“A 17-year-old thoroughbred gelding in Chino Hills, Calif., is going into the record books, not for the speed of his feet but for the quickness of his mind. The horse in question is Lukas, who is touted as the smartest horse in the world for the many amazing feats he’s been able to master: 35 in all. According to Karen Murdock, Lukas’ owner and trainer, he is able to count and discern different shapes, spell his name and recognize the difference between objects that are the same and those that are different, those that are bigger or smaller than others and a concept called ‘absentness.’ “Lukas knows when something is missing, and that is a skill that was previously only detected in primates and parrots,” Murdock said. But despite having an extremely high equine IQ, Lukas was absent from the Guinness World Records book until June, when Guinness finally created a record attempt for Lukas that fit in their criteria.” w/ photo + video
