The Portland daily press., 1898-01-18
THE CIRCUS HORSE.
His Tr aiming and Improvsment-Liberty
Horses.
(From the London Field. J

Those who are partial to the time hon-
cred circus are on the whole pretty liber-
ally catered for during this winter for
while there are three rings at Barnum
Il Bailey's show at Olympia, Herr
Wulff is giving an excellent exhibition at
the Crystal Palace. The art of horse
breaking for trick purposes would, if his
tory is to be credited, appear to be no new
invention for in Queen Eliabeth's day
Bankes's horse Morocco seems to have
been. taught good many wonderful feats,
and that sagacious animal would also,
from all accounts, be no disgrace to the
modern circus proprietor.
To the ordinary spectator. the ring
horse is a comparatively uninterestlns
animal; he goes round at steady oanter
while the rider goes through more or less
difficult feats but the circus proprietor
would tell us that really good ring
horse is one of his most valuable proper
ties. In order that the performer may
execute his feats with accuracy, the morse
must travel at ono even speed; LOT II ne
were to make a start or slacken his pace
the rider would come to the ground. ne
must also be well accustomed to the pusl-
ness of the ring for neither the music OF
the band, the action Of the clown, nor,
as in the case of the jockey act, the
running up to him of the rider, must
cause him to alter his speed; and 1T may
surprise some people to learn that horse
is seldom perfect for the ring until he
has had about three years experience.
The ring horse is, perhaps, entitled to our
sympathy, for the continuous canter must
become very monotonous. and not only
have horses to appear once or twice in the
day at public exhibitions, but they are
also requisitioned for rehearsaIs, in order
that new tricks may be practiced and
fresh hands taught their business, while
in bareback acts their coats are freely
rubbed with resin in order that the per-
former may have good foothold.
It is perhaps somewhat of feather
in the cap of military equitation that
Philip AstIey-who was probably the
most successful of the early trainers
learned much of his business while a
trooper in q cavalry regiment; so that
even in those days somewhere about the
year 1770) the cavalry riding master
would appear to have been more CONVEX
SAINT than other people with the breaking
and training of horses.
During recent years the greatest ad-
vance has perhaps been in the training OF
what are called elderly" horses; that is
to say, horses which are introduced in
stead of being ridden. Within the mem
DRY of people who are scarcely more than
middle-aged, more than one horse was
seldom if ever seen in the ring at once.
He was brought in, and went through
his performance to the great delight OF
the assembled spectators, whereas now we
find fifty or sixty horses in the ring at
one time, and their performance must be
regarded as triumph of the trainer
art. Herr Wulff, in his earlier visits to
this country considerably astonished his
visitors by the introduction of something
like fifty horses in the ring at one time.
and he made no secret of the fact that
one of his most difficult tasks was to
make the ponies trot along the ring
fence while the bigger horses were going
through their evolutions inside the ring.
The ponies used to tumble off-they be-
came frightened, and eventually had to
be held up; but patience at last proved
victorious, and the tout ensemble was
extremely good. This performance is
also to be seen at olympia and draws
forth as much applause as ever. 1t is
universally admitted that memory is a
horses strong point, and it is on this that
trainers work A remarkable example
of horse S memory occurred iii the
case of poney once owned by the late
Mr.. William Cooke, who for many years
was at Astley's. In the early days of his
career he ownod small poney, which
he sold when his establishment increased
Nearly dozen years later he was tenting
near Bristol when man came to him
to ask whether he was open TO buy q
small poney. He said that he was, and
on inquiring how old the poney might
be, was, told five years. On the steel
being brought to him he at once recog-
nized it as the old pony, and suggested to
the man that it was a little more tina
five years old. The would-be vendor wa
indignant at his word being doubted
ssWeiI,' said Mr.. Cooke, II had thie
poney something like ten or twelve year,
ago and can prove it to you" He then
gave the ,poney his cues, and the little fel :
low went through his performances 81
though he had been doing them daily,
though possibly in the interval he hau
never once been asked to perform