Recently the subject of animal cognition came up when a psychologist argued that animals don’t think about what they do, they simply do what they are trained to do. Anyone who has ever partnered with working animals knows differently. Ask someone who works with sheep herding dogs.

30 years in the sport horse industry have given me the opportunity to observe how working horses think. What follows are stories to illustrate examples of animal cognition.

From left: Chinook, Brett and Joey YoYo

at Central Park Stables (1985)

Andrew's Premeditated
Mischief