What are these lines on the road for? Seen in farming areas around the world, the classic Cattle Grid (aka, Cattle Guards) is designed to motivate most animals with hoof feet to not cross the Grid for fear of the unstable walking area. But lines? What do they do? The animals seem to have an aversion to the Grids with a fear that a hoof or entire leg may pass through the open space if they were to navigate the pass. This genius invention received a patent in January, 1915 by William J. Hickey. One day William noticed that his cattle would not pass over some fencing pipe he had laying on the path to the watering area on his Nevada farm. This sparked William to experiment with this as a barrier system for his cattle, and it worked. Many variations to the classic Cattle Grid system exist around the world. Most use a simple grid of pipe/bars or formed sheet metal interspersed by open areas with an average distance of about 4 inches compromising about 12 pipes. They are primarily used where traditional fencing will not be practical. Road surfaces are a typical and most common example. They are a very common occurrence in the open cattle regions of Texas in the US and Australia. Lines On The Road There is no clear history on who first started to use painted lines on the road to replace the classic Cattle Grid. Many have staked a claim as to being the first. It seems plausible that someone in the Cattle country of Texas noticed that some cattle would not cross over some painted stripes on a road. As the Folklore goes, this unnamed genius tested a hypothesis by painting white lines of equal distance horizontally across the road, and it worked. Why Do Painted Lines Fool Some Animals? Current animal psychology theory suggest that the lines present visually the same issues of navigation that the classic Cattle Grid presents. A study by Dr. Ted Friend, PhD. Faculty Fellow and Professor, Animal Behavior and Welbeing at Texas A & M University demonstrated that not only do animals that have been exposed to the classic Cattle Grid respond to the simulated Cattle Grid, but also animals that have never been exposed to the classic Cattle Grid also respond to the simulated Cattle Grid. The conclusion is that the fear of getting caught or falling off an edge moderates the animals. A very surprising aspect to the simulated Cattle Grid is the herd will begin to ignore a simulated Cattle Grid if at least one member of a small herd knowingly or unknowingly passes through the area. This does not require a herd leader, it just takes one, to break the spell of the painted lines. The herd size needs to be small for it to be effective. Our Grids Every single animal on the planet exhibits a similar response to obstacles in some form. We may look at the simulated Cattle Grid and find some humor about how the “simple” brain of that animal works. We can also gain insight about how we all see the world and perhaps how we are contained by our very own Cattle Grids.