HOESE. 33 1 



The anecdote books contain several stories very much 

 alike concerning horses spontaneously visiting blacksmiths' 

 shops when they require shoeing, or feel their shoes un- 

 comfortable. The appended account, vouched for as it is 

 by a good authority, may be taken as corroborative of these 

 stories. I quote the account from ' Nature ' (May 19, 

 1881): 



The following instance of animal intelligence is sent to u^ 

 by Dr. John Eae, F.R.S., who states that the Mr. William 

 Sinclair mentioned is respectable and trustworthy. The anec- 

 dote is taken from the ' Orkney Herald ' of May 11 : " A well- 

 authenticated and extraordinary case of the sagacity of the 

 Shetland pony has just come under our notice. A year or two 

 ago Mr. William Sinclair, pupil-teacher, Holm, imported one 

 of these little animals from Shetland on which to ride to and 

 from school, his residence being at a considerable distance from 

 the school buildings. Up to that time the animal had been 

 unshod, but some time afterwards Mr. Sinclair had it shod by 

 Mr. Pratt, the parish blacksmith. The other day Mr. Pratt, 

 whose smithy is a long distance from Mr. Sinclair's house, saw 

 the pony, without halter or anything upon it, walking up to 

 where he was working. Thinking the animal had strayed from 

 home, he drove it off, throwing stones after the beast to make 

 it run homewards. This had the desired effect for a short 

 time ; but Mr. Pratt had only got fairly at work once more 

 in the smithy when the pony's head again made its appearance 

 at the door. On proceeding a second time outside to drive the 

 pony away, Mr. Pratt, with a blacksmith's instinct, took a look 

 at the pony's feet, when he observed that one of its shoes had 

 been lost. Having made a shoe he put it on, and then waited 

 to see what the animal would do. For a moment it looked at 

 the blacksmith as if asking whether he was done, then pawed 

 once or twice to see if the newly-shod foot was comfortable, and 

 finally gave a pleased neigh, erected its head, and started home- 

 wards at a brisk trot. The owner was also exceedingly sur- 

 prised to find the animal at home completely shod the same 

 evening, and it was only on calling at the smithy some days 

 afterwards that he learned the full extent of his pony's sagacity. 



In * Nature,' also (vol. xx., p. 21), Mr. Claypole, ofAn- 

 tioch Cottage, Ohio, writes as follows : 



A friend of mine is employed on a farm near Toronto, 

 Ontario, where a horse, belonging to the wife of the fanner, ia 



