Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-02-25
THE OVERDRAW CHECK.
Some Pertinent Comments on q Cruel and
Inhuman Custom.

IHhuman Custom.
During a recent visit to Chic ago 1
was surprised to note what seemed at
first glance a great superiority both in
stvle and carriage of the horses of that
city as compared with those usually
seen on the drives in this vicinity. /
know from experience that we have as
good horsef1esh here as can be found
anywhere, but upon closer investiga-
ton l discovered that the reason why
the horses of Chicago appeared supe-
rior in gait and carriage to anything
here was owing to the fact that none
that l noted wore what is called the
the overdraw check.
1t is an unfortunate fact that most of
our horses here are made to look abb
surd with their heads pulled up to an
altogether unnatural position. which
must be as painful as it is lacking in
grace, as a result of the general use of
this abominat;on So far as l can de-
termine the use of the overdraw check
is unwarranted and unjustified by any
single sensible reason.
Nature gives the well-bred horse a
beautifully arched neck. When by the
use of tight check rein the head of
such a horse is drawn close to it's
breast, or when by employing the over
draw check the end of the nose is lift
ed out into the air and the head tilted
back, all the beauty of nature is taken
away and the horse is rendered unable
to perform its work to the best adj
vantage. Draught horses are not thus
checked, because q horse cannot pull
properly with his head drawn up into
Ln hov could
No amount of checking can add in
any way to the beauty of a homely
horse, but only serves to exaggerate
the poor creatures lack of beauty.
Handsome horses are made ugly by
that process and ugly horses are made
to look worse. Where then is the adj
vantage?
Occasionally, but very rarely, horse
will need to be slightly checked to be
made useful for driving or other pur-
poses. These instances are extremely
rare and cannot be cited with any truth
as an excuse for the general practice of
using tight check rein.
1t is a curious idea with many that a
horse of spirit holds his head high in
the air while working. Anyone who
believes in that fallacy has only to look
at the photographs of noted race horses
or the best-bred stock in the country,
or to watch an unchecked team at
work. and the examinations will show
natural posture of the head very
different from anything one will be
able to note in majority of the
checl1ed-up carriage horses of this and
adjacent cities. Some possibly may
argue that. as an ill-bred or a sick
horse will droop his head, therefore a
we'll bred and perfectly able animal
ought to hold his head in the extreme
opposite direction, or in other words,
as his nose points to the ground in one
instance it should be made to point
heavenward in the other.
When man underta lles to improve
upon nature in rearr;s,ging and shift
ing the natural postures of the animals
of this earth, he generally makes a
mistake.
1t is really wonderful what an i'm
provement is visible in the appear
ance of the horses of Chicago since the
people of that city have had the good
sense to do away with the objection
able overdraw check, which was first
introduced there fifteen years ago.
Fancy Rosa Bonheur's famous paint
ing with the horses heads represented
in the position into which they would
be brought by the use of this particu-
larly detestable piece of harness. 1t
does seem as though the average
American citizen ought to be smart
enough and sensible enough to see not
only the absurdity, but the extreme
cruelty of this thing and to do away
with it altogether.-W. W. Hallock, in
n. Y. Times.