Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1894-09-22
FASHIONABLE HORSES.
THEY ARE HIGH STEPPERS, BUT
NOT LAST LONG.
Animals for show and for city Life
The Inhuman Docking of Tails-Trieks
OF the Fashionable Horse Trader-Not
Fit for the Country.

must be struck with the brilliant
display OF horses and carriages, to
say nothing OF the footmen and
coachmen, that greets his eye. The
show takes very much the form of
procession. goes up one side OF the
street, down another and turns into
a side street when it feels so inclined.
1t is got up as professions usually
are-for show. The horses are not
mere creatures OF given amount OF
strength TO pull given amount OF
weight; the carriages are not simply
boxes on wheels. with seats in them;
the coachmen aud footmen are not
merely men to drive and open doors
all of them have other than utilitar-
ian uses, and are part of the
pageant OF fashionable life.
and. perhaps, the chief part.
First. the horses should be high
steppers. which. for the benefit OF
the uninitiated, may be interpreted
into meaning horses that lift their
feet high in the air every time they
step. and especially perform high
steps with their fore feet. In this
matter it is true that the very high
stopper is not an animal likely To last
long on the city payements. as he
comes down upon his hoois with too
much force and is apt in consequence
to iniure himself sooner than he
would il he stepped more lightly.
Similarly he is not u good horse for
driving a long distance in the coun-
try because he eXpends too much en-
ergy on lifting his feet and rarely
lasts as long on country road as a
less snowy horse. The high stopper
is thus emphatically a horse for
show and horse for cities, and is
an expensive luxury. not only be.
cause he costs great deal in the
/ first place. but because also he often
I goes to pieces soon. But his beauty
I is not a matter Of dispute He at
tracts attention everywhere and ey-
erybody admires him The next es-
sential to the horse Is that its tail
should have been locked of short
There is no use in quarreling with
this edict OF fashion, because it Is
emphatically fact One might as
well protest against the practice OF
men cutting their hair. Perh aps
they ought to wear long hair. but
they don't Horses tails ought not
TO be locked. but they are.
Any mutilation OF noble amin a |
like the horse is wrong. II Is es :
pecially so when it involves in all
probability permanent Inconvenience
and suffering. This is certain In the
case OF the horses to which the
practice is applied. They are usual
ly the best bred animals. and are
selected because OF their spirit.
Consequently. they are unusually
sensitive and suffer agony from the
flies il they are ever 10 position
where the lies can bother them. II
common cart horses had their tails
locked they would not mind II so
much. being thicker.skinned. less
nervous. slower to feel pain. The
fine. high-spirited rich mans horse
the very one that - docked-is
the very one that needs his tail most
before he dies For. while he NAV
not need IL as long az he Is the
horse Of this rich man. always re.
member that as soon as he iniures
himself, as soon as he shows failing
powers. he is sold, and sold 70 any.
body who will pay for him. There
is no sentiment in the sale Of horse.
and when be passes out OF your
hands he may go into the hands OF a
humane man, and he may not Even
70 ,r,, ara avcoutfnnoft,. ca,-f..t
will not sell him save TO some one
who will give him as good care as
he got from you. how can you tell
what will be his fate when the man
who buys him in his turn. sells him.
II you wish to appear right among
the swell horses as the driver Of one
of them, you must on no account
have him checked He must carry
his head with an arched neck or IN
the air. but he must not be ham
pered with check rein No one
will quarrel with this fashion. In
the country. perhaps, a check is
necessary. and 1t is certainly so II
you stop BY the roadside, when your
horse will be quite certain to nut
his head down and begin to eat grass
unless you have him checked M.
but this is not the case in the city.
and the style Of good horse is
not added to II his head is pulled
into an unnatural position OF
course, these remarks have nothing
TO do with trotters They arc said
TO trot better when they wear the
check rein. and in all probability the
theory IS correct. but the fashiona Bile
horse is not a trotter, and a biph
rate Of speed is not expected OF him.
Therefore, nature is allowed this one
point, II no other. and horses arc
tolerably comfortable IN this one
respect
But, on the other hand. the fash
ionable horse is usually driven with
a curb bit, not because he goes bet.
ter. but because he is supposed Il
look better when thus driven. Lei
US tell the truth about IT, II he is nm.
comfortable about the mouth he
tosses his head and looks spirited and
there are many drivers who make
the curb bit and the whip the chic
factors in producing a stvliah pair ~