Overview

In the early days of the 20th century, the world was agog to learn that a German stallion named Clever Hans could apparently communicate with humans. The discovery of this remarkable animal, who could supposedly also spell and tell time, caused such an uproar that the German government appointed the Hans Com mission to investigate the astonishing claims. The Commission concluded in September, 1904 that no tricks were involved. A sceptical psychologist however declared that the horse's owner was guilty of inadvertently signalling the answers to Hans. Then a wealthy German businessman named Karl Krall announced he had trained three other horses which were smarter than Hans. These horses could not only solve complex mathematical calculations and recognise people, he said, they could also transmit the correct answer to questions via the newly-invented telephone. Nobel Laureate, Maurice Maeter linck, went to inspect these educated German horses. Having been granted complete freedom to test the horses in a variety of ways, he concluded, You rub your eyes and ask yourself in the presence of what new creature you stand. You look for some trace, obvious or subtle, of the mystery. You feel yourself attacked in your innermost citadel where you held yourself impregnable. This is the first modern attempt to re-examine the mystery of Clever Hans and his fellow educated horses. This ground-breaking study includes Maeterlinck's original eye-witness observations, extracts from Karl Krall's rare German book explaining how he trained the horses to achieve such remarkable results, and Sanford's detailed psychological report. The mystery of Clever Hans and Krall's horses still intrigues equestrian scholars and this analysis will provide vital information designed to reconsider the startling question - can horses communicate with humans?

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9781590482834

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