I know – if you have to ask, you probably don’t deserve to know.  And yet, with all the world’s troubles, I felt this a topic of high worthiness. I mean, we all know who is smarter, right?  Or not.

In order to answer this perplexing question, I went back over my past pictures – to see if some readily apparent answer would jump out at me.

While driving the other day I was watching cows.  I am not sure if I have ever even touched a cow, much less cared for one or spent any time understanding cows.

Anyway, I got to watching cows, and they seemed to act in different ways than horses.  I am talking about their behavior, their socialization, and habits.

If you see one cow laying down, odds are good that all the other cows are laying down.  If one cow is walking up a trail, odds are good that there are 10-20 other cows doing the exact same thing.

Now horses are a different color.  One horse doesn’t seem to give a rat’s ass what other horses near him/her are doing.  I mean, it’s not as if one is playing cards and the other is knitting.  But they generally seem to ignore what other horses around them are doing.

So I decided to piece the answer to this vexing question based on photos I already had taken of cows and horses.

When it comes to cows, I have to say that I almost can’t think of cows without thinking of the “cuts of beef” diagram, to the point being that horses must have a better (or worse) marketing firm than cows.  I can’t recall any horse diagrams that depict their best cuts for dinner.

When you go to a parade, what do riders ride – is it cows or horses?  Based on my extensive research, I was hard pressed to find a rider on a cow (or bull).

I have to say – I have never heard of a cow steeplechase, just sayin’.

There is folklore about the age of cowboys, and yet do you see cows depicted in that narrative?  Not so much.

And yet cows seem resourceful.  We stayed one time at a place close to some charcoal grills, and the cows came in to lick the grills.  I didn’t have the heart to tell them they were probably licking the remains of their own brethren.

And what about man’s (second?) best friend?  Do you have any pictures of you or your friends cuddling with a cow?

But, what about Sponge Bob? Is he depicted on a cow or a horse? Cow it is!

And we can’t ignore the “cuteness” factor either way.

Perhaps the bigger question: Who is smarter – people, horses or cows? Jury is out.

The lesson in all this? Don’t be an ass – never ask a question you don’t already know the answer.