St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-02
HORSE BLINKERs.
Their Effect Upon the Sight and
MnYemenfS nP the Animal

movements OF the Animal.
When the 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 ami
NAL into harness than we think our
selves bound to fasten a black leather
flap over each of his eyes, so as to pre-
vent 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 a Sufficiency of
vision wherewith to guide his steps.
Herein, as in feeding and stabling the
horse. man judges the animal by him
self, 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 blinkers 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 cannot
only see OH either side. but by rolling
his eyes backward, as we see in a
vicious horse, can see object almost in
his immediate rear. The effect of the
blinkers is both physically and
metally injurious to the horse.
In the first place. espe-
cIally when large, and brought
near the eyes. it has the effect of h, at
ing them and hindering the tree passage
of air over them. In the next place it
causes the eyes to be always directed
forward, and thus produces most iniu-
riouS strain on the 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 SntierS no less IN
convenience when it is forced to keep
Its eyes continually strained forward.
The worst example of the blinker
that L have ever seen We're in (he,
United States, where the blinkers tor
cylinders" as they are there named
are often brought so closely together
by means of a 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-blindness. 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 the safeguards lies
in the remarkable structure which is
popularity termed the "haw," and scien-
/ titically the 'nictitating membrane
This is sort of third eyelid
set beneath the true eyeIids, and capa-
BILE of being drawn at will over the eye
! ball. 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 proverbial
statement that the eagle trains itself to
gaze at the midday sun has me found
alton in fact