Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-20

4
ing strap dangling about his hind legs, and
| the carriage humping against his launches
| every step he took, came Laddie.
kneeling In the bottom Of the phaeton,
with her arms stretched out over the DASH
board, was Lassie, holding the reins and
| talking to the intelligent creature, who
| literally held her life in his keeping.
1t took Edward but second to spring to
| their rescue, and. as he afterward ex-
pressed it: Faith. there was no telling
| which was gladdest to meet me-the big
| horse or the little girl"
When they were safe at home Lassie told
us her story.
She had reached Farmer Hannam's just
| as it began to rain. but found the house
| closed and every soul absent She drove
under the shed to wait for the storm to
pass, but when the rain still continued to
| fall and night drew near, the child hardly
knew what to do and instinctively sought
home.
| All went well till she reached the wood
road leading down the mountain. when.
without a seconds warning, the hook which
| held the breeding strap to the shaft pulled
| out and the strap dropped. The carriage
plunged forward as far as the tug straps
would let it, and these, soon slipping back
ward, let the whiff1e-tree come squarely
upon Ladies' launches. After one fright
| full plunge he seemed to realize what had
| happened, and proved what 1t was for a
| horse to be able to see both behind and be-
| fore him.
After looking behind him for a moment,
! as though studying the situation and de-
Gliding upon the next move, he started
! slowly down the hill, taking few steps
| and stopping. few more and another
| pause, as though to assure the frightened
| child that she need fear nothing so long
| as she trusted to him. He had Travelled
| more than half the journey with the phae-
! ton humping along behind him at every
| step, before Edward met him, and he doubt
| less would have brought his charge safely
| home.
| We asked Lassie why she had not gotten
out to try to fix the breeching, for she
| knew how as we'll as we did, but she said
| that it was so dark, rainy and slippery on
| the mountain road that she had lacked
| courage to do so, and had felt more faith
| in Ladies' ability to care for her than In
| her own.
| And now I ask my readers If this Is not
| a fair argument in favor of abolishing the
| use Of a check-rein and binders?
Had the horse been unable to see the
| couse of the trouble behind him, and had
| ne not been free to turn his head as he
| chose and put it as close to the ground as
| he wished, who can guess what ignorance
| and terror might have caused even so
| faithful a creature to DO? But the head was
| free to turn and reach in any direction
| and the eyes were BILE to see all about him.
| as dear Mother Nature meant they should
be. And when we add to this perfectly nat
| ural condition the affection he bore the
| little child who had always treated him
| kindly, it Is no wonder that he promptly
| assumed the responsibility and took her
| life in his care.
I firmly believe that more than half the
accidents we hear of are caused by this
(odious wordD Of placing binders upon
! horses, and when the infection Of a check
rein-pulling the head into most I'M
natural POSITIONS added. it is no wonder
| that the animal Is nearly maddened by q
| form Of torture worthy the dark ages.
| Mr.. Noel in the August, 1900, number Of
| Our Animal Friends, has written very
| ably upon this subject Of binders, and my
nnlX 10 hot 1a n Co.
| and take up the question Of the check-rein
| also. Surely no one possessing even an
| average amount of the commonest kind Of
common sense can fail to appreciate the
| discomfort those two pieces Of harness can
| inffct upon horse.
If any two-legged animal doubts 1t, let
him attempt to carry heavy parcel. bas-
ket-what he will-up a steep hill or flight
Of stairs while holding his head far back in
| a strained position. And II his head were
strapped SO that he could not bend forward,
the very consciousness OF his inability to
| maintain his equilibrium In the natural
way would promptly drive him to distrac-
! ton. Then let him try to see where he is
| placing his feet He cannot do 1t. What,
| then, must 1t be to the poor horse strug-
Cling up steep hill and drawing a heavy
! weight behind him? wonder he does net
| try to climb church steeple or some other
perpendicular object, for it would surely
seem more natural to take an entirely per-
pendicular journey when his head Is strain
ed upward and his eyes are held at an an
| gle in which he can see nothing which Is
| not above him.
| 1t Is to me incomprehensible that any one
| should be so short-sighted as to place upon
horse harness which causes the small
| est discomfort to say nothing of exquisite
| torture, which, in many instances, is pre-
| cisely what 1t amounts to. I am not speak
| ing of absurd fashions-as curb chains,
| senseless bits high checks and dozen I'M
| necessary appliances have often seen
horses wearing the most costly harness. but
| mierable because 1t was ill-adjusted.
Often the binders are held so close upon
| the eyes as to make 1t utterly impossible for
! the animal to see where it IS going, and
many a sharp lash does 1t receive for an
awkward step. caused entirely by its half
blinded condition.
| But the horses which suffer most are
| those belonging to the working class. whose
drivers. either from carelessness or ignor-
| ance, often regard the animal as a mere
machine which must perform all the work
| possible for as little care as can be given IT..
| The harness worn by these horses Is often
| placed upon them in rough, hardened con-
| dition. caused by a thorough soaking upon
the previous day, and very often painful
sore Is the result nor is the cause dis
covered until the sore appears.
Oftenest Of all it is the binders which are
| bent out of shape by wetting. While still
soaked. the headstall Is carelessly hung
upon a peg, and the binders are bent
against the wall. A corner Is slightly bent,
| but not enough to be noticed by the driver
ing. A little later the poor horse finds 1t
| out, and as the day advances his misery be-
| comes complete. I wish to cite one instance
! happily the most exaggerated I have ever
| witnessed-of this miserable condition.
| 1t has become an unconscious habit with
me to take in at a glance the details of a
horses harness, and it is quite the excep-
| tion when anything wrong escapes me.
Many times when passing along the streets
of the crowded city I have begged some
driver to readjust strap or buckle in which
the change Of hole or two meant, oh, so
much! On the occasion referred to 1 was
| passing through Chambers street, and at
the distance of half a block I noticed a
horse tossing his head about and acting in
| a disturbed manner. When l reached him
the cause was only too apparent; the corner
| of his binder, bent and hard as q stone,
| was resting directly in the corner of
his eye. And such an eye Wa
| ter pouring from 1t, the lid
| was swollen to twice its natural size and
| the eyeball itself a sight to turn one i'll. I
| wish could convey some idea Of the graft
| tude shown by that dumb creature when I
| lifted that torturing binder from his eve.
| No driver was anywhere to be seen, and
| no one seemed to have any idea how long
| the animal had been standing there: so.
lacking a higher authority, took the mat