The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1889-09-13
ARE BLINKERs HURTFUL,
Reasons Why They Harm Instead q,
Benefit Horses that Wear Them

| Dthtnt IkeFstH tatt w ear Them.
When horse is used for the saddle no
one thinks of meddling with his eyes, and
we allow the animal to use them freely. as
nature has directed. But no sooner do we
put the same animal into harness than we
| think ourselves bound to fasten black
| leather flap over each of his eyes, SO as to
prevent him from seeing objects at his
sides, and to limit his view to those which
are in his immediate front This is done
with the very best intentions. the object
being to save him from being frightened
by startling and unwonted sights, and only
| to leave suffeieney of vision wherewith
to guide his steps. Herein, as in feeding
and stabling the horse, man Judges the
animal by himself, forgetting, or rather
having failed to notice, that the eyes of the
horse are exceedingly unlike our own.
Our eyes are set in the front of our heads,
so that if blinkefs were fastened to our
temples our range Of vision would be but
slightly limited. But the eyes of the horse
are placed on the sides of the head, and are
rather prominent, so that the animal can
only see on either side, bnt by rolling his
eyes backwards, as we see in vicious
horse, can see objects almost in his i'm
mediate rear.
The effect of the blinker is both physi.
cally AID mentally injurious to the horse.
In the first place, especially when large
and brought near the eyes, it has the effect
OF heating them and hindering the free
passage of air over them. In the next
place, it causes the eyes to be always
directed forward, and thus produces most
injurious strain on the delicate muscles
We know how painful sensation is felt
when We are obliged TO strain our eyes
either backward or upward for any length
of time, and the horse suffers no less in
convenience when it is forced to keep its
eyes continually strained forward.
The worst examples of the blinker that
have ever seen, were in the United
States, where the blinkers Cor cylinders, .
as they ARE there named) are often brought
81 eiosciS boStbhCt III iiuuk pl tbtLtus ti u
strap and buckle that a mere narrow strip,
barely half an inch in width, is left for
vision. This again is done with the best
Intentions, the object being to save the
animal from being afflicted by snow blind
ness. Now the horses eyes are in many
respects different from our own, and are
not affected, as is the case with ours, by
the vast expanses of dazzling snow which
are rendered even more dazzling by the
clear atmosphere and brilliant sunshine of
America. One of its safeguards lies in the
remarkable structure which is popularity
termed the ''haw, = and scientifically the
s.nictitating membrane This is a sort of
third eyelid set beneath the trne eyelids,
and capable Of being drawn at will over
the eyeball, thus performing the double
duty of shielding the eye from the direct
glare of light and clearing its surface from
dust or any other foreign substance. This
membrane is seen IN perfection in the birds
of prey, so that the proyerbial statement
that the eagle trains itself TO gaze at the
midday sun has some foundation in fact
Public Opinion.