io MENTAL QUALITIES OF THE HORSE. 



occasion, against the top of such an entrance. Although 

 the man in charge may show the horse that by lowering 

 its head (which on such occasions it generally keeps raised 

 as high as possible), it can easily go under the supposed 

 obstruction, it will display an obstinate disbelief in the 

 efficacy of any such expedient. Other horses, wise from 

 experience, though not from having reasoned out the 

 problem, will display great intelligence in crawling under 

 bars employed to keep them prisoners, and even in opening 

 doors by lifting up the latch. 



As intelligence restrains the action of instinct, it follows 

 that when these two faculties exist in an animal, they will 

 as a rule be in an inverse proportion to each other. Thus, 

 the bee and the spider have more highly developed instinct, 

 though less intelligence than the dog ; and vice versa. The 

 same remark would hold good when comparing civilised 

 nations with Bushmen or Australian blacks ; and English 

 and Arab horses with bronchos and zebras. 



Although the horse has generally great difficulty in 

 associating cause and effect, unless the connection be par- 

 ticularly easy of perception, and the interval of time 

 between the two be extremely short ; he may be fully 

 alive to the fact, in particular cases, that the one cir- 

 cumstance follows the other. For example, we may every 

 day see horses which are accustomed to jump and prance 

 about immediately after making a stumble, and thus 

 betray the fact that they are old offenders in this respect. 

 Their alarm is evidently due to the remembrance that 

 punishment follows the making of a false step ; but they 

 have not intelligence enough to understand that the former 

 was the penalty of the latter ; for in no case which I have 

 seen, does the infliction of such chastisement render the 

 horse less liable to stumble. I have often remarked among 

 racehorses which I have been training, that plaiting the 



