Stalking horse

A stalking horse is a ploy or a tactic designed to deceive or side track someone. Since the time of Shakespeare, the phrase has been used in this figurative sense as indeed Shakespeare himself used the expression in As You Like It Act V, Scene IV, “He uses his folly like a stalking horse, and under the presentation of that he shoots his wit.” Since medieval times, hunters noticed that many birds would flee at the approach of mounted riders but would tolerate the presence of animals such as cattle or horses. Therefore, hunters would dismount and conceal themselves by walking behind their horses. This tactic became known as using a stalking horse.