Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1889-02-28
A LOVER OF HORSES breaches
AGAINST THE CHECK REIN.

Carrying an Oil Painting In His Hand HI
Goes About the Streets Lecturing Driv
ers, and Showing Them the Cruelty o
High Checking
Down with the check reinl"
Such is the war cry chosen by gentle
man Of Scandinavian extraction whose
name is C. w. Petersen. On Sundays
and on week days, too, he may be seer
at various street corners talking to coach
men, teamsters and owners of horses. Ht
holds an oil painting in his hands and
shows it to the people he addresses as az
illustration of his Arguments The picture
represents horse, swan and man, al
checked up high, and bears the following
peculiar Inscription;
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 crank and told roughly to
mind his own business, but with the
obstinacy and perseverance of Peter the
Hermit, he goes on preaching 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 the end.
Laugh at me, take me for fool, )" Mr..
Petersen says, "but | will stick to my
business, and shall denounce the check
rein whenever there is chance"
Mr.. Petersen is not member of the
Humane society. He is no professional
friend of animals. In fact, he minds his
own business every workday in the week.
But as soon as he feels himself at 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 a
friend of the horses, and he suffers when
he sees them suffer.
REGARDLESS OF COMFORT.
Fashion is the curse of this age," said
Mr.. Petersen; people will follow it re-
gardless of comfort. They will put
mountains on their backs and call it the
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,
then think to myself. But when | see
helpless animals tortured for the sake of
complying with ridiculous demands of
fashion, get indignant and cannot stand
it. The horse is one of the most beauti-
full animals, because of his fine proper
tons and graceful, curved outlines. Now
look at that picture. What do you sec
there? You see the laws of nature vio-
lated. You see a 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
ton 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, it
makes him nervous, and he can't see
anything, because of being forced to look
upward unto the sky. Then | point to
the swan, and ask the coachman what
that noble bird would look like if a 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 II
he were checked up in like manner.
"'How would you feel, man? l 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
to get the head down. You would be-
come restless and begin to toss your head
just as your horse is doing it now. How
would you feel if, while the sun were
binding your eyes, with burden to draw
or carry, unable to see wnere to step, you
were whipped into run, into ditch or
depression in the rough street pavement
Would you feel comfortable! That's
H. of% G,,o hor
to elegant carriages paw vigorously,
champ the bit, toss the head, and turn
the neck. They want to loosen the check,
lower the head, and get rest
HOW THE DRIVER TAKES 1T.
1.-THE driver smiles or laughs, or STAN
mers something. He thinks am queer
fellow, and goes on to explain that he
would not mind loosening the check, but
the people who employ him were opposed
to it, want more style, and so on.
"'Well, then,' 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 a
short time because of the silly fashion
II thus 60 on lecturing. Often the
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.
Il have discovered that my painting
helps me good deal in my work. took
it one Sunday to the Peoples church at
There was a long row Of
carriages with fine horses standing in
front of the theatre The horses were
all checked up. l showed the picture to
the coachmen. They laughed and fired
at me all kinds of silly remarks. Finally
q young couple drove up in a carriage to
the theatre. The horse was restless. l
showed my picture to the 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.
well. | gave them practical lesson
right there on the spot. / unchecked
the horse, and there he stood quietly and
showing no signs of being
The check having been
loosened the horse dropped his head. His
neck assumed its natural arched form.
He at once became an object of admira-
ton for all the drivers. The young gen.
tleman thanked me for my advice, and
the lady that was with him thought that
my picture was the best scheme devised
for the welfare of horses.
"It is only few weeks since began
to use my picture, and l find it much
more eloquent than words. Some time
in the near future shall also have other
pictures copied and painted. I'll show
them a horse in it's natural position;
pair of horses, one checked and another
loose; span of horses, easy and grace
full, because of their not being over
shocked; and pair of work horses with
,booly rains on The pictureS will he