Soldiers and Their Horses: Sense, Sentimentality and the Soldier-Horse Relationship in The Great War (Routledge Studies in Cultural History)

"The soldier-horse relationship was nurtured by The British Army because it made the soldier and his horse into an effective fighting unit. Soldiers and their Horses explores a complex relationship forged between horses and humans in extreme conditions. As both a social history of Britain in the early twentieth century and a history of the British Army, Soldiers and their Horses reconciles the hard pragmatism of war with the imaginative and emotional. By carefully overlapping the civilian and the military, by juxtaposing 'sense' and 'sentimentality', and by considering institutional policy alongside individual experience, the soldier and his horse are re-instated as co-participators in The Great War. Soldiers and their Horses provides a valuable contribution to current thinking about the role of horses in history"-- Provided by publisher Soldiers and Horses explores a complex relationship forged between horses and humans in extreme conditions. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 6 List of Figures 8 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction: ‘A Vague Smell of Heresy’ 12 1 ‘The Most Vital Question of All’ Military Reform and Social Change in Britain, 1899–1914 22 2 ‘A Weapon in the Hands of the Allies’ The Remount Service and the Army Veterinary Corps during The Great War 44 3 ‘Humanity, Efficiency and Economy’ Sympathetic Consideration and the Soldier-Horse Relationship, 1914–1918 75 4 ‘For King and Country’ How the Soldier-Horse Relationship Was Portrayed during The Great War 99 5 ‘Mortal Immortals’ Remembering and Forgetting the Soldier-Horse Relationship, 1918–1939 126 Conclusion: ‘Until the Slate Is Washed Clean’ 150 Bibliography 156 Index 170 Army,Veterinary,Corps;,Horse-Human,Relationship;,Soldier-Horse,Relationship;,The,British,Army;,The,Great,War;,The,Remount,Service Army Veterinary Corps,Horse-Human Relationship,Soldier-Horse Relationship,The British Army,The Great War,The Remount Service This book explores a complex relationship forged between horses and humans in extreme conditions. By reconciling the hard pragmatism of war with the imaginative and emotional responses it inspired, the soldier and his horse are re-instated as co-participators in The Great War.