Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 22 August , 2003 Share Posted 22 August , 2003 I came across an interesting entry in the War Diary of the 52nd Coy MGC today: 1 April 1916 - Oats from America are rumoured to contain pieces of steel to injure our horses. OK Pals, I am aware of the date of the entry BUT we are talking about the British Army here. I wonder if this was part of the Brits suspicion of Germano-Americans at that time? Has anyone else come across similar rumours/war diary entries? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 22 August , 2003 Share Posted 22 August , 2003 Ian at least we don't eat them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 22 August , 2003 Share Posted 22 August , 2003 I am sure some of our French comrades will disagree with you there! Having had the pleasure myself - not by choice I should add - I can pass on it. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle bill Posted 22 August , 2003 Share Posted 22 August , 2003 I used to be a French based racing cyclist and our Polish coach insisted on us eating horse meat. I reckon I've eaten enough to field a full Aintree race meeting. Yum yum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 22 August , 2003 Share Posted 22 August , 2003 Has it had any lasting effects - such as a desire for hay and running around fields in every direction? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Ian There is a nice chapter about the procurement and treatment of horses in Wilson's The Great War. To quote the text "....German agents tried every conceivablemeans to destroy British war-horses before they were shipped. In several cases disease germs were poured into depot water supplies; in another case small steel spikes, each of them barbed at the sides like the end of a fish hook, were mixed with oats intended for horse food. These, if swallowed by a horse, were calculated to perforate the stomach and bowels - a most barbarous thing to do to any horse. No outrage that was calculated to kill a horse or give him disease that would spread to other horses - in fact, no outrage of any kind - was too bad for these German agents to attempt, and the watch maintained to prevent this sort of thing had to be most strict. " These depots were in America and were guarded by what the book (NOT ME !) describes as "darkies of the Southern States of America" Mick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle bill Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Ian. Nothing as drastic as that but if I ever have a coffee at your house I will eat all the sugar cubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianw Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Most of the horses I have ever placed a bet on would have been better for me cooked in a rich provencale sauce and served with a baguette ! Eating horses and dogs is particularly offensive to the average Anglo-Saxon although it seems rather irrational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Eating horses and dogs is particularly offensive to the average Anglo-Saxon although it seems rather irrational. I've never figured that out either! Some people are quite happy to devour Flopsy & Thumper but are sickened at the thought of chomping on lumps of Lassie & Champion Ostrich is pretty tasty, as is kangaroo. And I once tried human flesh, that'll teach me not to bite my lip Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gem22 Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Lee Who was the rotten so and so who accused you of being human? Anyway horse flesh is very tasty particularly when followed by a bowl of rolled oats. Garth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Lee Who was the rotten so and so who accused you of being human? Certainly not my mum, she reckons her real child was swapped for me at the hospital! My dad says that the only other child born on the day as me was a ginger haired girl, and as neither of my parents have ginger hair it can't be true. But then he did say that the milkman was ginger, then my mum slapped him My cousin had horse-meat when he was on a French exchange programme with the school, he says it was tasty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Birch Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Once in Paris I had "Special" steak. My daughter had fillet steak. She ate hers without a murmer other than saying how nice and tender it was. Mine was like leather, and I just couldn't masticate it enough to swallow. I called the waiter over and complained. "Why wasn't it tender like my daughter's?" "Because it was "special"" came the reply. Eventually I gave up in disgust and quized the waiter again as to whether it had come from the same butcher? "Of course" came the reply. "Well I bet it wasn't from the same steer" I retorted. "Steer?" said the waiter, "most certainly not! It was pure horse flesh!" Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 To my eternal shame I once ate whale meat in Norway, although in my defence, I did not know it at the time. Also ate reindeer meat too - the only side effect was that I awoke on Xmas eve clinging to our chimney pot stack Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christine liava'a Posted 23 August , 2003 Share Posted 23 August , 2003 Certainly not my mum, she reckons her real child was swapped for me at the hospital! My dad says that the only other child born on the day as me was a ginger haired girl, and as neither of my parents have ginger hair it can't be true. I was (once)( and that relates to time passing, not a sexchange) a " ginger-haired girl" and neither of my parents had ginger hair! So that doesn't prove anything! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevebec Posted 24 August , 2003 Share Posted 24 August , 2003 Dear Chris, My sister has the same problem with her hair, being the only one in the family with such. I can not recall any documents in the Aust Light Horse about the posible poisioning of the feed. There was same minor comment about the Egypto's may of done this as there were many working for the Allied Armies in Egypt. Also there had been a so called rebelion by the Senssi. But most of our feed was from other Commonweath Countries and not the USA. S.B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hill 60 Posted 24 August , 2003 Share Posted 24 August , 2003 I was (once)( and that relates to time passing, not a sexchange) a " ginger-haired girl" and neither of my parents had ginger hair! So that doesn't prove anything! Come to think of it, I had blond hair up until I was about 3 yrs old. Then it went to light brown, then dark brown and then it just went! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marco Posted 26 August , 2003 Share Posted 26 August , 2003 Yes, there is story in the book ANIMAL WAR HEROES about a horse called Warrior (I’m currently at work so can’t look who’s horse it was) which was poisoned this way. This animal was saved by actions from the animal itself and a vet. I think the story of Warrior was also recently published in ST! because this whole business sounds very familiar to me..... Regards, marco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Bruce Posted 27 August , 2003 Share Posted 27 August , 2003 From the diary of 5th Seaforth officer for 28 Feb 16 - As part of description of demonstration given by French artillery to students at officers' school 'Also saw a patent hook arrangement which the French are getting occassionaly in the horses fodder which is coming from America, and is evidently being doctored in this way by the Allemands' Jock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ian Bowbrick Posted 28 August , 2003 Share Posted 28 August , 2003 JB, That is interesting because the entry in the 52 MG Coy diary was around the same time. Perhaps there was a communication issued to all Divisions? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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