The Boer rider and equipment, including saddle,
rifle, blankets, and a food-supply, rarely weighed more than two hundred
and fifty pounds, which was not a heavy load for a horse to carry. A
British cavalryman and his equipment of heavy saddle, sabre, carbine, and
saddle-bags, rarely weighed less than four hundred pounds--a burden which
soon tired a horse. Again, almost every Boer had two horses, so that when
one had been ridden for an hour or more he was relieved and led, while the
other was used. In this manner the Boers were able to travel from twelve
to fourteen hours in a day when it was absolutely necessary to reach a
certain point at a given time. Six miles an hour was the rate of progress
ascribed to horses in normal condition, and when a forced march was
attempted they could travel sixty and seventy miles in a day, and be in
good condition the following morning to undertake another journey of equal
length. Small commandos often covered sixty and seventy miles in a day,
especially during the fighting along the Tugela, while after the battles
of Poplar Grove and Abraham's Kraal, and the capture of Bloemfontein, it
seemed as if the entire army in the Free State were moving northward at a
rate of speed far exceeding that of an express train. The mobility of the
Boer army was then on a par with that of the British army after the battle
of Dundee, and it was difficult to determine which of the two deserved the
palm for the best display of accelerated motion.
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