Who invited the horse to school? 

Veterinary students in Budapest, Hungary, eagerly take their seats. They’re ready for their first lesson in animal anatomy. (Anatomy is the study of the bodies of living things.) Two full-grown horses clip-clop in to join the class.

Dr. Péter Sótonyi coaxes one of the animals onto a riser at the front of the hall. He uses a stick of chalk to draw on the horse—from head to hooves! His lines show where its bones, organs, and muscles are found.

“This is their very first lesson, and the first time should be with a living animal,” Mr. Sótonyi says. He means the students should learn from a living animal instead of a dead one. “They want to heal animals,” he adds. “They want to make animals better.”

Dr. Sótonyi has used this unique method for introducing students to animal anatomy for 25 years. He says it works better than having students learn just from books, charts, and models.

Horses, he says, are especially suited to the task. “People are so amazed that the horse comes into the classroom and climbs up on the podium. This immediately gives the students a lot of motivation,” he says.

The Budapest police department loans the horses to the university each year. The animals stand calmly throughout the lecture. Occasionally, they get treats of sugar cubes.

Dr. Sótonyi shows where bones from a model horse skeleton belong in an actual horse. He reaches his hand inside a horse’s mouth to grasp its long tongue to explain how its mouth is shaped. The horse gives him a gentle nip. 

“What’s wrong with you today?” he asks. His students laugh. Many stand for a better view. Some snap pictures with their phones.

After the lecture, there are no long faces or neigh-sayers. Just a room of excited future veterinarians. 

Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. — Psalm 111:2