The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1889-11-22
What is Overlooking a Horse and How
Proved.

The following taken from "Bishop
on Statutory Crimes edition of 49,
73, Page 6S9-is believed to be sound
law, the aoorld oUer, on the above sub
ject.
1t was written by Mr.. Angel, in re,
viewing decision of Massachusetts,
Court in 1868 that there was no cruel
ty because other horses of The same
,ceight were able to draw the load in
question. 10 'ods the first and last
decision OF the kind eUer rendered in
Massachusetts.
"Must an animal be worked until he
breaks blood vessel or drops dead,
before the law takes cognizauce2 Is
the horse to be strained, or worked to
the extreme limit of his strength, be.
fore such straining or working be-
comes a cruelty chat is, before the act
of his master becomes 'overloading2O
Can an expert, or any number of ex-
perts, say what is the limit of strength
or endurance of any horse by simply
knowing his weight 1t seems to me
that these questions can be easily ans
wered Horses, like men, are of diff
ferent ages, constitutions, tempera-
ments, formation and degrees of
strength. One horse, Just like one
man, may be twice as fast, twice as
tough, as another precisely of the same
weights and inasmuch as horses, like
men, are liable to great variety of
sickness, and suffer, just like men,
from previous overworking and from
heat, want OF proper rest, food, water,
shelter and care, it follows that the
same horse, like the same man, may be
able to perform without injury more
labor in one day than another.
"Can a thousand experts prove that
all men of given weight or size are
equally competent, on every day of
the year, to perform given laborY
Can their testimony establish how
much load a man of given weight
should carry, and how far he should
carry it on given day, without re-
gard to whether the man is old or
young, sick or well, strong or weak,
tough or tender, already tired or rest
ed, fulfilled or starved, or the day hot
or cold? And does not precisely the
same reason apply to the horse,-that
9chat one horse can do one day has
no force IN Sho,oipg ,ohat another
ought to do on another day, un.
less you show the weather, age,
strength, toughDess and bodily condi-
tion of the two to be precisely similar!
say, then, that it is just as impossible
for any number of experts, knowing
only the weight or size of horse and
nothing of his age, health, strength,
toughness and bodily condition, to es
tablish what is, or is not, overlooking
him, as it would be, knowing only the
size or weight of man and nothing
of his age, health, strength, toughness
or bodily condition, to establish what
is or what is not an overload for him.
"How, then, are we to determine
when horse is overloaded? Just ex-
actly and precisely as we determine
when man is overloaded. First, zoe
are to take his oocn euidence. If
man stops and says, 81 am overloaded,
I am working too hard, l feel that the
task put upon me is too heavy that is
evidence So when the horse, ordi-
narily kind and willing to pull. comes
with a heavy load to rise of land and,
after one or two efforts, stops and says
as plainly as he can speak it, 81 am
overloaded, | am working too hard, l
feel that the task put upon me is too
heavy" that is evidence; and there is
no court or jury, or man with the
heart of man, who will not recognize
it as such. Besides, the signs of over
work are just as visible in the horse as
the man. No magistrate or juror
would have any difficulty in deciding
in his own mind whether case to
which his attention might be attracted
in our public streets was or was not a
case of cruelty.
'ls not, then, the testimony of COM
petent, intelligent and credible by
ISLANDERS, who see how the horse looks
and acts, and his bodily condition,
health, and capacity to perform the
labor required, the best evidence that
can possibly be obtained! Where can
you get better? And when disinterest-
ed and intelligent witnesses, who are
present aud see and hear all that is
said and done in given case, volun.
tarilv leave their ordinary avocations
and come into court and testify that
they are fully satisfied that the case is
clear case of cruelty, can such evil
dence be overbalanced by that of any
number of experts who are not present,
see nothing that occurs, know nothing
of the age, health, strength, or bodily
condition of the horse at the time, and
who base their calculations simply up
on the avoirdupois weight of the ami
mali II Is perfectly ecident, then, I
sag, that The highest and best eoi-
dence which any court or jury can ask
or possibly obtain in case of over
loading, overworking, or overdriving,
is the evidence of the horse himself,
as interpreted by those present when
the cruelty is inflicted.
"Cruelty begins very far short of
taking the extreme strength of the ami
NAL. God has given to men and ami
mails an excess of strength, to be hus.
banded carefully and used occasionally.
But to task that strength to its full
limit unnecessarily is against nature,
breaks down the man or the animal
before his or its time, and is a cruelty
against which men, having speech and
reason, may protect themselves, bit
against aohiCh animals, having neiM-
er speech nor reason like men, must