The "Are You Traveling With Blinders On" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Traveling the back roads around Lancaster County with my wife on a Sunday afternoon drive through the Amish country.  Just got tired of sitting at home and doing nothing and thought a drive around one of the neatest places on earth might raise my excitement level a bit.  Headed south towards Willow Street than east towards Strasburg to enjoy the country side and the smell of horse manure as farmers begin to prepare their fields for the growing season.  During our drive we saw many Amish buggies on the road since church services were just beginning to let out and everyone was on their way home.  Horse-drawn buggy after horse-drawn buggy passed us coming the opposite way and each one was slightly different than the one before and after it.  One thing that we did notice on just about every horse was what appeared to be blinders on the side of every horse's eyes.  Most of those looked the same, but there were a few that looked like buckets next to their eyes.  Had to check out what they were when I got home and found that they were actually a leather covering that was most times black that totally covered the horses' eyes so they couldn't see ahead or to the side.  The driver of the buggy made sure the horse knew which way to turn when he pulled on the reins one way or another which indicated to the horse which way to go.  All the horse can see was the road at his feet.  Amish will tell you that it is much easier to handle them that way since they can't see what is approaching from the front or side and become afraid due to other movements.  I also found that there are a few amish horse-drawn buggies that use standardbred horses that have been used in the past to pull jogging carts in harness races.  Those horses have already been trained to view what is next to them and to not be afraid of anything alongside of them.  But, when they are on the open road without another horse next to them, they may become scared of something coming toward them.  In that case it is important to block off forward and peripheral vision so the horse won't be scared on the road.  Then there are saddlebred or "show" horses that have never raced on a track, but bred for horse shows.  They usually don't need to have their eyes covered.  As far as blinders, they are usually small squares of thin leather that attach to the bridle at the side of the horse's head.  They were said to have been invented by a preacher who made a wager with one of his friends.  The preacher bet that his horse could walk up a flight of stairs in his home and back down again.  Made it up without a problem, but couldn't be coaxed back down until the preacher covered his head and led him back down.  He realized that covering the horse's vision made it easier for him to coax the horse back down the steps.  I did read one final post that said that blinders are used to enhance concentration keeping the horse focused on the task ahead.  Blinders reduce visual distractions from behind the horse and sometimes the sides too.  Many believe they can make a big difference in the performance of a horse when typically used in racing or driving horses.  So, the next time you see a horse drawn cart or buggy, check to see if they have blinders in place, what type of blinders they may have or if they have no blinders at all.  Then, you have to remember what I just told you in this story!  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Different types of blinders