Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-05-04

neck. to which the traces are to be affixed;
whereas there isno part of the harness which
is so important and which ought to tit SO
accurately. How often is a little collar, only
fit for a pony, jammed on the neck OF a
much larger animal, so that every pull he
makes gives thefeelihg of strangulation, and
that will, in all probability, cause some tit,
if long continued, besides its liability to gall
and wiring the poor animals shoulder?
When this has taken place, the work cannot
be fairly performed and to Go it at all, the
anguish of the poor horse must be indescrib-
able.
Secondly, the horsei is often prevented from
throwing his weight into: the collar by a
check-rein-a useless and. painful incum-
brance introduced by vanity and retainedby
thoUghtlessness amounting to cruelty. Ask
horse-keepers why they use it, and hardly
anv II will give the same answer. although
it is generally supposed by them to be a safe
guard in case of stumbling. Thereal object
with which it was introduced was to make
every horse to which it was applied, how
ever weak or old, or poor, assume the lofty
carriage of a thoroughbred horse; and the
tossing Of the head, the foam of the mouth,
and the restless agitation OF the body (mute
but expressive signs of pain and suiferlng)
come, in a little while, not only to be disre-
garded, but even to be looked at with appro-
baton. Fortunately this vitiated taste is
rapidly going out of fashion as better infor-
nation is diffused. Few of the London cab
drivers use the check-reins, knowing them
to be inconsistent with proper work and
when one is observed it will invariably be
found to be on some poor animal, whose
wearied and haggard appearance is attempt
ed to be disguised by this implement of tor
ture.
Thirdly, a great cause of unnecessary pain
and labor to many horses is a neglect in
keeping the wheels properly creased. ''Some
persons may not be aware,' says IIieover,
in his work on Bipeds and Quadrupeds,
" that the trihing neglect of a pair of wheels,
being comparatively dry or well creased,
will cause twenty miles to take more out OF
a horse than forty would in the latter; yet
wheels absolutely screaming from dryness
are often seen, and heard, attacked to carts
and wagons, and thus would the brute IA
human form let them scream till he had
reached his journeys end Or finished his
days work, though his horses were drawing
from such cause at least one ton in tour OF
resistance more than they would if the de-
fnct yyara attnnGn1 tn
Men who have. loaded carts and driven
horses all their lives, ought to know how a
horse should be worked to his masters adj
vantage and his own comfort; but the fact
is the working men know little and care less
on the subject. If this is not so, how is it
that we frequently see the following error:
A disproportlon between the vehicle and the
animal. May not a person everywhere OBJ
serve a fault of this kinda little horse
staggering under the weight of a high and
heavy cart, which, if the load be in the real
of the axle, nearly lifts theunfortunate crea-
ture off his legs, placing him in a position
in which it is impossible for him to exert his
power at all favorably and, on the other
hand, how often is a tall horse sent between
the shafts of q low gig or cart, pulling the
shafts upward at a sharp angle2a position
just as awkward and disadvantageous, and
Wasteful of animal power as that mentioned
betOre.-Am. Stock Journal.
A yYTY r v3Ury,rror