e he was
always the first to move, and always difficult to restrain. So when the
horses to the rear were restrained or when the intervening distance of
two horses' lengths was lessened, so that this gelding could not see the
one in the rear, he failed completely to respond. Accordingly these
three horses did little to justify the faith which their squadron had
placed in them.

Now a few words on the manner in which horses react upon the call of
their names. We are not concerned with those that are seldom or never
called by name (such as those in the cavalry). I have not discovered one
horse that constantly and unequivocally reacted upon the mention of its
name (though I would not assert that there are none that would do so.) I
was nearly always able to convince the owners or grooms, who at first
had maintained a contrary opinion, that any inarticulate sound was
capable of producing the same effect as the calling of the name. What
the significance of inflection may be, I am not at all certain. When a
certain one of a number of horses standing in the same stable was
called, all of them responded by pricking their ears, raising their
heads, or else turning about. For this reason the reaction of the horse
specifically called lost all significance. Likewise the call which is
ordinarily used in lunging when the man in the center of the circle
wishes the horse to change its gait, or to advance toward him, also
proved ineffectual as soon as the man inhibited every sort of movement.
A slight nod, on the other hand, was always effective. Several times I
have tried to call horses to me, when they were free and running about
in the arena, but was unsuccessful. After I had given them some sugar,
however, they would always come to me--whether I had called or not--and
would then refuse to leave my side. But this is a matter of common
observation.

I would, however, regard all of these tests as merely provisional. In
spite of the greatest effort, it was not always possible to control all
the conditions of the experiment, and furthermore, the number of tests
would have to be materially increased in order to yield an appreciation
of the difference due to race, age, and the individual variation and
training of horses. But we may, even now, be sure of one thing. Over
against the certainty with which horses react to visual stimuli (in the
form of movements perceived), it does not appear that the formation of
auditory associations is great