In teaching a horse to dance, the master would strike the poor animal
above the fetlock, and this would produce a painful swelling. The
result was that in a very short time the motion of the stick, in time
with the music, would cause the horse to raise its foot. Before the
swollen limb was healed the performance was repeated so frequently that
the animal did not need the incentives of fear and pain to cause him to
keep step with the music.
Jumping the rope is taught in nearly the same manner, a chain being
attached to two long sticks swinging back and forth, striking the horse
just below the knee. As a man was stationed on each side of him, the
poor horse had no way of retreat, and was compelled to jump in order to
escape the blow from the swinging bar. A horse is taught to roll an
object or to push open a door in a very simple manner, and without
cruelty. One man stands in front of the horse and another behind him,
the three being stationed in a passageway too narrow for the horse to
turn. After standing a bit in this way, the man behind the horse gently
slaps him on the back and urges him forward. Instinctively the horse
pushes against the man in front, and the latter quickly moves along. In
this manner the horse soon learns that by pushing against an object in
front of him it may readily be forced out of his way. An intelligent
spectator can always tell by the attitude of a horse toward its master
whether it has been ill treated. If fear seems to be the governing
motive it may be depended upon that the horse has been harshly dealt
with; on the other hand, the very nature of the trick performed by the
animal goes far to indicate whether fear or intelligence has been the
main factor in acquiring the accomplishment displayed. If you see an
animal open a trunk or drawer and pick out some article for which it
has been sent, you may know that this feat is the result of an appeal
to the creature's intelligence and not to its fear, for no amount of
punishment could ever teach a thing of this kind.