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I have a problem with people who use the "easy-out" phrase (when a pet dies, or a horse is sold for meat), "they're just dumb animals", is the familiar refrain. Fortunately, or unfortunately,(for the people), they are right, if one takes in to consideration that "dumb" means unable to speak. I have a horse, Justin, who, at every opportunity shows ingenuity and definite (sometimes approaching the diabolically clever) purpose in the things that he does, (especially if I'm not watching him at the time). This horse also shows signs of being able to understand English too! (Babies learn it, why shouldn't horses?)
Yup, when I go to the barn at night to help Les, my partner, feed hay, Justin, (who is in a double stall with Les's horse, Blazer) is most often standing over on Blazer's side, crowding him into the corner. All it takes is for me to look at him (eye contact is very important when dealing with an intelligent being) and say: "Justin, where are you supposed to be?" He considers this for a moment or two, and then gets over onto his own side of the stall. If I don't make eye contact, he just stands there, (I'm on ignore), and doesn't twitch a hair until I say: "Get there". At this point, it's like he's been whipped or shot at, he moves over so fast.
Occasionally, he likes to mess with my mind out on the trail (I'm sure it's to see if I'm still awake). He'll spook at old familiar things that he's passed hundreds of times, but just this once, the dreaded thing (rock, blade of grass) is about to attack! He pulls the "spectacular side jump thing", and once I turn him back to the object, I call him on it: "big strong brave horsey, afraid of a little bit of horse eating grass." This serves to humiliate him. End result, he sulks the rest of the ride, but quits with the head games.
"Horse sense" is a real thing. Justin can problem-solve, better than most humans that I've met. He's the bane of Les's existence. He can, and frequently does: undo halter buckles, (the better for Blazer to get in that extra bite of hay left on the barn floor in the middle of the night); undo quick release knots (even when the rope is through the keeper); and open almost any gate on the ranch. Our gates are drop bolts with holes in the bottom for pins (clothes hangers tied to the gate with twine). Justin just checks out the angle, grabs the pin on the twine side, and yanks, thereby straightening out the pin. Step two, a little upper lip action and the bolt's out, and he's a free horse. Or perhaps the ones being kept in to be ridden in the afternoon are free, and Justin has all that hay to himself. (He should have been named Hoover).
Nope, in my opinion, the "dumb animal" cop out is just that, a cop out. Horses lack human speech. But, really, with the way horses' mouths are shaped, no wonder that they can't 'speak' to us in our own language. They do, however, have their ways of communicating, and the horseman that observes and learns, will be farther ahead with his horses than the one who considers animals to be "dumb" (read brainless). Not only that, but he will be able to convince the horse that he, the handler, is the leader of this small herd of two, (man and horse) and the horse will respect him for it.
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