Pack and Draught Animals

All animals which are used as beasts of burden and of draught, and all artillery horses are considered under this head. Taking the usual effect of a man’s daily labor as unity, a horse can carry a load on a horizontal plane 4.8 to 6.1 times, and a mule, 7.6 times greater than a man. Taking a man with a wheel-barrow as unity, a horse in a four-wheel wagon can draw 17.5, and in a cart, 24.3, and a mule in a cart, 23.3 times greater burden. On account of the peculiar build of a mule he is a superior pack-animal to the horse. There are from 91 to 130 draught horses required for a field-battery; for siege-train about 1900 (see Siege-train ); and 8 for a siege-gun. The load allotted to a light artillery horse is 700 pounds; to a heavy field artillery horse, 800 pounds; and to a siege artillery horse, 1000 pounds, including weight of carriages. It is le than that drawn by a horse of commerce, in consequence of bad roads, bad forage, rapid movements, and forced marches. A team of four horses can draw, with useful effect, including the weight of carriage, 2400 pounds; six horses, 3000 pounds; eight horses, 3600 pounds; and twelve horses, 4800 pounds. It is usual to estimate the weight of a carriage exceeding 1200 pounds as part of the load. A pack-horse can carry 250 to 300 pounds 20 miles a day; and a draught horse, 1600 pounds 23 miles a day, weight of carriage included. Usually a horse can draw seven times as much as he can carry. An ordinary march is about 15 miles at 2 1 ⁄ 2 miles per hour for six hours; this must depend upon the condition of the horses, state of the roads, and various other circumstances. Horses starting fresh, and resting after their work, may, on tolerable roads, perform 2 miles in half an hour; 4 miles in one and a half hours; 8 in four, and 16 in ten hours. The daily allowance of water for a horse is four gallons. For the daily ration of forage supplied to animals in the U. S. service, see Forage . An army requires to be accompanied by several you sand pack-animals, sometimes horses, but preferably mules; and in Asia, commonly camels, or even elephants. In battle, the immediate reserves of small-arm ammunition are borne in the rear of divisions by pack-animals; the heavy reserves being in wagons between the army and its base of operations.