Mental Limitations of Horses 17 



as thoroughly subjective to it as to the one whose 

 place it takes. 



The horse's memory is most retentive ; his homing 

 instinct is as true as a carrier-pigeon's. He will 

 remember a voice — yet never recognise the speaker 

 either by sight, smell, or touch, until the familiar 

 tones are heard. Words are to him of no import; 

 he obeys only those associated with certain gestures 

 or subsequent effects — as the cut of a whip, etc. 

 He rarely forgets a locality, or its devious ways of 

 approach, even although years have passed since he 

 last visited it. It is this memory which enables us to 

 leach him tricks, to use him for our various purposes 

 etc., and this same power of recollection proves an 

 undesirable faculty in that it does not allow him to 

 forget past accidents, successful resistance, etc. In 

 fact, the horse's memory it is which should render 

 us doubly careful, in all our relations with him, 

 always to retain the upper hand; for he never 

 forgets the one time that Jie got the best of you, 

 and the very rarity of the occurrence serves but to 

 make the impression the more vivid. 



