Thursday, April 15, 2010

  Smartest Horse - world record set by Lukas the Horse

  Chino Hills, Calif., USA -- Lukas , a 17-year-old thoroughbred gelding in Chino Hills, Calif., was trained by his owner Karen Murdoch, to master 35 amazing feats , setting the world record for the Smartest Horse .

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   "He's able to count and discern different shapes. To my knowledge, he's the only horse who can do this," Murdock said.

   "He can also spell his name, my name and, because my husband pays for all the food and the stable, he insisted that Lukas learned to spell his name, 'D-O-U-G.' "

   Spelling is a pretty cool skill for a horse, but even more amazing, she said, is his ability to know the difference between objects that are the same and those that are different, those that are bigger or smaller than others and a concept called "absentness."

   " Lukas knows when something is missing, and that is a skill that was previously only detected in primates and parrots," Murdock said.

   Other tricks include the ability to pretend that he is lame (the equine version of faking a doctor's note), nodding "yes" and shaking his head "no," and curtsying.

    The world's smartest horse ran in three races as a 2-year-old and bowed both front tendons. After leaving the racetrack, he changed hands several times over the following years and ended up neglected and emaciated in a backyard.

   "The woman I bought him from saw Lukas while she was driving by and was just filled with pity," Murdock said. "He was skin and bones and his tail was basically dried mud. The owners had never owned a horse before and didn't know how to deal with him."

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   As you might expect, Murdock, a retired psychiatric nurse, said the fact that Lukas is smarter than the average horse -- or bear -- has implications on the whole animal kingdom. "I do believe animals are smarter than we give them credit for," Murdock said.

   " Some people become more demanding when they're not getting results, but when you try to look out for other people's best interests, great things happen , " she said.

 Like many geniuses, animal and humans, Lukas , the Smartest Horse in the World has his quirks. "He definitely has his opinions, and he's definitely sensitive, observant and empathetic," Murdock said. "He just has a particular way of being asked to do something before he'll do it."

  In his new job as a "spokeshorse" for the thoroughbred rescue organization Canter Luka will show off those skills as a way of encouraging horse lovers to adopt young mounts cast off by the racing industry.

   Murdock says that she's running out of new tricks for Lukas , but hopes to teach him to add and subtract in the near future.

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