Smart Animals
A shrewd horse and an alert dog give us plenty to think aboutHorsing Around
MIKE HILTON
When I first arrived in Australia in 1952 at the age of 16, I worked on a sheep and wheat farmnear Gulgong in New SouthWales. One of the first things I learned was how to ride a horse so I couldmuster sheep. I don’t know her breed butmy horse, Bay, had a beautiful tan coat. She was reluctant to let anyone ride her and was content to simply roam around the paddock. So, catching her became a problem. As soon as Bay would see me approach with a bridle in hand she’d trot off. It would take at least ten minutes before she would My only option was to trick her.
The next time I wanted to ride her, I walked out into the paddock holding a bowl of oats. As I walked past Bay I scooped up some of the oats from the bowl and let them fall back through my fingers.Thesmell of the delicious oats was toomuch for this spoilt horse. She would blow her nose and trot straight up to me, before greedily helping herself to the oats. This would then give me the chance I needed to quickly throw the bridle around her neck. It was worth the effort, as Bay would do what I say for the remainder of the day. But, after falling for this little trick for several days, she eventually caught on and trotted away when she saw the bridle.
A few days later, I noticed Bay on her back rolling in a firebreak. She must have been there for some time because she’dmade a dip in the loose soil from rolling around and couldn’t get back up on her legs. Carefully kneeling down next to her, I putmy nose to hers and said, “Hello Bay, having trouble getting up?” Neighing back at me, with a look that could kill, she let me push her to one side so she could finally get up. Giving herself a good shake, she gave me a high-pitched ‘thank you’ neigh, then galloped off. From that day, she would trot up to me and, with a knowing shrug, happily let me put on her bridle.
A Sense of Danger
EDMUND BARTON
I bought Biddy when I was living in the UK in 1964. An Irish terrier, she was quick to train. She was a very obedient dog and when walked would come to heel automatically. She also enjoyed swimming in the nearby lake. In 1971, when I came to Australia, Biddy came, too.My wife and I travelled by plane and Biddy and our Welsh terrierMegan came by ship, arriving five weeks later and spending a month in quarantine.
We stayed withmy wife’s parents in theirMelbourne home, close to the beach which we all loved. One day, while Biddy and I were on a walk along the beach we reached a cove with a small lagoon. I urged her to swimbut, unusually, Biddy refused. I even waded into the water to encourage her. As I was standing up tomy knees in water, there was a swirl and a very large fish surfaced about 30 centimetres in front of me – I quickly waded back to the sand.
We continued our walk around the bend of a rock buttress which shaded the cove fromthe rest of the beach front.There was an elderly man fishing there and we greeted each other. He then added, “Don’t go in the water back there – there’s a bloody great shark in the lagoon.” Biddymust have sensed danger and refused to enter the water.This is a true instance of a dog’s ability to predict a menacing threat.
