The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-05-05
CIRCUS HORSES.
HOW THEY ARE TAUGHT TO GO
AROUND IN THE RING.
At First They are elindfoIdsd. They
are Never Punished and Enjoy Ap-
pIause- Valuable Animals.


One of the busiest men connected
with big circus is John o Brien. II
is his duty to train all the horses used
| for the ring in bareback and high
school riding. All winter long in
Bridgeport he is at work preparing
horses for the summer tour of the
show. He was asked how he trained
his horses.
The first thing that we have to do
when we get new horses is simply to
keep them in the stables with the
others until they get used to their
new company" he said. Its
singular thing too, how jealous horses
are of the newcomers. You may
laugh if you want to, but horses real
ly have their ways of what l might
call 'guying' green stock.
after the horses get used to their
surroundings and their stable compan-
ions we blindfold them and take them
into the ring. While they are blind
| folded we train them to the circular
motion-that is, we make it appear
natural to them to run around the
small ring. This requires a good
deal Of time and patience. 1t gener-
ally takes a month to break a horse
to this. The natural tendency of the
animal is to 60 straight, and the GO
ing around is unnatural to him.
Nowadays we use "A system of checks
and lines which render the process
much easier.
After the horse has been taught
to run around we take off the blind
fold, and the performer for whom the
animal is intended begins to try tricks
with him. The horse is naturally
very observant, and his natural bent
is to do what he sees another horse
do; so when we are teaching horse
to do tricks we place him alongside
of another who has been trained, to
give him confidence, and the two
work together. The rider will first
try one and then the other. 1t is a
great mistake to think that punish
ment is resorted to as a method of
breaking in circus horses. Horses
that are broken by violent treatment
are not to be depended on, and for
ring purposes we must have horses so
trained that they can be absolutely
relied upon.
"A good, intelligent animal that
has been trained for the ring will,
technically speaking, feel his rider
and accommodate his motions as
much as possible to the work that
the rider has in hand, Such a horse
is the delight of frst-class bareback
rider; and, by the way, nearly all Of
the great riders have their favorte
animals.
''It may surprise you to know that
the circus horses are as sensible to
the applause of the audience as the
performers themselves. 1t is wonder
full to contrast what horse Will do
under the stimulus Of applause with
what he will not do when the audi
ence is cold. Horses are likely, how
ever, just the same as performers, to
lose their heads when the approval is
too stimulating. That is one Of the
reasons for the several checks and
reins that you see circus horses pro-
vided with. They are not intended
wholly for ornament, as most people
suppose.
"A well trained ring horse is worth
easily 81, 600. Riders who earn large
salaries generally like to own the
horses that they ride. They like to
give them their personal attention.
Generally the riders in circus who
own their own horses make up pool
together for the employment of first
class groom. A circus horse needs the
most careful attention. Prior to
every act his back has to be rubbed
with rosin so as to prevent the riders
feet from slipping. This must be
carefully washed off after each per-
formance, or the animal back would
get sore in short time. A tirst-class
groom has to be- in fact, something
of a veterinary surgeon.
There are really few accidents to
the circus horses when one considers
the nature of the work that they have
to do. We have horses here that
have been in training with us for 10
years. The ring work is not particul-
arly wearing upon them when they
once become accustomed to it. 1t is
the travelling around the country that
tells on them most. At the same
time, they get the best of treatment.
The food given them is of tirst-class
quality.
Il have trained horses that Mr..
Barnum, Mr.. Bailey and other own
ers have valued at over So, 600 simply
because of their training. Such a
horse must be of good blood. You
might think that horse trained for
the ring and kept in it year after year
would lose any speed that he might
ever have. but we have horses here
now that we use in the ring work
that could trot mile In from 2:35
4 "A