“'It must be a source of grief to see the number of animals in carriages to whom this bearing-rein is applied.. The first thing is, whatever may be the form of the neck of the horse, to bring him, so to speak, into the same line, and the bearing-rein is introduced in order to bring his head into the required position. He is then attached to a carriage, and what is the next step? Perhaps the carriage is ordered to the door a couple of hours before it suits the convenience of the riders to enter it, and they let the horse stand there exposed to the heat of the sun and the biting of the flies; and there is the wretched animal with his head stuck up in the air, unable to drive away a fly. The bewigged brute and idiot of a coachman, of course, thinks it a very fine thing to sit behind these poor animals with their stuck-up heads; but his master ought to know better.'”
Mr. Graham said that any person who doubted the ability of a horse to pull more with his head free, than when it is held by a check-rein, could easily convince himself by making a trial with a team. He then told a story about the Scotchman Macadam, who invented the road bearing his name. On one occasion Macadam was on the outside of a coach, traveling on one of his own roads, when the horses stopped, halfway up a hill. Macadam was taunted with the failure of his system, for there were those who disbelieved in his plan, or were jealous of the reward granted to him by the Government. Macadam quietly got off the coach, went to the horses' heads, and loosed the four bearing-reins. The horses stretched their necks, put their shoulders to the collar, and easily reached the top of the hill. He thus vindicated the success of his system, and taught his fellow passengers and the coachman a lesson of humanity and common-sense.
Mr. Graham added that Barclay and Perkins, the great brewers of London, who own hundreds of horses, have forbidden the use of blinders or binding reins on any of their animals.
The following, under the title “A True Horse Story,” is taken from a recent number of Our Animal Friends:
“On Madison Avenue one day I paused to pat the nose of a beautiful horse which stood by the curb, and commiserate his misfortune, for this beautiful animal, though sleek of coat and shapely in body and limb, was apparently suffering most excruciating torture. His head had been checked inhumanely high, and the cruel bit, drawing tightly in his mouth, disfigured an animal face of unusual charm and intelligence. I was just fancying that the horse had begun to understand and appreciate my words of sympathy, when the lady who sat in the carriage holding the reins fumbled in her pocket, produced a lump of white sugar, and asked me to give it to the horse.
“'He is very fond of sugar,' she explained, 'and I have quite won his heart by feeding it to him. I always carry sugar in my pocket while out driving, and give him a lump at every opportunity. I never knew a horse to be so fond of sugar. Will you please give him another lump?'
“'Certainly,' I replied; 'I see that you are quite as fond of the horse as he is of sweets.'