number estimated
for these purposes was 25,000.[23] No difficulty, it was thought,
would be experienced in obtaining this number and, with the supply for
six months' wastage in hand, time would be available to arrange for
meeting further demands if they arose.

[Footnote 23: "On mobilisation being ordered, horses to the
number of 3,682 were bought from the registered reserve, the
remainder required being obtained in the open market, and all
units received their full complement with 10 per cent. of
spare horses. No units were delayed for want of horses."
(Court of Inquiry, Remount department, 5,344-5).

The number of horses actually purchased from the registered
reserve, and in the open market at home, amounted to 73,000
by the end of 1901.]

[Sidenote: Purchase of mules and horses.]

Transport mules would in any case have to be purchased abroad and
records were preserved of the resources of different mule-producing
countries; but there had been no expectation of having to supplement,
to any extent, the home supply of horses. The Inspector-General of
Remounts had personal experience of horse purchase in Argentina, and
the success which had attended his transactions there, coupled with
his knowledge of the market, led him to believe that there would be no
difficulty in obtaining from that country a supply of good and
suitable horses, sufficient to meet any demand that might be
reasonably expected.[24] Information regarding the horse markets of
other countries did not go beyond such personal knowledge as a few
individuals in the department happened to possess. So enormous did
demands eventually become, that it is open to question whether, had
all possible information been at command, there existed for sale
anywhere a sufficient number of horses of the right age and stamp,
trained to saddle and in condition, to furnish the numbers
required.[25] Purchases of horses were, indeed, made in South Africa
before the war, under the orders of the General Officer Commanding in
that country. This was done as a mere matter of local convenience, not
as a preparation for war. Furthermore, in the middle of September
financial approval was given for the purchase "of 260 Australian
horses to replace the next year's casualties."[26] Illusions as to the
sufficiency of the home supply were speedily dispelled by the
unforeseen conditions accompanying the trans