The Press., 1897-07-01
REAL HORSE SENSE.
STORIES OF EQUINE INTELLIGENCE
 BY A COUNTRY DOCTOR.

a Sense of Humor and Love Fun-Tricks
 Played In the Meadow by Old Ball.
 Frank and the Broken Rein.
 The country doctor is expected to go whenever called-rain or shine, heat or cold, night or day; son eti1nta perhaps, leisurely, but often as quickly as possi- ble. Through all this his horse and himself are constant companions and share together the joys and the sorrows of the road It is not strange, therefore, that an attachment of more than ordl- nary intensity often springs up between them, during which tie man notes the almost human qualities of the horse
 While quite Ley l knew horse of such humor and intelligence that he gave me a high opinion of horses ill general. So1ncLcv the tricks of old Ball led me to consider horses as almost of kin to human beings, and have always talked to them and treated them ac- cordingly Ball, fine animal belong ing to my uncle, who lived on farm adjoining ours, was a sorrel horse ot good size and especially fine head, with heavy neck and shoulders. He had done a great deal of farm work i'll his time, but was now too old for anything but occasional light service, so he usually had the range of a pasture in front of the house, that reached up to the yard fence There were cattle and sheep in the same pasture.
 Ball was noted for his cunning and clever tricks, such as opening gates and doors, pulling down bars and the like, but no one suspected him of playing practical jokes on sheep when one after another was found on the wrong side of the fence. It was by his antics and evident delight whenever a sheep was so found that he attracted attention. A watch was instituted, and soon, when Ball thought no one saw him, he slyly picked up |, s'!:ccp by the wool with his teeth and dropped it over the fence, Then, going away some distance, he anxiously waited, evidently watching for some one to come out of the house. As soon as Lc saw that the sheep was discovered hc gave a snort and began to run aLd kick ID his heels with delight.
 Somt times he would steal articles and hlGe tAenl, evidently just for the fun of tLe thing. One day heavy maui, such ;.s is used fer splitting rails and wood. N&s left so near the feuct that he cOu ld reach it When hU sup posed that 10 o.-o saw him, he took the maui uD Nlth lis teeth, carried it to the farther sldo of the field, carefully hid it behind the stump of tree, and then v#tt .od tho result. This time he had tGtn tttH t&11ying the maui away, so tho men nale great @dO, pretending to be hunting for it, looking i'll the fence cC1ncrs ard behind stumps. while Ball Was running, snorting and kicking up his heels with unbCunded delight Wherever they approached the maui, he tried to attract their attention to some other r0lLt-
 While l have been engaged in the practice of medicine ny horses have had TO cTTCrtunity to perform tricks like these, Lut many times l have seen exhibitions of intelligence and humor no less marked.
 have known many horses that show ed a good degreo of humor as well as in teIligence, but for good sense I think Frank was little superior to any oth- CT. He was years old when I traded for him.
 When he first came into my posses sion, he had the habit of frequently throwing his head up, and, as his bridle was somewhat loose, the brow band would sometimes lodge upon his ear Whenever this happened would stop him, get out of the buggy and replace it. He soon learned to throw the band up whenever he would like to stop and be petted little, l might have pre- vented this at once by making the bri- de fit better, but it occurred to me that, with this beginning, might soon teach him to stop when anything else got wrong, and this did, SC that the least disarrangement of the harness would cause him to stop and wait to have it fixed. Sometimes, however, he would stop when the trouble was not, in my opinion, sufficient to warrant so eau tious a procedure.
 One day, as l was driving along at a slow trOt over 8 smooth, lonesome road had dropped the reins over the buggy apron and was becoming quite inter- ested in the reading of a newspaper when Frank suddenly stopped I looked all around and over him, but could see nothing wrong, so l said, with some emphasis, "Get up, Frankl" But he still stood and kept throwing his head up and down. As I sat there with the paper in my hand looked again, and especially to the bridle, but saw nothing wrong. now, without taking up the reins, took the whip from it's socket and, giving him. sharp cut, repeated my command to go along. This undeserved punishment nettled him very much, but still he would not move forward. After standing for few moments, as if in deep thought, he suddenly turned to the right until the wheel on that side touched the buggy. Then again he stood stock still, only throwing his head as before. l now took up the reins and pulled with the left hand to bring him back into the road, when, to my aston ishment, found that the rein on that side, which had been fastened with 8 snap, was unsnapped.
 When I got. out to fasten it, Frank squealed. l believe a horse never squeals unless he is excited. I never heard Frank squeal before, but now he not only squealed, but shook his head, paved the ground and manifested his delight by every means that he could command. As we afterward moved along home. ward several times, as the thought would come to his mind afresh, he would shake his head and squeal for joy.~~ Youth s Companion