Wednesday, November 1: Clever Hans, the famous "counting horse," could tap his
foot the correct number of times to solve simple arithmetic. His trainer would ask: "What is two times
three?" Slowly, Hans would tap six times. The audience would applaud. Skeptics of the horse's
intelligence, however, asked that the trainer withdraw so they could ask the
questions. Hans continued to count correctly. Finally, they placed Hans behind a screen, where
he could not see or sense his audience, and suddenly he was not so clever, tapping
endlessly in response to the first question. Hans could only count correctly when in close
contact with his audience.
While leading out the stallions today, I lost my temper, and
asked the simple question: "What is a two-by-four? It's what I'll club you with if
you don't quit biting me!" But I remembered Clever Hans. These big boys pick up
on frustration or fright—the emotions of the audience—and take advantage of either. The key
is to outthink them. Some days I am up to the task, and some days the task is up to me.
From Country Life Diary, Year One (1989)