Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1897-03-25
BLlNDERS INJURE THE EYE.
Collect Dust That Often Leaves Horses
Without Sight.

In the days before the stationary
steam engine usurped in many fields of
labor the work of the horse, the
thrashing machine was run only by
horse power. Ten or twelve horses,
two abreast, each team drawing from
pole walked in a circle around NOV,
ing platform upon which was perched
the man who drove, and underneath
which was the system of cog wheels
which started the power on its journey
toward the thrasher. To-day steam pow
er is more common though horse
power is still in use.
The man who works about a thrash
ing machine when it is running, wears
goggles to protect his eyes from the
thickly flying dust and chaff, and
though az some little distance from the
machine, the horses have to bear an
atmosphere nearly as menacirg to the
eyes.
Binders are as omnipresent in coun-
try as in city life. At the beginning of
the thrashing machine era they were
part of every harness. The result was
that the horse who furnished the power
were soon in condition approaching
every part of the country that the
great labor-saving machine was such
destroyer of horse value that some
means of protecting the eye Of the
horse must be discovered to enable
them to continue to employ the ma
chine.
Goggles were in some cases tried, but
horses did not take kindly to them.
Accident as usual solved the vexed
problem. A thresher saw one morning
that binder was tapping on the CIR
die Of one of his horses. He broke it
clear off and for uniformitys sake took
off the other. To his surprise, he per-
ceived at noon that he horse, unlike its
fellow toilers, had not suffered from the
flying particles of straw. It's eyes were
clear striking contrast to the blood,
shot orbs of its team mate.
The thrasher was quick'witted
man, and he knew that he was in pos
session of truth. His teams worked
the rest of the day through in halters,
and open brides were quickly ordered
to replace the ill-acting blind bride.
Since that distant year no horses be-
wore binders. 1t has been demon
strated that the popularity of the eye
of horse is such that if let alone 1t
can protect itself The binder did
away with all natural defensive power.
More than that, it retaining the dust
instead of letting it blow up, and fur
nishing surface which by causing
rebound of the particles, sent them di-
rect against the ball of the eye. The
lids and ashes had no chance to per-
form the functions for which they were
r ade, and the tenderest parts of the eye
were made the easiest of access.
Farmers. however, have this one ad-
vantage over their city bred cousins,
they know enough to right an animal
wrong when they find it out Dust of
the city streets has the same effect in
a slightly less degree as does grain field
chat, and the binder in one case as III
the other intersities the original evils.
+. West, cabman, whose number is
535, station, Wabash avenue and Mon
roe street Chicago, said that his con-
vicion on the subject of injuries re-
ceived by the eye from dust and other
pa rticles furnished one of the two rca-
sors why he was strongly an advocate
of the open bride "The other said he,
as that | know horse is better on
because Of ability to see everything
that Is going on around him. MY stand
here has the elevated railroad directly
in the rear, and the eleveted scares
mere horses than any other thing In
Chicago. My horse in its open bride
dc esn't wink when the trains go by, but
every other cabman in the block has 10
stay close by his horses head every
time a train comes along.
Now | bought new harness the
other day, and as this horse is so gen.
tie | put on the blind bride that GENE
with the harness. The horse proved
entirely unmane geable, jumping and
irving to run at every rumble on the
tracks or any noise behind. finally
had to send for an open bride, and as
soon as | put it on trouble ceased.
The open bride is the best thing tor
the cab horse.