Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-10-13
HIS HUMANE HOBBY.
A LOVER or HORSES breaches
AGAINST THE CHECK REIN.

ers. and Showing Them the Cruelty of
High Chccking-Expcriences
Down with the check reini"
Such Is the war cry chosen by gentle.
man Of Scandinavian extraction whose
name Is G. w. Petersen. On Sundays,
and on week days, too, he may be seen
ut various street corners talking to coach
men, teamsters and owners Of horses. He
holds an oil painting in his hands and
shows 1t to the people he addresses as an
illustration Of his arguments. Tho picture
represents horse, a swan and man, all
checked up high, and bears the following
peculiar inscriptions:
"When under high pressure Of low pride
try the check rein on yourself"
Mr.. Petersen Is laughed at and jeered
at by the people he addresses He is often
taken for q crank and told roughly TO
mind his own business, but with tho
obstinacy and perseverance Of Peter the
Hermit, he goes on preaching a crusade
against the check rein. He is one Of those
characters who cannot be discouraged by
obstacles, and who, having once taken up
an idea, will follow it to tho end.
Laugh at me, take me for fool" Mr.
Petersen says, "but l will stick to my
business, and shall denounce the check
rein whenever there is chance"
Mr.. Petersen Is not O member of the
Humane society. He Is no professional
friend of animals. In fact. he minds his
own business every workday in tho week.
But as soon as he feels himself ut liberty
to spare an hour or two he takes his pic
ture and goes out on the street TO carry
on his eccentric propaganda. He is q
frionI 81 ha hnr o,I h., No. tln,,
he sees them suffer.
REGARDLESS OF COMFORT.
''Fashion Is tho curse Of this age" said
Mr.. Petersen; "people will follow it re-
gardless of comfort. They will put
mountains on their backs and call 1t tho
hustle. They will torture themselves In
order to comply with certain forms de.
clared to be the fashion. When people
torture themselves l do not care. Let
them suffer, they ought to know better,
i then think to myself. But when l see
helpless animals tortured for tho sake Of
complying with ridiculous demands Of
fashion, get indignant and cannot stand
It. Tho horse Is one Of the most beauti-
full animals, because Of his fine proper.
tions and graceful. curved outlines. Now
look at that picture. What do you SEQ
thereP You see the laws Of nature vio-
lated. You SEQ q machine put up on the
horse in order to do away with the curved
line his arched neck FORMS
THAT is the way begin my converse.
tion with the people handling horses and
using the check rein.
81 tell them that this check rein Is not
only disfguring the horse but also injur.
ing his health. 1t robs him of comfort, ii
makes him nervous, and he. can't SEQ
tnar L,,, % III. o. A.. =. l.
upward unto the sky. Then l point to
that noble bird would look like II check
rein would be put over her head. Then
point to the checked up man, and ask the
coachman to tell me how he would feel il
he were checked up in q like manner.
How would you feel, manp / say.
THE first few minutes you would proba-
bly, endure this constraint without much
complaint. But then you would begin to
kick. In short time your neck would
begin to ache, and your mouth would be
filed with blood from the fruitless efforts
to get the head down. You would be.
come restless and begin to toss your head
just as your horse is doing 1t now. How
would you feel If, while the sun were
binding your eyes, with burden to draw
or carry, unable to see where to step, you
were whipped into a run, into a ditch or
depression in the rough street pavement
Would you feel comfortable2 That's
why you often see fine horses harnessed
to elegant carriages paw vigorously,
champ the bit, toss the head, and turn
the neck. They want to loosen tho check,
lower tho head, and get rest
HOW THE DRIVER TAKES IT.
1.-THE driver smiles or laughs, or STAN
Il. i'll. r
fellow, and goes on to explain that he
the people who employ him were opposed
to 1t, want more style, and SO on.
"'Well, then,' l say, call your peoples
attention to the fact that the horses are
being tortured by the check rein. Tell
them that the horses would be killed in
short time because Of the silly fashion,
Il thus go on lecturing. Often tho
drivers and coachmen really follow my
advice and remedy the thing. But often
the people are stubborn and do not care
to listen to what / say.
II have discovered that my painting
helps me good deal in my work took
1t one Sunday to the Peoples church at
McVicker's. There was long row Of
carriages with fine horses standing in
front Of the theatre. The horses were
all checked up. / showed the picture to
the coachmen. They laughed and fired
at me all kinds Of silly remarks. Finally
young couple drove up in a carriage to
the theatre. The horse was restless. /
showed my picture to tho young gentle
man and explained to him the reason Of
the horses restlessness. The young gen.
tleman thought he had fool from the
Insane asylum before him. The uni
formed coachmen stood around grinning
and awaiting developments.
"WeU, l gave them practical lesson
right there on the spot. i unchecked
the horse, and there he stood quietly and
comfortably, showing no signs of being
unmanageable. The check having been
loosencd the horse dropped his head. His
neck assumed its natural arched form.
He at once became an object of admira
tion for all the drivers. The young gen.
tleman thanked mo for my advice, and
the lady that was with him thought that
my picture was the best scheme devised
for the welfare Of horses.
1T Is only few weeks since began
to use my picture, and | find 1t much
more eloquent than words. Some time
in the near future shall also have other
pictures copied and painted. I'll show
them horse in its natural position; a
pair of horses, ono checked and another
loose; & span Of horses, easy and grace
full, because Of their not being over
checked; and a pair Of work horses with
check rcins on. The pictures will be
more telling than words, and the crusade
AGAINST tho chnrl raln will ,noLn ra,,;l