214 THE HORSE OF MR. VON OSTEN 



which he could make himself understood. He taught 

 Hans to approach the colors and select the cloth of the 

 color wanted. He also taught him to make those move- 

 ments of the head or body which correspond with the 

 expressions : " up ", " down ", etc. 



First of all, Hans had to be taught to bring the cloths. 

 Then began the pointing out of the different colors, ac- 

 companied each time by their proper names. It is very 

 probable that at first Hans had to be led each time to each 

 separate colored cloth and taught to raise it or to touch 

 it with his nose. Later, Mr. von Osten, after having pro- 

 nounced the name of the color, remained at his place, 

 with his head and body directed to the cloth in question 

 and gazing intently at it, in order to see whether or not 

 the horse was pointing out the right one. Naturally 

 Hans would, at first^jgiLa liaadred-times-where he would 

 succeed but once, buf since the horse would receive the 

 anticipated reward in case of success, he gradually be- 

 came conscious^ that this reward was attached to execu- 

 tions which had some special mark. This special mark 

 would be expressed in human speech by the statement 

 that the horse would go in the direction indicated by the 

 position of the instructor's body. For Hans, of course, 

 this would not take the form of an abstract statement, 

 but simply of a definite way of seeing and of going and a 

 cofrelation of the two in a certain definite manner, — ^the 

 whole being a process, the elements of which remained 

 unanalyzed and unaccounted for by Hans. Owing to the 

 position of the eye, it was possible for him to keep his 

 master within his field of vision, while he was approach- 

 ing the cloths. And only when he had correlated his ap- 

 proach in a certain definite manner with his visual per- 

 ception of the master, i. e., only when he had felt his way. 



