254 TRAINING CIRCUS HORSES. 



system of check and lines that makes the process much easier 

 to him. After the horse has been taught to run around we 

 take off the blindfold, and the performer for whom the animal 

 is intended begins to try tricks with him. The horse is natur- 

 ally very observant and his natural bent is to do what he sees 

 another horse do ; so when we are teaching a new horse tricks 

 we place him alongside of another, who has been trained, to 

 give him confidence, and the two work together. The rider will 

 first try one and then the other. It is a great mistake in think- 

 ing that punishment is resorted to in breaking in circus horses. 

 Horses that are broken by violent treatment are not to be de 

 pended upon, and for ring purposes we must have horses so 

 trained that they can be absolutely relied upon. 



"A good animal that has been trained for the ring, will, 

 technically speaking, ' feel ' his rider and accommodate his 

 motions as much as possible t'o the work that the rider has in 

 hand. Such a horse is the delight of a bare-back rider ; and, by 

 the way, nearly all the riders have their favorite animals. 



Circus horses are as sensible to the applause of the audience 

 as are the riders. It is wonderful what a horse will do under 

 the stimulus of applause with what he will not do when the 

 audience is cold. Horses are likely, however, just as perform- 

 ers, to lose their head when the approval is too stimulating. 

 This is one of the reasons you see the check and reins with 

 which a circus horse is provided ; they are not intended whoUy 

 for ornament as most people suppose. 



"A well-trained ring-horse is worth easily $1,000. Eiders 

 who earn large salaries generally like to own the horses that 

 they ride ; they like to give them their personal attention. 

 Generally the riders in a circus who own their own horses 

 make up a pool together for the employment of a first-class 

 groom. A circus horse needs the most careful attention. 

 Prior to every act his back has to be rubbed with rosin, so as 

 to prevent the rider's feet from slipping ; this must be carefully 

 washed off after each act or the horse's back would become 

 sore in a short time. 



