Horse Sense

the ability to make good judgments and decisions

practical knowledge and good judgment about ordinary life

A Website Promoting Horse Sense

The phrase horse sense came into use during the 1800s when horsepower was king.  No one knows if the expression comes from the personality of horses or refers to those who were skilled in working with them.  Either way, a person with horse sense is thoughtful, has practical knowledge, and makes good judgments and decisions.  Horse sense and critical thinking have a lot in common.

In the late 1800s, snake oil salespeople began selling products they claimed would cure everything and anything but about all the products did was to separate the gullible from their hard-earned cash.  In the early 1900s, laws were passed to put snake oil salespeople out of business.  It didn’t work, and today we have more snake oil salesmen than ever before.  To shut down the snake oil salespeople, requiring horse sense and critical thinking to be taught in schools would have been more effective.   

Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.

Daniel Patrick Moynihan

I don’t know if everyone is entitled to his own opinion (or belief), but I do know judgments and decisions are best when based on facts and solid information.  With all of the information readily available to us in today's world, we should be making better judgments and decisions than ever before.  Unfortunately, I don’t see that happening.  What I do see is an overabundance of opinions and beliefs presented as fact which creates even more problems.  It doesn’t solve them. 

All thought is not equal.  All points of view are not equal, and we need to stop pretending they are.  All individuals and organizations need to be held accountable for the falsehoods and misinformation they spread.  The best way to counter falsehoods and misinformation is by using horse sense and critical thinking. They do not come naturally but take effort to learn and use.  How do we tell if someone has horse sense or uses critical thinking skills?  By results!!!

Mustangs:  The Wild Free-roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 was created using conspiracy theories, rhetoric, partial truths, and emotional & magical thinking, making it an ideal issue to show examples of what is and isn’t good horse sense.  Horse sense will lead to better decisions for the management of free-roaming horses on public lands.

News and Info:  I use this section to present information, past examples, history, and the science needed to make good decisions concerning free-roaming horses.

Great Basin:  I haven’t done much here. 

Nohorscents@trumpcents.com:  We all need to put more effort into learning and using critical thinking or horse sense.  Trump and his supporters need to make a serious effort.  Trump may make some good decisions or judgments, but he does not use critical thinking skills or horse sense.

Oxygen:  For almost 40 years, I ignored using any horse sense when it came to smoking.  Now I am paying the price.    I want to share what I have learned in the hope it will help others.   First, don’t smoke!

I hope many will find this site informative and interesting, but most of all I hope it promotes critical thinking and the use of horse sense.

For our grandchildren and great grandchildren’s sake, we

need to make using horse sense a part of our daily lives.

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