66 THE HORSE OF MR. VON OSTEN 



on my part. In such cases I could induce him to con- 

 tinue tapping only by bending forward still more, but this 

 effected also, as we have seen, an increase in his rate 

 of tapping. Such tests, of course, could not give 

 unambiguous results. 



The rate of tapping was quite independent of my rate 

 of counting. Thus, if I counted aloud rapidly, but bent 

 forward only very slightly, the horse's tapping was slow 

 and lagged behind my count. If I counted slowly but 

 bent far forward, Hans would tap rapidly and advance 

 beyond my count. Thus we see that his rate of tapping 

 was in accordance with the degree of inclination of my 

 body and never in accordance with the rate of my count- 

 ing, i. e., it was quite independent of every sort of auditory 

 stimulation. 



Direct observation and a comparison of the records of 

 the time Hans required in giving to his master responses 

 involving small, medium and large numbers, with the 

 records of the time which he required to respond to my 

 questions when I bent only slightly, moderately or very 

 far forward, proved that the increased rapidity in tapping 

 in the case of large numbers, which many regarded as an 

 evidence of high intelligence, (see page 20), was, as a 

 matter of fact, brought about in the way described. The 

 two series (in each of which the time measured was for 

 ID taps) are quite in accord. The horse did not tap 

 faster because he had been given a large number by Mr. 

 von Osten, but because the latter had bent farther for- 

 ward. 



From all this it readily appears why it was possible to 

 cause Hans to increase his rate of tapping but not to 

 decrease it. To do the latter would involve a decrease in 

 the angle of inclination of the body. This would neces- 



