Lukas Goes to the Zoo? Excerpt from the World's Smartest Horse Children's Book

Lukas Goes to the Zoo? Excerpt from the World's Smartest Horse Children's Book

"Guess what, Lukas?" Karen asked him excitedly one day. They were under Lukas' shelter and it was raining. They watched as the water rolled off his roof in clear sheets. Lukas was thinking how good it was to be warm and dry and cozy with his family. The trees were bent in the cold wind and leaves flew all around every which way. He moved closer to Karen to hear the news.

"We've been invited to go places, Lukas, to meet new people."

Hmmm. Lukas frowned. "How will this help our job? Isn't that a bit dangerous?" he murmured. He looked around longingly at his comfortable home with its fluffy bed.

"Lukas, it's one thing to write about you and another thing to show you to people," Karen explained. "People need to see for themselves that an ex-racehorse is smart and wonderful," she added reassuringly.

Lukas smiled weakly and knew that his job was with Karen. With a shrug of his shoulders, he struggled to be happy with the news. "I just hope they have grass where we're going," Lukas sighed.

Their first outing was to a horse fair and from the minute they arrived Lukas felt right at home. He never dreamed he would be surrounded day after day with admirers young and old who just wanted to be next to him.

"He's beautiful!"

"Love his mane!"

"He smiled at me!"

"I could get used to this!" Lukas thought proudly. His favorite part was when Karen described his past to the visitors. She talked about how he had improved with loving care and kind treatment. Right before his eyes, he noticed a change in the way people looked at him. "He's the best behaved horse here," Lukas heard many times. "We can't believe he's a Thoroughbred."

Lukas' performances in front of noisy crowds tested him to his limits. Things he'd never seen before popped up right in front of him. Strollers, umbrellas, people in wheelchairs, and much more. "We're here to do our job and it's important to show your tricks, Lukas," Karen reminded him several times. And this he did, with his whole heart.

A little girl raised her hand and asked Karen if she could pet Lukas. This started a line of children, and for the next three days, Lukas was petted and photographed over and over.

Karen would bring out his desk after he rested and ask, "Where's your two, Lukas?"

"Now find your four." Little hands reached through the rails to help arrange his numbers and letters.

"Come on, Lukas, you can do it!" the children shouted encouragingly. He and Karen beamed at each other while they kept doing their job.

Many more outings followed, along with many more new people, sights and sounds. At one of these events, a Pet Expo, Lukas' neighbors were animals brought in by a petting zoo. In the evening, when the visitors had gone home for the day, all the neighbors in the petting zoo joined Lukas at his fence.

"We've all come here for the same reason, pal," the pig stated. "It's time for people to see us animals differently."

The goat chimed in, "We've heard about you Lukas; you're our only hope."

The two sheep nodded in unison, "We came here to try to get you to help us, Lukas."

"What's all this about?" Lukas asked in confusion, frightened at what might be the answer.

"The hunters killed my father," the baby deer said softly.

"I never knew my mother," the pig added.

"Farmers sent my brother away in a truck," the calf whispered with a shiver.

"SSsshh!" The miniature horse stepped forward and asked them all to be quiet, "Let me try to explain please, Lukas." She lowered her voice and went on. "My cousin told us about a way to help animals. She got into something called Guinness because her tail was the longest in history and they made a big fuss about it. And since her tail was the longest ever, she got lots of attention."

The moon was coming out and Lukas could see her shimmering white coat in the soft light. "What does a tail have to do with me?" Lukas asked wearily. It had been a long day and he was ready for a deep sleep.

The animals crowded around him with pleading eyes. "Please get to Guinness, Lukas, and tell the whole world about us animals."

Whatever Guinness was, Lukas decided right then and there that he would ask Karen to write to them. "All right," Lukas agreed, surprising even himself at his quick response. "I will try to get to Guinness," he told the much relieved zoo animals.

"I sure hope it's not far," he thought as he drifted off to dreams of pastures.

And so, Lukas and his owner/trainer Karen Murdock became acquainted with Louise Ireland, Talent Manager at Guinness World Records, Inc. Lukas' record attempt took place on June 16, 2010, and was officially recognized later that year: "Most numbers correctly identified by a horse in one minute: 19, and was accomplished by Lukas, U.S.A."

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