Experimental Study of Associative Processes 107 
B answered, ‘I think it would be a very hard way.” 
C answered, “Certainly I do.” 
D answered, ‘‘T do not think I could.” 
£ answered, “Yes.” 
Question 3: ‘How would you teach him ?” 
A answered, “I should tap his foot with a whip, so that 
he would raise it, and reward him each time.” 
B answered, “I should teach him by the motion of the 
whip.” 
C answered, ‘‘First teach him by pricking his leg the 
number of times you wanted his foot lifted.” 
D answered, ‘You put figure 2 on blackboard and touch 
him on leg twice with cane, and so on.” 
£ answered ambiguously. 
It is noteworthy that even those who think they could 
teach an animal by putting him through the trick do not 
use that method, except at first|_ And what they really do 
then is probably to stimulate the animal to the reflex act 
of raising his hoof.| The hand simply replaces the cane or 
whip as the means of stimulus. The answers are especially 
instructive, because the numerous counting tricks done by 
trained horses seem, at first, to be incomprehensible, unless 
the trainer can teach the horse by putting it through the 
movement the proper number of times. The counting 
tricks performed by Mascot, Professor Maguire’s horse, 
were quoted to me by a friend as incomprehensible on my 
theory. The answers given above show how simple the 
thing really is. All the counting-tricks of all the intelligent 
horses depend on the fact that a horse raises his hoof when 
a certain stimulus is given. One simple reaction gives the 
basis for a multitude of tricks. In the same way other 
tricks, which at first sight seem to require that the animal 
should learn by being put through the movement, may 
depend on some simple reflex or natural impulse. 
