Ragtime
The Arabian Horse
Ragtime, or Raggie as he was called, was born in India in 1910. He was the personal horse for Lord Middleton. Raggie was a well-bred horse; his mother was Gladrags and his sire Geneva, an Arabian. Raggie took after his Arabian father in looks and size.
On the way to the front to rejoin Middleton, Raggie was almost stolen by an Arab. It seems that bands of Arabs would snipe at the camp of soldiers and steal everything they could. One Arab in particular tried to steal Raggie, but he was caught by a sentry.
Just like the other animals who served in the Middle East, Raggie had to endure long marches in terrible heat, often without food or water. Raggie and his two stablemates, Galopia and Alphonse, were cared for as best as circumstances permitted.
During troop movements, the three horses had to be transported by a small boat that did not have a gangplank for the horses to unload. In order to get the horses on shore, they had to jump over the side of the boat to the bank about ten feet below.
Alphonse, who was the most experienced jumper, went first and landed on his chest and head. Next came Raggie, who landed similarly next to Alphonse. Lastly and calmly came Galopia, who landed on the backs of the other two horses. None were hurt, but all were rather annoyed and stood stamping and snorting their displeasure.