1962-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1962 September Voice | Page 3

Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse
1
"An Editorial By BEN A. GREEN, Shelbyville, Tenn."
How Walker Riding Ends Backache, Cures Headache, Solves
Teenager Problems, Preserves Eyesight, Keeps Children Safe, Etc.
Dear Friends—I must write this editorial tonight for
the September Voice. This is Friday, Aug. 17. Next
Friday I will be emotionally poised for an 8-day run of
nightly horse shows, starting with the National Futurity—
a truly great event for the future of the Tennessee Walk-
Lug Horse. Then for seven nights running (and days also)
I will be cranked up to a million revolutions a minute
on the monstrous Celebration—with 1,201 horses entered
in the program, 1,044 stalls occupied in permanent barns,
seats for 17,555 of the 20,000 and more people at the
Saturday night final show. The Celebration is a bril­
liant, terrific news event and the Voice will cover it in
every possible, logical way. But the Celebration is not
an editorial event.
Four letters we have received within the past week-
plus a fact we learned on a trip to Ohio to talk to the
Buckeye Walking Horse Assn.—do constitute an editorial
idea. They represent facts that millions of people should
learn: facts that can help you solve your problems and
your children’s problems; facts that can help people be
healthier, smarter, happier. Just read these letters and
you will understand the thrill I have when I realize that
right now the Voice has more than 2,600 subscribers—
has surely 10,000 readers—and 20,000 eyes will see these
words that tell how the Tennessee Walking Horse Idas
Helped People and Can Help More People. Read on,
Friends:
WALKER RIDING CURES CHRONIC BACKACHE
Letter No. 1 is from Doran E. Whitfield, M.H.S. Memo
Farm, Hershey, Pa.:
“Dear Ben: I have been riding horses, mostly jumpers,
for quite a few years now and enjoyed it very much.
About two years ago 1 rode the first Walker and really
‘flipped’ my lid as the expression goes. The safety and
pleasure of this breed in comparison with others is really
amazing.
“I had been nagged by backache since a jumping spill
some four years ago. “I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT
AFTER THE FIRST MONTH OR TWO OF RIDING
MY WALKERS (OF WHICH I NOW OWN FOUR)
MY BACKACHE LEFT ME AND AS YET HAS NOT
RETURNED AND THIS IN ITSELF IS MORE THAN
WONDERFUL TO ME BESIDE THE TRUE PLEAS­
URE WE GET FROM OUR ALMOST DAILY RIDES.”
(Doran wrote this letter and sent checks for the Voice
subscription and the Training Book and he added this
comment in a 3-page letter: “Comfort and good cheer to
your good wife for not only putting up with you but
helping you and your work go forward.” Fie also says
his wife gave him a copy of the Biography of the Ten­
nessee Walking Horse and he’s “learned” much from it.
Walker riding also ends headaches quicker than it cures
backaches, many tell us.
Horse Solved Teen-age Daughter’s Problems
Letter No. 2 is from a mother who lives in a South­
eastern state. We prefer not to use her name because
it is rather personal, but I believe she speaks for many
mothers. She says:
“Dear Mr. Green: Thanks so much for the back issues
of the Voice along with my July issue. I am so glad not
to miss an issue. I think your magazine is wonderful.
“I have two daughters who are horse-crazy. One is S
and the other 16.
“Last September we bought a Tenn. Walking Mare in
foal for our 16-year-old daughter. A horse is the only
thing in the world she has ever really wanted. This mare
was brought to us from (an area where there are many
TWH) . . . My husband being raised there, he thinks
there is no horse but the Tenn. Walker and I agree with
him as this mare is so good and gentle.
“Everything happened to this mare last winter. We
had to board her at a riding school (S50.00) a month.
First she had distemper. A month before another horse
kicked her in the side. The result from that was a broken
rib, lympinzitis and the foal was born dead on May 11th.
My daughter and I cried for three days.
“The mare lost so much weight we thought we were
going to lose her but she looks good now.
“We believe this horse has solved our many problems
with a teen-age daughter. She has done better in school
and has lost 35 pounds. She was so much over-weight.
“The expense is terrific but all the money in the world
couldn’t buy that smile when she loves that old ‘hoss’
around the neck. So until she finds someone else she
loves more than her horse, I guess we will try to keep
her horse.
“I almost forgot to tell you my two children and I
are coming to the Celebration. My husband’s folks al­
ready have our tickets for Friday and Saturday nights.”
(This friend also enclosed checks for a subscription to the
Voice for a friend and a Training Book for the teen-age
daughter.)
Horses Keep Grandchildren Out of Street
Letter No. 3 is from Tom Moore, real estate man, P.
O. Box 825, Maysville, Ky. Tom writes:
“Dear Ben: We subscribed to your Voice of the Ten­
nessee Walking Horse in the early stages of your publish­
ing and we sit anxiously for each copy. I have one regis­
tered Walking Mare and one that is not registered; have
two grandchildren who live with me and they practically
live with these horses.
“Now—the moral of this letter is this—previously these
children were constantly on the streets in heavy traffic
on bikes, or going to shows, bowling alleys and assorted
types of entertainment; all that was costly. My girl is
14, my boy 12. They clean the stable, feed and care for
the horses, even show in small shows here. In short, now
practically all of their interest is in horses and it is cer­
tainly my sincere wish that they stay that way. Find en­
closed check for $5 for the Tennessee Walking Horse
Training Book due out Dec. 1.”
Walking Horse Staves Off Child’s Blindness
Our fifth item is not a letter, but something someone
told us at the Ohio meeting, held in Tallmadge, near
Akron. We related to this group the facts set out in the
above four letters. Each letter has a down-to-earth, dif­
ferent message.
(Continued on Page 28)