Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1888-12-27
CRUELTY TO HORSES.
tnhunan Practices Which Can Not I
Condemned Too Strongly.

Thurman Practices Which Can Not Be
Condemned Too Strongly.
Slavery, as far as it consists in buy
Ing and selling men, women and chill
dren. has been abolished, and our
legal and moral obligations toward
humanity at large are becoming more
clearly defined; but the slave-holding
and slave-driving fever still boiis in
the blood of our people. For proof
look at the dumb beasts in our streets
who are not yet admitted to have
rights which men and women are
bound to respect-whO are over
worked. overloaded, whipped, jerked.
cursed. curbed, clipped, blinded.
checked-until their lives are one long
burden of misery. There have always
been men who were patient, gentle and
firm with animals, and who knew how
to bring out their best qualities-but
alasi-there have also always been
meu (and such men still exist)
who were guided by that instinct
of 6ull-minded savagery which
only the slow work of progress
can eradicate-the idea of government
by brute force. The horse will be
abused as long as he is in the power of
human beings who have not learned
that the ill-treatment of any dumb or
helpless creature places them far lower
in the scale of conscious existence than
the object of their brutality. He will
be abused as long as men are too stolid
to heed his suffering or too thoughtless
to perceive it. He will be abused as
long as men believe that they know
far more about him than the Power
which created him. The mouth of
colt is as sensitive as a chfld's. That
will never do, so in the process of
breaking-a term which ought to be as
inappropriate when applied to child
it is frequently torn and bruised with
rough bits until when it finally heals
strong man can pull on it. with all his
might. If it had been left normally
sensitive, the animal could have been
guided by a turn of the finger His eyes
can be covered with pieces of leather,
and lock of his name can be pulled
forward under the forehead strap so
that it will fall into the eyes and irri-
tate them.
The tail, his defense against the an
noyance of insects, can be strung or
doci1ed-although, as we are happy to
mention, these offenses are now pun
ishable in several of our States by fine
or Imprisonment. The head affords
another opportunity to readjust crea-
ticn. 1t is still the opinion of many
that it's natural position is one of those
mistakes of stupid unknown First |
Cause, which man, with his superior
judgment, ought to rectify; so it is |
strapped high in the air, and the rest |
less movements and foaming mouth |
occasioned thereby are supposed to in
dictate the suffering creatures uncon-
querable mettle. Even if it is not |
raised to the point of torture, but
merely to that of discomfort, what OBJ
lect can be more disconsolate to the |
eye of human and humane being who |
admires the natural form of horse
than to see his nose poked out stif1y
and his whole pose suggesting jaded
patience and disgust? No wonder,
poor fellow!-he knows in his dumb
way now little his driver knows, but
he would probably be pounded Or
jerked if he showed any resentment, SO
he does what few men would do if they
were compelled to work with their
heads tied back-suffers in silence. /
imagine there would be worse strike
than any we have had yet if the pro-
prietor of some large establishment
should insist upon having all his en-
plOyes wear straps over their backs
from the tops of their heads to belts at
the waist-in order to give them style,
keep their heads up, make them breathe
better and go faster-fOr there is just
as much sense in applying any of these
ideas to a man or a woman us to a
horse What pity that our slaves
here in Connecticut were freed just be-
fore the invention of that supreme in
.strument of modern horse-torture-the
.over-checki Think of the cases in
which it might have been used for dis
sipline when it was pot needed for
~ ! But there is no chance now to
~. -nent any creature with it unless he
is dumb and helpless Times.