“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.”