THE MIND OF THE HORSE 



ment, is perfectly cognisant of them, and imme- 

 diately understands from them what the rider will 

 require him to do. The rider who is in the habit 

 of giving these preparatory aids and making these 

 given movements, does so without perceiving them, 

 and, being unaware of them, thinks that the horse 

 guesses his intention. 



Horses in general are attentive to their rider, 

 and vicious ones in particular study the rider' s 

 posture and movements in order to avail themsel- 

 ves of the moment when no attention is paid to 

 them, to carry out opposition or attack, or follow 

 their own will. When led by the hand the vicious 

 horse watches for the opportunity to injure the 

 groom while he is not on his guard. 



The horse is possessed of great imagination. He 

 magnifies and is bewildered by everything. Eor 

 this reason the imagination of the horse has become 

 proverbial in Italy. The horse' s imagination, mag- 

 nifying everj^hing with his great susceptibility to 

 fear, is an evil, but has its compensating feature 

 in the ;fact that it causes the animal to accept 

 readily the idea of our superiority, which makes 



