Sep 14
There’s been some famous horses in history that can count, read minds and do all sorts of seemingly impossible things.
Often, these tricks involve the horse stomping its foot on the ground to count numbers, indicate yes or no, etc.
Turns out that horses aren’t really all that great a mathematican or mind reader, but rather are good at reading physical cues from the person asking them questions. So if someone brings their horse to a poker game, you know they’re up to something.
What most people don’t realize is that horses have near 360 degree vision. So typically a person stands offstage somewhere unseen and directs the horse to neigh or stomp or whatever, even though the horse is facing the audience.
True. Birds likewise have a large peripheral vision. I recall using a weird contraption in a nature class one time in Yosemite to give humans the ability to see what birds saw. It was a box with angled mirrors that changed our perception. Pretty neat to play with, but it gave me a headache after a while.