# The training of Mr Ed **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [June 16, 2003, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179 "2003-06-16T10:08:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f0a364/32.png) [@Lockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockle)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/1 "2003-06-16T10:08:32Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_029](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_029) In this column, someone asks how they got Mr. Ed to talk. Cecil replies that they used a substance similar to peanut butter. While the story makes logical sense, and is backed up by people associated with the old show, I recently came across a very good article that may suggest that the whole “peanut butter” explanation is part of a larger lie or coverup. [Snopes.com](http://Snopes.com), a site which has served as a clearing house for urban legends, has an article that says that Mr. Ed was not even a horse, but in fact a Zebra. According to [http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp](http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp) , only shots that required Mr. Ed to be in action (outside shots such as running through a field) used a horse. [http://users.aol.com/mwn3/page1.html](http://users.aol.com/mwn3/page1.html) - The self proclaimed “Mr. Ed Online” website, says that while it was true that a Zebra was used for the filming of tricks that a horse couldn’t do, a real horse was used for the majority of the series. Several other websites also say that the Zebra myth is fake. Anyone know the REAL truth? (other sites that say that the Zebra was only used for rare shots: [http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/hollywood/fame/mistered.html](http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/hollywood/fame/mistered.html) [http://www.post-gazette.com/consumer/20010111zanos.asp](http://www.post-gazette.com/consumer/20010111zanos.asp) ) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/2 "2003-06-16T13:13:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lockle \* > **[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_029Snopes.com](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_029Snopes.com), a site which has served as a clearing house for urban legends, has an article that says that Mr. Ed was not even a horse, but in fact a Zebra. According to [http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp](http://www.snopes.com/lost/mistered.asp) , only shots that required Mr. Ed to be in action (outside shots such as running through a field) used a horse.** [Foghorn Leghorn] That’s a joke, son. [/FH] ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/3 "2003-06-16T15:59:33Z")
Sorry, **Lockle** , you’ve been had. Close on the More Information about this Page link at the bottom and this page comes up: [http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm](http://www.snopes.com/lost/false.htm) > [@](#): > > Claim: Common sense dictates that you should never fully rely upon someone else to do fact checking for you. But who has time for common sense? > > Origins: If you’re reading this page, chances are you’re here because something about one or all of the entries in The Repository Of Lost Legends (TROLL) section of this site struck you as a tadge suspect, if not downright wrong. > > If any or all of the stories in this section caused your internal clue phone to ring, we hope you didn’t let the answering machine take the call. That niggling little voice of common sense whispering to you in the background was right – there was something wrong with what you read. > > You’ve just had an enounter with False Authority Syndrome. > > Everything in this section is a spoof. Mister Ed was no more a zebra than the origin of the nursery rhyme Sing a Song of Sixpence had anything to do with pirates on a recruiting drive. … Welcome to the SDMB, though. You’ll find a lot of people here willing to burst your bubbles. ---
**Author:** ![Lockle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f0a364/32.png) [@Lockle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lockle)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/4 "2003-06-16T16:33:11Z")
Great, I fell for it. Thanks for pointing that out… _sigh_ And I fell for the Sing a Song of Sixpence thing too… lol. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2003, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/5 "2003-06-16T22:52:57Z")
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, **Lockle** , glad to have you with us. And you’re not alone in falling for that awful Snopes Joke. I help sift through Cecil’s mail, and there’s usually at least one email every two or three weeks asking whether it’s true that Mr Ed was a zebra… ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/6 "2003-06-17T04:10:14Z")
Which helps to prove that the snopes thread, while offered in good fun, is more of a detriment to making life better than if it didn’t exist. IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2003, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/7 "2003-06-17T11:40:14Z")
I note that the disclaimer page now posted is more recent. A number of years ago when I stumbled across that snopes page on Mr. Ed, the only disclaimer on the page was an audio file that I couldn’t load. The page has since been rewritten. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/8 "2003-06-18T20:06:04Z")
Actually, I think that the idea behind the Lost Legends is valid. The point is that we shouldn’t blindly believe everything Snopes says, any more than we should blindly believe anyone. A Snopes article should be believed because it makes sense and provides sources, and if it doesn’t make sense or provide sources, then it shouldn’t be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-training-of-mr-ed/182179/9 "2003-06-21T13:50:41Z")
The biggest problem they had in training Mr. Ed was getting him to lose that Bronx accent. :dubious: