Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1904-09-29
TRICK HORSES AT SCHOOL.
Oobbyn Works for His Dinner, Not
Because He Has Great Deal of Sense,

Oobbyn Works for His Dinner, Not
Because He Has Great Deal of Sense
My word for it, the horse has les
brain power than any other animal
said Edward Ship, a circus horse
trainer An ostrich has more sense
than a horse; so has an alligator
That curious, indefinite quantity
known as instinct is at the bottom
of all the tricks the horse learns
Just as he eats from instinct, he
learns tricks. Usually the eating IS
at the bottom of his entire education
He does things for the most part be-
cause he gets something good to ca
after the doing. 1t is his natural
search after food that makes him do
them, just as he paws away the
snow to get at the grass. After a
while the actions become habits, and
We say he is broken.
Nothing of the sort. There was
never anything to break His in
stincts were simply set in motion
Some men take months to teach
horse the simplest trick and weeks
to make him bride wise. In a week
| can have the same horse respond.
ing easily to my directions in simple
tricks. It isn't the horse; it is the
trainer. Some men exercise an in
f}uence over animals which is almost
hypnotic The man himself cam
tell how it is done. In some mys-
FERROUS manner the horses instincts
make him do certain things in Ger
tain ways at certain times. He does
them just as he eats, and with no
more evidence of judgment
1T is no uncommon thing FOR
horse to open feed box to get at the
srain inside. Some people fancy
this is proof of Intelligence. Really
1t is natural nosing after something
to eat. Man is not the only animal
whose heart can best be reached
through his stomach There is not
the slightest reason to believe that
a horse has a thinking mind. Here
Is an instance:
During the winter two of our
ponies that do a pedestal act and al
ways get a lump of sugar for It. If
they make no mistakes. rehearsed
SO much their pedestal became dun
colored from dirt. When we came
into Madison Square Garden to per,
form the little platforms were re
painted What do you think those
ponies did? They refused to &C.
When led into the ring and set a.
their tasks they looked and shifted a.
the new pedestals and didn't make
4 movement in the direction Of their
usual performance. 1t wasn't intelli-
same Jumps of sugar were waiting at
the end. They simply had not sense
enough to know their own nipple
ments in white paint If a horse is
taught to go through red door he
will have to be taUght all over again
to go through a white one. All doors
DO not look alike to him.
But a horse has nerves, plenty of
them. Sometimes think II is more
these little electric wires than any
thing else that makes him amenabIo
to teaching. Imagine, then, the
skill a trainer must possess to train
creatures with nerves but no logic
so far as I am able to see
ut takes patience, such as any
man may own to. Also courage
A., orro cAj b,rca 4, ,,l,,,E+,Ni,
foe, as is any creature of temper with
no good sense to back it, Any one
who has ever seen human idiot in a
"age can understand the situation
There is nothing more horrible than
blind. unreasoning, unguided temper
Creatures of nerves are also Great
ures of fear. Kindness must be eX-
ercised at all times in order to over.
come it. Until a horse is unafraid
he is yalueless.
Sometimes they never get over
their tempers Not long ago one Of
our nest thoroughbreds killed his
partner 1t was in a car, The
partner fell down. The other liter
ally trampled him to death. He
danced on him and refused to stop
long after he was dead. They nev
Or dwelt in peace, these two. From
their first days together they quar-
relied. The end was inevitable. We
should have seen it, But the sue.
cess of trick horse is all in his
trainer. The public fancies it IS in
the horse. but it is not. Without
sensible trainer a trick horse te