Objects of animal husbandry and domestication

Among this class of objects employed as symbols are: leash, bridle and reins; saddle, stirrups and yoke; spurs, whip and goad; shepherd's crook, cowboy's lariat and bullfighter's cape; horseshoes, branding iron and bit; milking stool, manger and stall; chicken-coop, dog kennel and pig pen. Other objects are apiary (bee-hive), bird cage and animal trap. A related class of symbolic objects are those connected with fishing, fowling, hunting, slaughtering and dressing game, and animal sports.

These objects are self-referring symbols in many cases, their function being employed metaphorically. A cowboy's lariat, for example, is a symbol for roping or drawing something in; the shepherd's crook, of guidance; the bullfighter's cape of "seeing red" (becoming incensed). The chicken-coop signifies confinement; the pig pen, disorder and filth; the dog kennel (dog house), disgrace. The bee-hive signifies activity or industry; the trap, imprisonment or being caught; the bird cage, humiliation and repression. Many of these symbols appear in the Bible.