vI ANIMAL TRAINING AND INTELLIGENCE 177 
ing upon a narrow pathway in imitation of an 
equilibrist, and other things —the more out of the 
way, the better in the estimation of the populace 
—in which a horse can take no interest, and in 
doing which he must lose that self-respect and 
pride so manifest in him under better circum- 
stances. While these feats are astonishing, they 
are rarely graceful or agreeable to the better 
taste. 
The ring-master of Barnum and Bailey’s present 
circus makes a very picturesque arrangement of a 
large number of trained horses which group them- 
selves about him upon a stand consisting of a cir- 
cular series of rising steps, where the horses stand 
facing toward the top, their fore feet resting upon 
the next higher step in front of them; after which 
they move rapidly round and round, the line upon 
each step heading a different way from that above 
and below it. This is a very attractive, but not 
a particularly difficult “act,” deriving its worth 
mainly from the large number of free horses that 
act in unison. 
Any horse, according to M. Loyal, can be 
trained by judicious force; yet certain breeds, 
as the Arabian horses and those from Old Prussia, 
are easicr to teach than any others, and the age is 
of great importance. The best education is re- 
ceived between the fifth and seventh years of the 
animal’s life; before that the horse is too excita- 
ble; afterward, likely to be stiff. 
N 
