3. The leather blindfold was now applied. There is not the
slightest doubt in my mind as to the entire adequacy of
Captain’s blindfold for purposes of excluding visual stimuli. At
my request Mr. Sigsbee stood facing me and called for 2, 9, 3,
1, and 7 separately and in the order given. The horse stood
where I had previously decided to have him stand, and I made
sure that no directive stimuli were reaching him either from the
stage or from the rear and sides.
He stamped twice for “2,” nine for “9,” etc., until this test
was completed. The only mistake occurred when, in response to
the command to “give us three” he stamped three times and struck
his toe on returning his foot to the standing position. His
master accused him of this mistake and Captain gave us three
clean-cut taps.
4. I gave the command, “Give me your right foot,” “Give me your
left foot,” “Put your head down and bite your right knee,” and
“Scratch your head.” He responded appropriately, although it was
necessary for me to repeat these commands to satisfy the inquiry
contained in Captain’s wiggling ears. Mr. Sigsbee stood by my
side, a wholly negligible factor for the moment. I am thoroughly
satisfied that Captain’s activities were solely directed by my
commands.
5. Captain, still blindfolded, was given the following problems
by his master, from whom I had concealed my program. It seemed
to be difficult for the horse to follow my unfamiliar voice, and
since Mr. Sigsbee was invisible to the horse and wholly under my
control I decided to employ him as interlocutor:
“Divide ten equally between your two feet, the first half with
your right foot, the second half with your left foot.”
Captain stamped five times with his right foot, then pawed
tentatively, apparently in doubt as to the correctness of his
answer, and awaiting a cue. He received no cue, and soon
withdrew his right foot to the standing position and tapped five
times with the left foot. His master accused him of inaccuracy,
telling him that he “got one too many” with his right foot.
Captain corrected his mistake by giving us a clean-cut and
accurate response.
“Divide twelve equally between your two feet, the first half
with the right foot, the second half with your left foot.”
This command elicited a perfect response.
“How much is three times three?”
A perfect response was again obtained. Captain gave nine taps
with his right forefoot.
“How much is two times two?” I gave this command.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account