TEACHING HORSES TRICKS. 45 



must be doubled over and tied in a knot ; the animal shakes it 

 to get at the grain, but not succeeding, lifts it from the ground, 

 which is just the thing wanted. When the horse has done 

 this a few times, and finds that though he can shake nothing 

 out he will receive a handful of oats as a reward, he may be 

 trusted to perform in public. 



TO SELECT A CHOSEN CARD. 



In performing this trick in public one of the audience is 

 allowed to choose a card from the pack, and this card, with 

 several others is thrown on the ground. The horse is then 

 asked by his master to select the chosen card from among them, 

 and to give it to the person who chose it. This sounds like 

 quite a difficult feat, especially, as is usually the case, if he has 

 had his eyes blindfolded while the selection of the card was 

 being made. 



Having taught the horse to find and pick up the handker- 

 chief it is very easy to substitute any other article in its place. 

 If a card should be substituted it would be picked up just as any- 

 thing else would be. The main difficulty is to teach the horse to 

 pick the one desired from among the others, and that one only. 

 To do this, spread half a dozen cards upon the ground at inter- 

 vals of about ten feet. Let the horse go to one end of this line 

 of cards. He will naturally stop at the first one he comes to, 

 and, if left to himself, will pick it up. Instead of allowing him 

 to do this, start him ahead with the voice using the term '' Get 

 up,'' or any other which he has been taught means " go ahead." 

 Do this until he reaches the card which you desire him to pick 

 up, at this you must remain silent unless he is about to pass it 

 by like the former ones, in which case you say ^' Whoa," and 

 keep him standing before it until he picks it up. When he 

 does this, reward him and speak encouragingly to him, that he 

 may know he has done what you wished. If you make a prac- 

 tice of speaking to him when he stops at the wrong cards^ and of 

 keeping silent when he reaches the right one he will soon come 

 to understand that " silence gives consent," and that that is the 

 proper card to select. The order in which the chosen card is 

 placed in the row should be varied so that the horse may not 

 learn to select the card by its position instead of obeying your 

 signal. This enables you to let your auditors place the cards 

 in any position or order their fancy may dictate without inter- 

 fering at all with the successful ^' working " of the horse. 



After he has learned to select the desired card without hesita- 

 tion, he must be so taught that he will hand it to the person 

 vho may have selected it, when he comes to perform in public 



