The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-11-06

the harness business remember seeing Mir Fisk exhibit this device in cham- bers street. It made an exciting show. There have been. many other schemes invented for letting the horses go. but the manifest danger which this would entail to other persons than those in the wagon has perhaps prevented their adoption.
 Some years ago German appeared in this city with an appliance which was more in the line of what is wanted. In addition to the usual harness he proposed to hang a cradle around each horse. This cradle was to consist of two strong. leather-covered steel or Iron bars, each about one and half feet long. connected together with leather-covered trace chainR One bar would ordinarily hang just in front of the horses chest. and the other back of his hams. where the breeching strap hangs. Straps running through pulleys or rings supported this harness and ran back into the wagon. If a horse with this on attempted to run away the German proposed simply to loosen the controlling straps and let the bars | down to just above the horses knees. His gait would then be restricted as a womans Is when she dons a narrow skirt. No one recalls having heard of trial of this.
 Another simple device is to fasten a strap or rope around the lower part of a horses front leg and run 1t up through a ring on the girth and back of the wagon. The driver can pull the leg from under the horse and hobble him. but this scheme Is not free from the danger caused by the horse falling. Another clever man made canopy top for horses head. It Is pretty we'll es- tablished that in most cases, If you can blind horse by enveloping his head in cloth, he will cease to run. The canopy unfolded upon the pull of a strap and covered the horses eyes completely. Another man arranged to carry an electric apparatus In the wag- on, and by means of conducting wires carried down the reins, to give the horse an astonishing electric shock when he wanted to divert him from running away. It is quite probable that this might have been as effectual in It's way as the manner in which a Jersey farmer cured baking horse. This horse would go backward when he had balky fit, but not ahead. The farmer let him back against red-hot iron one day. The horse never baked again, but neither could he be induced by any means ever again to back.
 Another of the mechanical arrange ments that were shown within the re- collection of the old horsemen was ar- ranged upon truly scientific principles. "Youatt on the Horse" says that the greatest weight which horse can throw into his collar upon the, ordinary line of draught is about two hundred and fifty pounds, If the line of draught be lowered so that he pulls more directly from His heels to his col lar, this will be. iHesessed If, on the contrary, the line be raised, the horse in his effort to go .sahead will simply raise himself off Of his front feet and be helpless. The amount that he can push into his collar will depend upon the. part of his weight that rests upon his front feet. Theafngenious inventor, doubtless a Connecticut Yankee, rigged block and fall running from the back of the horses colaaeto the front of the wagon top. If q horse with this rig on him attempted any skylarking, the inventor simply 'yanked Supon the tackle and brought; the horse right up upon his hind legs. He might fall over backward if he liked, but het couldn't run away. !n 'N iS" A+
 Notwithstanding the memory. Of all of these and some other not dissimilar schemes for controlling risky horses. the general conclusion. that the horse men arrived at after discussing them all was that if you have got a runaway horse, shoot him or trade him off, and take your chances on the others. l..