier to replace a
soldier than it was to replace a horse. This was due
to the fact that shipping horses, their tack, and
supplies needed to maintain them was much more
challenging than the shipment of soldiers and their
personal tools of war. With the value of the horse
being significant, it was a tactical maneuver to create
blockades preventing the movement of horses to
forces in need. Lack of obtaining remounts
contributed to the German defeat. Even the wellsupplied American artillery was immobilized by lack
of horsepower in some instances by war’s end.
Where They Came From
WWI MILITARY PERSONNEL PAY TRIBUTE TO THE HORSE
The Role of Horses
All combatants in the conflict used horses to varying
degrees, as the cavalry was considered an essential
offensive element of the military. Motorized
transport was still unreliable. Indeed the cavalry was
the forerunner of today’s tank regiments, which
often still use the term in modern armies, such as
th
Custer’s 7 Cavalry, which exists to this day.
Horses were also used for logistical support, being
better than mechanized vehicles in negotiating
Horses were shipped from many locations. Britain
imported horses from Australia, Canada, the U.S,
and Argentina, also requisitioning them from British
citizens. Many soldiers took their personal horse
with them. Different breeds served different
purposes. However, less well bred horses often did
better in war conditions.
Canada sent about 130,000 horses overseas during
the First World War. By war’s end, Canada supplied
well over 10 per cent of the horses used on the
Western Front, a quarter of them killed every year.
“Morning Glory” was taken by her Quebec owner,
George Harold Baker, who volunteered overseas.
They were separated from the outset and Baker
(who tried to keep track of her) was later killed as
part of the infantry. The horse was one of the very
few lucky ones to return (ensured by an officer
friend of Baker’s), passing away on a Quebec farm in
1936. John McCrae, writer of “In Flanders Fields”
also took his horse “Bonfire” overseas, and would
write letters back to young relatives signed by his
horse complete with hoof print.
Horse Mortality
Challenges to the safety and well-being of the horses
were numerous. There was the predictable danger
of weaponry. As food was often scarce, many
animals succumbed to starvation. Disease, caused
by impossible living conditions and insects, was often
rampant. Veterinary care to handle injuries was
limited. Rough terrain often proved too difficult to
negotiate, and some animals had to be abandoned.
Gas warfare began in 1915, and added another
threat to the animals.
British statistics alone indicate 120,000 horses were
treated by army vets in the first year for wounds and
disease, and almost three-quarters of a million were
treated over the course of the war, half a million
successfully. It is interesting to note that modern
horse trailers came from the horse ambulances
developed to evacuate equines to field hospitals.
It is difficult to come up with an estimate of how
many horses actually served in the Great War
because all sides and countries used them. One
estimate is around six million, with a large
percentage of them dying due to war-related causes.
Another states 8 million horses, plus the countless
donkeys and mules which died on all sides on the
Western Front. During the Battle of Verdun, 7000
horses were killed on both sides on one day in
March. U.S. estimates were that over 6,500 horses
and mules were drowned or killed by shell fire on
Allied ships attacked by the Germans.
Overall, about 25 per cent were killed, and more in
large numbers also succumbed to disease,
malnutrition and injury. Britain had over a million
Prepared for Headwaters Equine Leadership Group, Education
Sub- Committee by Maureen Richardson and Diana JanosikWronski
horses and mules in service, and lost over
484,000 horses in that war: statistically one horse for
every two men. The German army mobilized
715,000 horses and the Austrians 600,000 (or one
for every three men) in the first few weeks of the
war, and later resorted to capturing or seizing horses
in areas they held. The Brabant and Ardennes horses
of the French and Belgian armies were high on the
list because of their strength and disposition.
Between 1914 and 1918 the United States sent
about 1.2 million horses over severely depleting the
domestic supply; only 200 returned. Only one,
named Sandy, returned to Australia because of
quarantine laws. Some breeds, like the already rare
Cleveland Bay in England, were almost wiped out,.
Sadly the fate that befell surviving horses after
Armistice Day was sometimes worse. Having done
their patriotic duty many were slaughtered, or
endured lives of hard labour. Sometimes they were
shot by their own regiments to prevent future abuse
at the hands of new owners. A legacy of this is the
Old War Horse Memorial Hospital which continues
to serve equines around Cairo, Egypt. It was opened
in 1934 by the Brooke Trust, established in 1930 by
a British woman finding hundreds of previously
Allied-owned horses living in poor conditions, after
they were sold to Egyptians. It helped over 5,000
horses that had served in World War I.
“A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a
horse”
The horse is the animal most associated with war.
Its value, in battle and to the morale of those who
fought, was invaluable. Far more died than survived
that conflict. They are immortalized through
tributes in many forms: paintings, sculptures,
monuments, poetry, novels, drama, and music. For
those who love horses, this comes as no surprise; for
those who do not know horses, this is a good
beginning to getting to know them.