Horse Stories, and Stories of Other Animals. Thomas Wallace Knox
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was given to their prizes.
Charley's horse was a medium sized animal and was said to have come from Kentucky. The first question of the youth was as to the age of the creature, to which Mr. Graham replied that he must find out for himself.
This was a subject that had not been investigated; it demanded immediate study and away went Charley to his books again. In a few days he considered himself competent to tell a horse's age, and his practice on his own steed showed that he was not far out of the way.
“But do you know, father that I'll have to violate a very old injunction,” said Charley, as he proceeded to the study of the subject.
“How so?”
“You gave me the horse, did you not?” queried the youth.
“Certainly,” replied Mr. Graham.
“Well, then,” quoth the boy with a smile, “Isn't there an old adage that says 'never look a gift horse in the mouth'?”
“Yes,” the father answered, his face reflecting the smile of the son, “but all rules have their exceptions, and we'll make one in the present case.”
We haven't space for all that Charley learned about the way in which the age of horses is shown by their teeth. The novice who is buying a horse should not rely upon himself in this matter, and it is not at all probable that Mr. Graham would have allowed the youth to make a purchase on the strength of his limited study of the subject. A great deal of observation and practice are necessary and even then one may be deceived. The best judges of horses have been defrauded by the tricks of dealers, who can reduce the apparent age of an animal by careful filing of the teeth. The general appearance of the creature, the smoothness of his skin, the shape of the limbs and head, and many other things must be taken into consideration as well as the condition of his teeth.
Charley's horse was pronounced about four years old, while that of George was not far from five. Both the animals were of gentle disposition and the boys made friends with them at once.
Charley decided that his horse should be called Cobweb, while George thought that Major would be a good name for his steed. Accordingly the animals were known as Cobweb and Major and very quickly knew their names. In this respect a horse is very much like a dog and learns to associate a word with himself when it is frequently repeated.
“Do you think horses understand language?” George asked his brother one day while they were exercising Cobweb and Major.
“I'm quite sure they do,” was the reply. “I went to see some trained horses that were being exhibited by a man named Bartholebeen a secret sign given to the horse by the trainer, but we were positively assured there was nothing of the kind.
“That the horses all knew their names was very evident, for they stood up in a row and each one walked out when his name was called, either by the trainer or by persons in the audience. They were bright, intelligent horses and perfectly docile; after the performance was over the audience went among the horses and petted them and not one showed the least sign of ill temper. On the contrary they seemed to appreciate the attention they received and to be proud of it.”
“I have noticed,” said George, “that the horses on the street cars understand the meaning of the conductor's bell. When they are going mew. The horses did a great many things just as he told them, and to make sure there was no trickery about the matter he asked the audience to give some of the orders.”
“How was that?”
“Why, when a horse was standing at the front of the stage the trainer would ask the audience to tell the animal which way to make a circle, whether to the right or left. The horse would hesitate a moment after the order was given and then he turned in the when he was asked to. This was done several times; perhaps there may have they stop at the sound of the bell, and when they are standing they start up as soon as the bell rings.”
“I've observed that, too,” was the reply, “and the drivers say it only takes a few days for a green horse to understand it. And a car horse after a little experience learns just about how long a time should be required for a passenger to enter or leave a car, and when the time is exceeded he is apt to show impatience.”
“Henry Johnson was telling me an amusing story the other day,” said George, “about how a man started a balky horse on the street in New York.”
“How was that?” Charley asked.
“Henry was going along Broadway,” said George, “and saw a crowd around a handsome horse that was attached to an equally handsome carriage. One man had him by the bit, another by the tail, a couple of men put their shoulders against his ribs and heaved as hard as they could but the animal was as immovable as a house.
“When everybody was in despair, a stranger appeared, and stepping out of the crowd said to the driver, “'I'll show you how to make that horse go.'
“The driver retired, and the stranger took the horse confidently by the mouth, opened it and looked into it, examined his teeth for a few minutes, then seized the beast by the bridle, and to the astonishment of the crowd, the horse started off at a good gait, drawing the carriage after him with perfect ease.
“The success of the stranger's method of persuading a balky horse to go was so surprising that Henry asked the man how he did it.
“'It's very simple,' said he. 'Of course you didn't see me, but I took a chip of wood which I picked up from the sidewalk and placed it under the horse's tongue. The presence of that bit of pine chip diverted the horse's attention. He forgot all about being balky, and when I took hold of the bridle he started off like any other horse. A horse can think of only one thing at a time and you want to keep that fact in mind when you are training him.'”
“I heard a groom say the other day,” Charley remarked when George had ended his story, “that you could often start a balky horse by pretending to do something to the harness. Fasten and unfasten some of the straps, be very busy about it for several minutes, then take the reins and give the order to go on in an ordinary tone and quite likely the horse will start off without hesitation. Gleason, the famous horse trainer, acts on this principle when he is handling vicious horses; he puts a string in the animal's mouth that incommodes him though it does not hurt him. The horse concentrates his thoughts upon how he will get rid of the incumbrance and hasn't any time to be ugly. And what's more, he follows the trainer all round the ring and keeps him constantly in sight for fear he'll go away without removing the string.”
“Did you ever hear of a horse that knew the doxology?” George asked.
“No!” replied his brother in a tone of surprise. “He must have belonged to a clergyman.”
“So he did,” was the ready answer. “He belonged to a preacher in the country and had been driven by him for eighteen years. The preacher said he had so often driven the horse to church and left him standing near by, that the horse learned the doxology, and whenever it is sung he begins to neigh, knowing that he is going home soon.”
“I heard a gentleman