VI ANIMAL TRAINING AND INTELLIGENCE I "jy 



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 easier 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. 



