40 Our Noblest Friend, The Horse 



restraint to attempt to train with reasonable prospect 

 of success. 



If there were anything in the theory of the horse's 

 affection for man, one would be safe in expecting 

 that, at this same circus work, he would delight in 

 performing at his best through love of the master 

 who tenderly cares for and liberally rewards com- 

 petent rehearsal and proper performance. The plain 

 truth is that all these horses get finally out of control 

 — save in a few, very few instances — and have to 

 be relegated to other uses. The troupes of perform- 

 ing horses never last long before the public, because 

 the cunning creatures find that they may, in public, 

 set authority at defiance ; as they learn that the dire 

 punishment which follows the slightest mistake in 

 private cannot be inflicted in public; nor can any 

 errors be corrected at the daily rehearsal, because 

 there they are generally letter-perfect, and rarely 

 make the slightest error. 



Therefore the creature's " affection " is rarely 

 more than mere gregarious instinct. He loves com- 

 panionship, and wants some living thing to chum 



