“Say ‘Yes’.”
“Wiggle your ears.”
“Scratch your head.”
“Stick out your tongue.”
“Stretch out like a hobby horse.”
I showed this list of written commands to Mr. Sigsbee, but instead of following my instructions he urged me to give them myself. It is still a source of surprise to me that this horse, while blindfolded and with no directive cues from his master (Mr. Sigsbee stood beside me and neither moved nor spoke), responded appropriately to these commands. It was necessary for me to repeat only one command—the last one.
7. At my direction Mr. Sigsbee tied the white strip of cloth to the blindfolded horse’s left hind leg, and the red cloth to his right foreleg. At the end of this performance he cautioned Captain again and again not to forget that the “white rag is on your hind leg—here (patting the left hind leg), and the red rag is on your foreleg.” After much patting of both legs and many warnings against forgetting, Mr. Sigsbee withdrew and allowed me to decide upon the command. I called for the red strip, and Captain obeyed without displaying the least hesitation. It will be remembered that on a previous occasion he found the red strip on his hind leg.
8. The blindfold was now removed, and was not reapplied. Correct responses were obtained to the commands, “Bring me a silver dollar” and “Bring me a quarter.” Mr. Sigsbee stood where it was impossible for him to direct Captain’s choice by pointing with eyes, facial muscles or body.
9. I arranged the numerals in the number rack in the following order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0. Mr. Sigsbee stood behind the horse and gave the following command:
“How many people are there in the front row?”