“And in the same spirit of thoughtlessness,” continued Mr. Graham, “the check-rein, or bearing-rein, as the English call it, is used upon horses. There ought to be a law making it an offence punishable by a heavy penalty, to fasten a horse's head high in the air, as we see the heads of many carriage-horses fastened. Mr. Bergh, the founder of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has done much toward breaking up the abuse, but it still continues, in spite of his efforts. Many articles on the subject have appeared in the Society's paper Our Animal Friends. Here is one of them, it is entitled: “the check-rein.”
“'Under the mistaken idea that this device in some way adds to the beauty of the horse, this poor, patient, helpless servant is submitted to the most cruel and prolonged torture. The horse is one of the most beautiful animals, because of his fine proportions and graceful curving outlines. His beauty can be enhanced only by good feeding, care and grooming. Clumsy, heavy, ill-fitting harness, trappings which conceal his body from view, and all devices which cause him to assume unnatural and constrained positions, always tend to mar his good appearance. Notice how his beauty is spoiled at once by destroying the graceful curves of his natural position, and introducing the straight lines and angles incident to the use of the overcheck. The grandeur and nobility of the animal's appearance are sadly marred by putting him into this foolish position, with his eyes gazing upward into the sky, his nose sticking straight out before him, and his straining and craning so ungracefully and uncomfortably. If any driver, or any one else, thinks it is not cruel to fasten a horse's head in such a position, let him try it himself. Put a man into this terrible, unnatural position, with the hot sun blazing into his eyes, unable to watch his steps, give him a burden to draw or carry, whip him into a smart run over the rough roads and streets, and he will soon understand why a horse with an overcheck is continually restlessly tossing his head and turning it from side to side in his vain effort to get relief from his excruciating misery. Stand up, throw the head back, and look steadily at the ceiling for five minutes, and without any bit to chafe the torn and bleeding mouth, you will get a vivid and lasting impression of what torture is. A horse allowed to hold his head in a natural position makes a beautiful and pleasant picture, while one tortured and disfigured by a strap extending over the head, is an exhibition causing discomfort to the beholder, and awakening his kindest sympathies and arousing his indignation. The overcheck contrivance was originated by a horse-jockey, whose horse, when rapidly driven, made a whistling noise in breathing. How any gentleman or lady of intelligence can consent to ride behind a horse which is being tortured with such a silly contrivance of cruelty it is difficult to imagine.'
“In England,” continued Mr. Graham, “one of the most indefatigable workers for the abolition of the bearing-rein, is Mr. Edward Ford-ham Flower, who has published a book on the subject. In this book he says:
“'It is a severe penance to any man who loves a horse to walk along the fashionable streets or the park, and to witness the sufferings of horses from this absurd and cruel practice. Little does the benevolent dowager who sits absorbed in the pages of the last tract of the 'Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,' know of the sufferings of the two noble animals by whom she is leisurely drawn along the 'Lady's Mile.' She probably fancies that the high prancing step, and the toss of the head which scatters flakes of foam at every step, are expressions of pride and satisfaction at their task, when in fact they are occasioned by pain, and a vain attempt to obtain a momentary relief from their suffering. Let any one watch the horses in the park, or standing as they do for hours at the theaters, shops, etc., with foaming mouths, and tongues swollen and hanging out, trying to get a little ease to their poor heads and necks, by tossing them up, putting them sideways, or in any possible position, vainly appealing to their unheeding or ignorant masters, or coachmen, to slacken, if only for a few minutes, the torturing rein, and then say if we can call ourselves a humane people!