A French study found horses could tell if a person intended to feed or not feed them a carrot. | Photo: iStock

If you’re planning to give them to your horse, he knows. And if you’re not planning to, he also knows. He even knows when you’re planning to give him the carrots but, because of your own lack of grace or cleverness, you can’t seem to get them to him.

It’s evidence that, whether it involves carrots or something else, horses understand our goals—even when we fail to reach them, according to a study by French behavior scientists.

“When you’re with your horse, don’t lie to yourself, and don’t lie to him, because he knows what you’re planning to do,” said Léa Lansade, PhD, of the French Horse and Riding Institute and the National Institute for Agricultural Research’s behavior science department, in Tours, France