The Intelligence of the Horse. 



In point of intelligence, the horse is undoubtedly 

 second among our domestic animals, although it 

 is very far below the dog in reasoning powers. 

 Most of the anecdotes that are related to show 

 the sagacity of the horse are really examples of 

 the rare instinct it possesses ; and while it is not 

 uncommon to find horses that exhibit marked 

 dislike for certain persons, I think that the animal 

 is incapable of any real attachment to persons, 

 while the preference it shows for places where it 

 has been well fed and sheltered is common to 

 beasts of a much lower order of intelligence. The 

 horse readily learns the meaning of words, but it 

 does not seem to anticipate the wishes of its master 

 in anything like the degree that the dog does, and the 

 tricks taught to the horse by patiently persisting in 

 certain routines are always perfunctorily performed. 

 But the memory of the horse is one of its most 

 striking attributes, for it hardly ever forgets persons, 

 places, or incidents, particularly those of an alarm- 



