igo THE HORSE OF MR. VON OSTEN 



properly in only i8% of all such cases. When, however, 

 (other conditions remaining the same,) he was put in 

 second or third place, he started properly in 67% of the 

 tests, and if we take into account only those cases in 

 which the three most effective commands were used 

 (" Squadron ! ", " March ! ", and " Squadron— march !") 

 he reacted correctly in 91% of the cases. (The number 

 of tests was 17, 36 and 22 respectively for the three 

 groups mentioned.) The horse, therefore, almost always 

 began to step properly when he stood behind one of his 

 companions, but seldom when he stood at the head. And 

 when he stood at the head and began to walk at the 

 proper moment, it was plain that it was a case of imita- 

 tion and not initiative, for the horse was still able to see 

 the others, owing to the extent of his field of vision back- 

 ward, and he was always the last to move, whereas other- 

 wise he was always the first to move, and always difficult 

 to restrain. So when the horses to the rear were re- 

 strained or when the intervening distance of two horses' 

 lengths was lessened, so that this gelding could not see 

 the one in the rear, he failed completely to respond. Ac- 

 cordingly these three horses did little to justify the faith 

 which their squadron had placed in them. 



/~ Now a few words on the manner in which horses react 

 upon the call of their names. We are not concerned 



' with those that are seldom or never called by name 

 (such as those in the cavalry). I have not discovered 

 one horse that constantly and unequivocally reacted upon 

 the mention of its name (though I would not assert that 

 there are none that would do so.) I was nearly always 

 able to convince the owners or grooms, who at first had 

 maintained a contrary opinion, that any inarticulate sound 

 was capable of producing the same effect as the calling 



