210 Modern Riding and Horse Education 



word of command, the reins being dispensed with 

 as soon as the animal had learnt to associate the 

 word with the movement. Every order was given in 

 the same level tone of voice, which goes to disprove 

 Fillis's theory that a horse cannot understand the 

 words of an order, but only the tone in which it is 

 spoken. There was no picking and choosing about 

 this horse's parents. 



Another instance was that of a mare called 

 Trixie,2 who performed at the Palace Theater in 

 London during the winters of 1906-7-8, and perhaps 

 furnished an example of the highest point of mental 

 development ever reached by a member of the equine 

 race. She could spell, add, subtract, multiply, and 

 divide, work a cash register, and pick out colored 

 rags at the call of the audience from a variegated 

 heap on the stage. Mr. Barnes, her owner and 

 trainer, is interesting on the subject of her educa- 

 tion, and is a firm believer in the intelligence of the 

 horse. His mare, who was three parts Arab, was 

 bred for brains, her dam, sire and grand-dam having 

 been famous trick performers. From the time 



•^ Trixie was killed in a railway accident in America (February 

 1909). 



