192 THE HORSE OF MR. VON OSTEN 



this respect. The latter easily learn to react with a high 

 degree of precision to auditory signs, — as I learned from 

 a series of experiments which I was enabled to perform. 

 The Osten horse, therefore, does not stand alone among 

 his kind in his inferior auditory equipment, as one might 

 be tempted to believe at first blush. 



the efficacy of calls, but usually recommend a mingling of calls and 

 movements in the way of signs, (thus Loiset," Baucher,'^ von Amim"). 

 It therefore cannot be stated just in how far the calls really effect any- 

 thing. In other cases I am inclined to doubt outright the influence 

 which is ascribed to the auditory signs. Meehan '* gives an account of 

 a horse that was exhibited in London in the early go's of the last cen- 

 tury. Pawing with his hoof, this horse apparently was able to count 

 and answer questions in arithmetic, and among other accomplishments 

 he was supposed also to be able to understand something of language. 

 In reality, however, he merely responded to cues which were disclosed 

 to the reporter by the trainer. In pawing, the horse was guided by 

 movements of the trainer, and in nodding or shaking the head he repu- 

 tedly got his cue from the inflections of the man's voice. Is it not prob- 

 able that in this latter case it was the movements which accompanied 

 speech that were alone effective in inducing the nod or the shake of the 

 head, so that the exhibiter was deceiving not merely the public, but also 

 himself ? Perhaps we may also doubt the exposition made by the well- 

 known hippologist. Colonel Spohr.™ He tells us that it is easy to train 

 horses to raise the left foot or the right foot in response to the com- 

 mands " Left— foot ! " or " Right— foot ! " and that it will be the fore 

 foot when one is standing in front of the horse, and the hind foot if one 

 stands near the rear. It cannot be so very difiicult, he thinks, even to 

 get the horse to understand the commands " Left (or right) — fore foot! " 

 and " Left (or right) — hind foot 1 " — and all without any other aids 

 but the spoken words. Should this really be possible without even 



the slightest kind of designating movement ? The following case, 



again, I believe is undoubtedly based upon a, misinterpretation. Red- 

 ding ™ relates concerning his nineteen-year old horse that he himself had 



owned for thirteen years, and had always kept in single harness, 



that this horse not only understood the meaning of a long list of words, 

 such as : bureau, post-office, school, churchyard, apple, grass, etc., 

 but he also knew a number of persons by name, as well as their 

 places of residence. If he were told in advance to halt at a certain resi. 



