The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-16

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 horse is one of the most timid animals,
 perhaps not less so than the deer. 1m-
 agined things alarm him and his first
 impulse, when frightened, is to run from
 the supposed danger. But no beast
 alive is more placidly indifferent to
 surroundings and adventitious circum- stances, and less likely to be affected by
 fear, than the circus horse after he has gone through a tenting season. He walks calmly over piles of exploding fire-crackers, stands serenely enyel-
 oped in a cloud of steam beside loco
 motive, and if its whistle emits a screech, merely looks up as if with mild curiosity as to why such fuss is made. Brass bands blaring and bang ing about do not concern him, he pays no more attention to newspapers whirled by the wind than to flying dust, bites only when food is given him, new CT thinks of kicking even when men sit
 against his hips or pull his tail, regards elephants as unconcernedly as if they were dogs, and if he should happen to see some foolish horse baking, would no doubt be genuinely surprised. In brief, the experienced circus horse is as tame and reliable as the hobby horse. If he is something different when he first joins the circus, as soon as he de- clares himself the trainers take him in hand. Upon two things in his mental
 makeup reliance can be placed, wheth-
 CT he possesses the high degree of intel-
 ligence by some ascribed to him or not;
 he has the capacity to readily associate,
 as cause and effect something he is do- ing with any painful or disagreeable 1 sensation concurrently happening to him, ad he has an excellent memory
 These are the bases upon which the trainer builds his methods, hampered
 here, possibly, by the intlexible rule | that under no circumstance may 8
 whip be used upon a horse in his show.
 If the horse is kicker, line is rigged from the ankle of one forefoot, or both, through pulley attached to a surcingle
 and back to the hand of the trainer,
 who also holds a pair of driving reins
 sufficiently long for him to stand well
 back out of the way of the animals
 heels. Then a miscellaneous lot of
 jingling, dangling, rattling tin and cop per utensils are made fast to the I hqrses back and dangling behind his
 trump. Kick! Of course he kicks, mad l ly, but every time he does so one or | both of his forefeet lifts, despite him. | He finds 1t difficult, if not impossible,
 to balance himself on a single foreleg and do any satisfying kicking with his { hind ones. while if he has to drop on
 his knees he must keep his hind feet
 on the ground. Those helpless condi- l tions recur every time he kicks. Possi- bly he has sense of making himself ridiculous. At all events he is effecting
 nothing, The pans are still there, but
 he observes that they do not hurt him.
 In a few minutes, with an air of dis
 gust, he abandons his efforts. They
 poke the tins with poles, making them lrattle loudly, He affects not to notice
 them. pretends to be looking for 3 wisp
 of hay on the saWdust Perhaps if they
 try him again the next day he may In
 a moment of forgetfulness throw up his
 heels, but, finding the same cause and
 effect still operative, quits for good.
 ] Sometimes horse is only inspired to
 kick when something touches his rear,
 be it ever so lightly. They will not do at all, for In tie crowded, dressing
 room, or indeed anywhere about the cir GUS, somebody s likely 10 brush him
 every, minute. So they make up a great
 bunch of rewspapers,gl light and loose, ! whichSis so ohung upon him that 1t drops iagainst his hind legs. He lashes out
 furiously, frantically, sending the ball thigh in the air,konly to have it each time fall back in place. The exertion wearies him. the frnitlessness of itNdis- lgusts hii1i. z He He stops kicking and tries
 to turn his head to see what the thing is. Then they take 1t or and let hin touch 1t with his nose and smell it. Tn
 vain they put it on him again. It has occurred to his mid that kicking is fool ish, and his memory is good. The bit ing horse is corrected by means of an iingeniously constructed bridle which lgives him no pain or even annoyance as Hong as he behaves himself properly
 but hurts so suddenly and sharply as te arrest and fix his attention upon the
 sensation the instant he attempts te bite In little while the conviction is lestablished In his mind that attempts
 to bite people are always productive oi
 pain to himself, and he abandons the ipractice. .t 1 The baking horse rarely balks i1aor,
 than once, or, at most, twice in his ser
 vice with the big show, or even after
 They put on his head, with a sort ol
 crimp about his lower jaw, a cord hal
 ter, which has something of the effec
 of the biting horse bridle. It doesn'
 hurt him. He looks with obstinate in.
 difference at the man teaching him t
 be good, and braces his legs with {
 sullen determination to stay where h, is, whatever may befall. The mar
 walks little distance away straight il