5 Gen Gap

Animal Rights are becoming more & more popular, it is a cultural movement. It has spread from Europe to America.

But their have always been some people, even way back in time, who have been for Animal Rights or Animal Welfare.

Each era has it's own way to help animals.

Readers of the book "Black Beauty" remember the cause to end the use of the bearing rein - a strap of leather that made the horse keep his head up so he would look happy and not over-burdened.

As I understand it:
When a horse pulls a heavy load, it is often helpful to the horse, to be able to get his head & neck down towards the ground, to change the center of gravity in this body, so he can more efficiently use his weight to help him pull.

But when the horse does this, then people watching the horse pulling the wagon, will say "Look at that man, he over-loads his poor horse".

People cheat. By strapping the horse's head up, the horse doesn't appear to be over-burdened.

Also, you can look at a healthy, well fed, happy horse, and see his sparkle in his step, the twinkle in his eyes, the aliveness in his actions and how he stands.

People cheat. It is easier to strap the horses head up into the angle used by healthy, happy horses, than to rest, feed, worm, shoe, and shelter a horse so that he really is happy & healthy.

The bearing rein made the horse appear to be a better cared for animal, it made the carriage appear more valuable like:

"I can afford a to have enough horses that they share the work, and I can afford to feed them grain, not just grass".

But it made it all the worse for the poor horse, who was still was over-worked, and now had to work while holding his head & neck un-naturally for the type of heavy hauling he was doing.

Have you ever seen dog shows where the exhibitors put the thin choke chain right under the dog's head, and then trot the dog around while pulling the dog's head upward by the choke chain so the dog trots with his head held un-naturally high?

I have seen it. Not occasionally, but so often, that I would call it the norm for dog shows that I have been to.

Like the abuse of carriage horses stopped when horses weren't used for transportation muscle, the abuse of show dogs is best stopped by ending dog shows.

One of the real issues with dog shows is not what happens in the ring, it is with what happens to the losers, and the breeding of puppies for a competitive sport, but their sale as pets.