Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/horse-plays-cards/

When most people think of training pets to do tricks, we imagine teaching a dog to “sit” or “play dead.” Dogs are probably the most popular animal to teach tricks to, but other animals are just as capable of learning and playing along!

Some cats are trained to perform tricks, as well as more unique pets like rats and rabbits.

But learning a new skill isn’t something reserved for smaller, indoor pets. Farm animals can learn them as well!

In fact, one woman in Austria has a whole camp dedicated to teaching horses new tricks. Her organization, Crazy Showhorses, works with horses to help them perform entertaining shows and tricks. Essentially, she’s putting the horses through circus training!

One of the horses was caught on film pulling off quite the stunt. In a video shared on Facebook, the horse can be sitting down on a giant bean bag and playing a game of cards with his owner!

What makes the stunt even more impressive is how at ease the horse appears as he sits there, pulling cards from the table with his mouth. It’s as if he’s enjoying a leisurely game with a friend, and not performing for treats.

To get the horse to play, the trainer spent hours working with it. First, she taught the horse to sit on the beanbag – a skill she teaches to a lot of her horses.

Then, she incorporated the cards and used treats as an incentive for the horse to draw one. Every time he pulled a card, he got a treat. Before long, the two were playing a card game like old pals!

Watch the video below:

You can see more of the Crazy Showhorses on Facebook here.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog