Evening journal., 1902-07-28
TRAINING OF HORST
CAREFUL HANDLING TO FIT TIL
FOR CIRCUS TRICKS.

The Candidate For Ring Hon,
Must Have Special Points Wen
veloped - Horses Can BE Coax
like Child, hut Not Forced.
"A trainer must possess two quail n
cations before he can successfully
ucate horse to do the tricks seen ID
circus-he must possess kindness a
perseverance.
"A veteran trainer selects his hors
with as much care as a society won
plans a party gown. The candidate
the future applause of the circus goi 4
people of the world must be handsoI
In color, as near perfect as possible
conformation and possess an even tel
perament His eyes must be large
devoid Of the least trace of vicio,
ness, he must hold his ears point
slightly forward, and he. must have
sensible looking head, broad betwe
the eyes. Horses that lay back tho
ears at the approach of a man, W
nip viciously at every passerby al
whose eyes plainly demonstrate
mean disposition are discarded.
trainer will handle no animal Of IL
kind.
"Once the candidate is selected he
shipped to the winter quarters of {
circus and assigned to a comfortab
stall In a large, clean, well ventilat,
barn tenanted by several hundred bea
ties of his kind. Good hay and oats a
his in abundance, and for several da
he is allowed to rest and become fam
lar with his surroundings. The train,
visits him daily and by speaking kin,
ly and occasionally giving the animal
bit of sugar gains his confidence. Aftd
time the horse begins to whinny /,
the approach of the trainer, and Il
bond Of friendship is thus quickly G.
mented.
Then comes the first lesson. I'll
candidate is introduced to the trainin'
ring constructed near the barn and
lowed to wander about at will. II.
smells the sawdust, the pedestals an|
the harness and ropes that will 500
be buckled about his body and theI
horselike, lies down in the center of tn
ring and enjoys a good roll.
Next day he is led around an.
around the ring for several hours an.
soon understands that he is expecte,
to encircle the ring of his own accord
Then a strap is placed around his righ
fOreleg, and from this strap a rope 1
run through harness fastened aroun,
his body. The trainer grasps the fire.
end of the rope in one hand and a pai
Of lines attached TO the horses bridl
in the other. The animal is told t
get up and after the ring is eneircle,
few times the command whoa i
given. If the horse refuses to obey,
quick pull on the rope draws his lei
from under him, and he is forced {,
stop. Only q few demonstrations O
this kind are necessary TO show tn
horse that he must stop when the com
mand is given.
after these preliminaries are salts
factorily accomplished the equine pupi
is taught to kneel first on one knee
then on the other and finally on both
All this is accomplished by drawing
up the front legs, one at time. thu
forcing him down. His knees ar
padded to prevent injury, and ever.
time he rs forced down the comman,
to kneel is given, and the animal
petted and reassured with kind word
until finally he kneels at the word.
'It is in these preliminary lesson'
that a good performer is made o.
spoiled. The instructor must be firm
and resolute, but kind, always kind.
horse is like a child; you may coal
him, but you can't force without spoil
ing his disposition. The animal quick
ly notices any show Of III temper o.
roughness ON the part of the instructor
and resents it by becoming balky anC
obstinate. Blows or harsh punishment
only make him worse. You frequentl.
hear people assert that animals arr
beaten into submission in teaching
them tricks. People who say this neve
saw the inside Of the training quarters
Of modern circus. A horse or any 9th
er animal conquered in this way il
never reliable and is apt to spoil per
formance by an outbreak Of bad TEN
per, besides being dangerous to handle
"The next lesson for the horse is th'
art Of lying down and remaining mo
tionless until the word is given 20 rise
This information is impaired to thu
horse in manner similar to the kneel
ing lesson. An ingenious harness
makes it possible for the trainer Il
draw the horse down on a soft bed o
hay without injuring him. When th'
horse willingly lies down at the wore
of command. he is taught to sit upol
his launches and then is gradual.
drilled into the other tricks that al
ways draw applause from children an'
adults alike.
"It is usually an easy matter to teacl
a horse TO stand upon n pedestal, 4
waltz, rear on his hind legs and marcl
In unison with equine companions aft
er these simple lessons are thorough.
learned and the horse understands tn
trainer is his friend and not his enemy
The horse of average intelligence
learns quickly as soon as he realize
what is required Of him. The mai