THE MIND OF THE HORSE

Intelligence — Imagination — Memory

The horse in endowed with fair intelligence within the range of ideas allowed by his mental constitution and faculties, and owing to this fact he is susceptible of being taught many actions and movements. The intelligence he possesses is limited, but it is sufficient to enable him to understand whether he should respect those who handle or ride him: to feel the justice or injustice of punishments inflicted; to study the means of opposing, anticipating and circumventing the rider's guidance in order to follow his own desires; to choose for attacking man the moment when  he is not attentive to him and has his eyes directed elsewhere.

In wild horses the intelligence is far more acutely developed in all that relates to the satisfaction of the requirements of subsistence and of self-preservation. In this respect the domestic horse largely loses his intelligence owing to the fact that, having everything prepared for him, he does not need to exercise this faculty. The domestic horse is more intelligent in other matters that he learns owing to his contact with man from birth.

The intelligent horse is intent on observing the slightest movements of the rider he is bearing, and understands his intentions in this way. The rider, before guiding the horse to perform any particular action, gives him certain preparatory aids and likewise by force of habit and without noticing them, makes special movements with his body. The horse, which has already experienced, on many previous occasions these preparatory aids, and felt these special movements, which the rider makes before putting him through a given movement, is perfectly cognizant of them, and immediately understands from them what the rider will require him to do. The rider who is in the habit of giving these preparatory aids and making these given movements, does so without perceiving them, and, being unaware of them, thinks that the horse guesses his intention.

Horses in general are attentive to their rider and vicious ones in particular study the rider's posture and movements in order to avail themselves of the moment when no attention is paid to them, to carry out opposition or attack, or follow their own will. When led by the hand the vicious horse watches for the opportunity to injure .the groom while he is not on his guard.  

The horse is possessed of great imagination. He magnifies and is bewildered by everything. For this reason the imagination of the horse has become proverbial in Italy. The horse's imagination, magnifying everything with his great susceptibility to fear, is an evil, but has its compensating feature in the fact that it causes the animal to accept' readily the idea of our superiority, which makes him obedient to our feeble aids and punishment. Upon this, i. e. upon the great effect of our weak means of action upon his imagination, is baaed the possibility of our power over him.

The horse is usually observant and attentive to everything, and remembers things well. He is particularly mindful of good treatment and bad, and of all persons and objects which gave him pleasurable sensations and disagreeable sensations or sensations of fear, also of the circumstances and place where he experienced these feelings and which were associated with them.

His memory of persons, objects and of event happening to him and giving him pleasurable sensations, and of the places where they happened, makes him hope that he may anew be given pleasurable sensations on seeing again these persona, objects, occurrences, places, and even on the occurrence of the slightest circumstance which remind him of these persons, objects, events and places.

His memory of the persons, objects and place which gave him disagreeable sensations or fear makes him   apprehend that he may again   experience disagreeable sensations or fear on his seeing again these persons, objects, occurrences, places, or even on the occurrence of the slightest circumstance recalling to his mind these persons, objects, events and places.

If he has experienced fear, or has been hurt by any object, he remembers it, he is afraid on seeing that object again and seeks to escape from it. If at some place he was frightened or hurt by a given object he is frightened again on being brought to that place. He gladly sees and desires to approach an object or person that has caused him pleasure. He avoids or tries to avoid the person who threatened or ill-treated him and the object from which he derived pain. So he is alarmed if someone shows him the whip with which he was previously struck.

His memory makes his training possible, as it allows of the animal remembering the movements taught. The horse well remembers the various signals or aids by which he was compelled to assume certain given positions with his body and go through the various paces and evolutions, and after having gone through them several times, on the first signals he guesses the movements he is required to make and does them by himself.

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