Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-02-02
TIE couRra
CoUnT n GENERAL TERar--Chief Justice Bing.
ham and Judges Coz aud Janes

L
ham and Judges Cor and James.
festerday-ln re J. f. Matzeliger: decision oil
patent ofnce affirmed; opinion by Justic
James; MacksI agt. Luckett: Judgment af.
cree below reversed; do. Petit & Dripps agt
Wooden Sand Separator Scow; libel dismissed;
opinion by Justice Cox. In re ]. J. P. O'Dell;
decision OF patent office affirmed; do. Sher-
man agt Sherman; decree below reversed; do.
Jennings agt Webb; Judgment below affirmed
do: Willett agt Otterback; demurrer over
ruler and cause remauded; opinion by chief
Justice. In re Addison Day; petitioner dis
charged; opinion by Justice Cox. Harper agt,
Brown; appeal dismissed; do. In re Washing
ton Loan aud Trust Co. ct al: powers under
Incorporation declared; opinion BY chief JUS
sice. Fiagg agt. Kirk; argued and submitted.
The "Kemble jackson" Check.
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
Will you permit few words in answer to
the letter in your issue of the 29th ultimo,
signed Horse" which says:
MANY horses have to be driven With the
check-rein or the overdraw, and wherefor? II
horse travels low in front he will stumble
sooner or later. A stumbling horse is an
abomination and cannot be cured unless he 10
checked high"
We have heard this argument used but
never by any one who had any but tho most
superficial knowledge of the horse and none
most beautiful of animals. Job says: HAST
Thou given the horse strength Hast Thou
clothed his neck with thunder?''
We clothe bis neck with al instrument of
torture, which pulls his nose up and out on a
level with his ears and prevents him from clos
Ing his mouth. thereby forcing him to breathe
through the lips rather than the nostrils. The
continued pressure hardens his mouth and
nnaliy the natural and beautiful arch of the
neck, which Is dependent upon the free play of
col no 10 .tt arl,,
full muscles which pull toward the shoulders,
ard indirectly the fore limbs, and which are
attached to the head and neck, are by tight
checking prevented from fully exercising their
functions, 80 that the horse s speed and strength
as well as his beauty of form and grace of mo-
ton, are impaired. The muscles of the hips,
ioins and lumbar regions are also seriously at
fected.
Now it will not be easily seen how q contriv-
ance capable of causing much mischief can
be recommended to prevent stumbling except
where the colt has been broken with the over
head check and the process of muscle Gripping
continued until stiffened and hall paralyzed
he acquires mechanical gait and stumbles
when his bonds are removed.
can bring to my support the testimony Of
the best veterinary surgeons OF our own country
and of England. but shall be content to quote
from the 'Trotting Horse of America" which
was written by Hiram Woodruff, who trained
and rode and drove to victory some of our most
famous trot!ers and was esteemed as the great
est horseman Of his day.
MIR. Woodruff says In order that q fast
horse should be under circumstances to do his
best he should be as much at his ease in his har-
ness and general rig possible If ho is not
he Is placed at almost as much disadvantage as
II sore or stiff or suffering from some bodily
ailment You may see horses brought out of
the stable to trot with a very tight check to
keep the head up and tight martingale to
keep 1t down. Such horse is in irons. and
when to this Is added a dead drag at the reins
and no movement of the bit from end to end
cannot see how he should do his best"
Inc overhead check was invented not to pre-
vent stumbling, but to keep the trotting horse
'kemble jackson" from throwing his head
down between his legs when he broke. Mr.
Woodruff says of it: ut answered well in this
particular case and must always be of great use
In similar ones, but think it is often applied
In cases where it is not only unnecessary, but
does harm instead of good.''
am sure the great horseman would be suf-
hclently punished for introducing this rein.
which he only intended for special cases, if he
could see the use to which it is put every day
III our streets. AK
February l, 1892