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Post by cyndi on Apr 5, 2014 15:15:13 GMT -5
Kirk, I finally sat down and paged through my Linda Tellington-Jones book (Getting in TTouch With Your Horse). This is by no means an accurate assessment of Valeroso, since a horse's face and expression can change with what they are doing when the photo is taken, and what their surroundings are. Also, my idea of how long/short or how wide/narrow a face, nose, lips, chin, or nostrils can differ from what other people might think. It is just a fun book to go through with friends at your barn, or whatever  Here are some descriptions I picked up. Some are repeated. Some kind of contradict each other, which means that I am probably mis-reading what their physical traits are. And some traits can be combined, which throws more into the mix! Profile: - "uncomplicated" - learns easily Jowl - average ability to learn Muzzle - strong tendency to test each new rider to see who is going to give the commands Mouth - no particular personality trait Upper lip - tends to be quite independent and single-minded, and tends to mind his own business Nostrils - average intelligence Chin - nature that can be easy going and uncomplicated Eye shape - cooperative and willing nature. May be introverted and slightly standoffish until he learns to trust you Eye set (on sides of head) - may appear disinterested in his surroundings or, fearful and shy away from other horses or when a vehicle is moving toward him Ears - intelligent, dependable, steadiness, uncomplicated Swirl (couldn't see for sure if he had just one long swirl, or a combination of two) - friendly and particularly enjoys relating to people. In LT-J's experience, if this type of horse is unfriendly, it's due to pain or abuse. Friendly, interested. There are so many subtle differences in physical traits, it's hard to say whether or not I got his right, but it was fun looking through the book. Another interesting book I'm going to check out is Klaus Ferdinand-Hempfling's book "What Horses Reveal". He's got a system that classifies horses into 26 distinct character groups, based on his experiences. He's been around horses for less time than LT-J, but it's still an interesting read |
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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 13, 2014 9:15:26 GMT -5
Hi Cyndi, Thanks so much for doing this! I haven't really gotten to "know" many horses really well so my pool of knowledge is limited but I'll try to go through the profile and give my comments on your observations. Profile: - "uncomplicated" - learns easily Yes, I would say he is definitely "uncomplicated". He wants to please and doesn't seem to have another agenda. He does learn easily and quickly. Jowl - average ability to learn Same as above.. Muzzle - strong tendency to test each new rider to see who is going to give the commands I've only ridden him twice and both times on a lead-line in a round pen since he's so green. He knows his cues, has no problem backing. He has not tested me yet. Mouth - no particular personality trait Upper lip - tends to be quite independent and single-minded, and tends to mind his own business He's pretty low in the herd's hierarchy so is independent because he keeps getting driven away. If he wants to do something, he'll usually at least try to get his way. Nostrils - average intelligence Come-on above average lol.... Chin - nature that can be easy going and uncomplicated He wants to please and is a bit insecure so he stays close. Joins-up quite easily. Eye shape - cooperative and willing nature. May be introverted and slightly standoffish until he learns to trust you He has only now started walking up to the gate when I arrive. It took a while so think this is accurate. I gave his shots and he hardly flinched. He has worked well with the farrier to get his feet able to be handled very quickly Eye set (on sides of head) - may appear disinterested in his surroundings or, fearful and shy away from other horses or when a vehicle is moving toward him Haven't witnessed this yet Ears - intelligent, dependable, steadiness, uncomplicated Absolutely!!! still does spook a little bit but gaining confidence. Swirl (couldn't see for sure if he had just one long swirl, or a combination of two) - friendly and particularly enjoys relating to people. In LT-J's experience, if this type of horse is unfriendly, it's due to pain or abuse. Friendly, interested. I agree, he won't usually walk up to you but constantly watches you. Loves for people to come up to him and pay attention to him! Read more: johnlyonsdiscussions.proboards.com/thread/243/horse-personalities-physical-traits#ixzz2ym6mzlcSGreat Job Cyndi, sorry didn't answer before but wanted to give you some good feedback. |
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Post by cyndi on Apr 13, 2014 13:43:54 GMT -5
No problem at all I just wasn't sure if you had seen that I posted this, or not. I'm sure that Valeroso is WAY above average in his intelligence  Another really fun book (short book and a very easy fun read) is "Is Your Horse a Rock Star" by Dessa Hockley. She uses eight personality traits to find which one of sixteen personalities your horse is, and gives suggestions as to what type of training these horses respond best to. Fanny's personality was bang on when I read the book a couple of years go - she was a "Wall Flower". The description is usually too long to type out in here, but I can find out what personality she would say Valeroso is. Is Valeroso; Dominant or Submissive? Energetic or Lazy? Curious or Afraid? Friendly or Aloof? Fanny was submissive, lazy, afraid and friendly...a Wall Flower. Mind you, as time has gone by, I don't think she's really afraid. I think she's more curious. Therefore, she would now be a Steady Eddy!!! My goodness...I just read the description and she is now that horse. When I worked with Parelli people in the first couple of years I had her, they all said she was more afraid than curious, because she would spook rather easily, but the way she walks up to things to check them out, she is definitely curious. The summary description of a Steady Eddy is: "If you are a novice or amateur, this is the horse for you. They are quiet and predictable, loving and engaging, willing to learn new things, willing to hang out with you and do nothing. This is not your big ego, career oriented horse. They are happy to just be. Consistent and loyal, all you need to do is enjoy! DO: whatever you want; appreciate them; play with them; keep variety in their work; keep workouts short. DON'T: have huge expectations; overtax them; ignore them; bore them." The 16 personalities are: The Rock Star, The Macho Man, The Wild Card, The Boss, The Reluctant Rock Star, The Prize Fighter, The Accountant, The Skeptic, The Goddess, The Worker Bee, The People Pleaser, The Perfectionist, The Stead Eddy, The Solo Artist, The Wall Flower, and The Lone Wolf. |
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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 13, 2014 19:50:14 GMT -5
No problem at all I just wasn't sure if you had seen that I posted this, or not. I'm sure that Valeroso is WAY above average in his intelligence Another really fun book (short book and a very easy fun read) is "Is Your Horse a Rock Star" by Dessa Hockley. She uses eight personality traits to find which one of sixteen personalities your horse is, and gives suggestions as to what type of training these horses respond best to. Fanny's personality was bang on when I read the book a couple of years go - she was a "Wall Flower". The description is usually too long to type out in here, but I can find out what personality she would say Valeroso is. Is Valeroso; Dominant or Submissive? Energetic or Lazy? Curious or Afraid? Friendly or Aloof? Valeroso is definitely submissive most of the time, but for brief periods of time, I have seen him become dominant over other horses that have bossed him around for a long time. Just depends on the situation. Probably leans to lazy since he'll hang out and let me scratch him or brush him for quite a while. He can be alert and looking around but haven't ever really seen him run around the paddock unless someone was chasing him. Extremely curious.... His paddock has high-tensile wire with braided poly electric cord up the middle. He somehow took down the rope to play with it. He also moved several blue plastic empty 55 gallon drums for the fun of it. He's always checking this out (usually with his mouth). He was entranced with my rubber boots. Definitely friendly but still makes you walk up to him but once you're there, he'll soak up attention. If you stand at the gate for a while, he'll eventually walk up. Any idea what that works out to be? Fanny was submissive, lazy, afraid and friendly...a Wall Flower. Mind you, as time has gone by, I don't think she's really afraid. I think she's more curious. Therefore, she would now be a Steady Eddy!!! My goodness...I just read the description and she is now that horse. When I worked with Parelli people in the first couple of years I had her, they all said she was more afraid than curious, because she would spook rather easily, but the way she walks up to things to check them out, she is definitely curious. Sounds like your working with Fanny has instilled some confidence in her. Nice job! How old is she now? |
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Post by cyndi on Apr 14, 2014 11:01:55 GMT -5
Kirk, it looks like Valeroso is submissive, lazy, curious and friendly...same as Fanny, so that would make him a "Steady Eddy" The brief summary would be the same as what I wrote for Fanny in my previous message. There is a longer description of the Steady Eddy in the book, but like I said, it would take too long to type out. You can go to this site - horsepersonality.com/ - and scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "take the personality quiz", which asks a few questions to help you identify the categories. I just did the test and it reaffirmed that Fanny is a Steady Eddy. Once you do the test, you can click on a button to read the chapter on the Steady Eddy from the book! Fanny will be 12 years old on May 6th or so. I've had her for six years, right around now. I know it was April when I brought her home, but I can't remember the exact date right now |
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Post by Kirk Martin on Apr 14, 2014 14:41:48 GMT -5
I took the horse personality quiz and had to do my best guessing since I've never ridden him outside the round pen. But after completing quiz got the same result
you mentioned... Steady Eddy. Suits me fine!
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Post by horsespoiler on Apr 14, 2014 18:52:49 GMT -5
Ha, I took the test for all three. Winnie is a Rock Star, Whitey is a Goddess, and Sage is a Reluctant Rock Star. I'm not sure how accurate that is. However, in the right hands I'm sure it could be.
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 15, 2014 0:22:27 GMT -5
The Lone Wolf- Buddy!!
Low key, low energy, low expectations, are what you need to work successfully with this type of horse. The Lone Wolf is not bursting out of his stall to try to fit into your program and to please you. He is easily content and can do a good job for you as long as it is not demanding physically or emotionally. He likes his world predictable and safe. He would rather be a little bored than stressed. If repeatedly put into pressure situations he can react seemingly unpredictably. If you can find a quiet solid job for him, he will perform it repeatedly and safely.
although he is less likely to react unpredictably now like he used to but yes he still surprises me on occasion.
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 15, 2014 0:31:07 GMT -5
Weird, how did you get into the test the second and third time HS? I got the link the first time and now nothing? Not sure about Boomer but he's definitely the complete opposite of Buddy.
Wonder if Goddess can be a gelding personality?
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 15, 2014 0:43:46 GMT -5
Now how did I know Boomer would be a Goddess? LOL
The Goddess is loved by most of the other horses and most people. They are expressive and sensitive and emotional. You will know how they feel. They try very hard to please and will worry and be anxious if you are not happy with them. In the negative they can have scattered energy that is hard to get focused. This personality can be loved on as much as you want.
In a large herd though he is only loved by the younger horses who are lower on the pecking order, the ones above him will pick on him and "he" ignores horses in his herd. He does not want to interact with other horses but loves to interact with any human and most farm animals.
I don't think he is worried about pleasing, he is pretty self absorbed these days but back in the day I'd say it used to be accurate.
The rest is pretty correct. Maybe this is the difference between mare and gelding?
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Post by cyndi on Apr 15, 2014 9:32:26 GMT -5
I'm going to have to read up on everyone's horses now!! lol Kind of cool, isn't it?
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 15, 2014 13:01:35 GMT -5
Boomer's personality quiz fit really good for 10 years ago when we first had him and Matt was riding him.
But Buddy's is dead on even now. What it said about reacting unpredictably would have fit when he would unexpectedly just rear up and strike but it still fits because I would NEVER have thought he'd kick me a year ago when I wouldn't leave him alone with the hose.
This morn I went out to feed him, he's been upset about being locked out of the woods/grass. Well he ran right through the electric sometime early this morn and was in the woods eating and happy as a lark. Boomer would NEVER do that because he wants to PLEASE.
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Post by MaryS on Apr 15, 2014 22:38:52 GMT -5
Thumb is steady eddy. Amigo is goddess.
Thumb is dead on.
Amigo I think is not really accurate. He is a bit of a bully towards other horses, so I don't think he's loved by many other horses. He's not hard to focus his attention back to me or the task.
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Post by ghostrider on Apr 15, 2014 23:20:07 GMT -5
I realized I was putting in the characteristics he used to exhibit. When I changed my answers to what he's been like since we moved here or to the last couple years the test revealed he's a Rock Star. Which does fit much better with his characteristics now days.
The Rock Stars are confident and charismatic. They are expressive and strong minded. They love to show you what they know but are hard to get to focus on the small details of the task. They are found in many competitive arenas, usually at the top of their field.
This fits Boomer although he isn't found in the arena now days it still describes what he was like when Matt showed him. So I would say he used to be more the goddess mixed with a bit of Rock Star but today he's more the Rock Star mixed with a bit of goddess.
I think it's hard to separate periods of time in their pasts with what they are today. Mary maybe you are doing the same thing I did? can you separate his character today from what he's shown in the past and get closer to an accurate character?
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Post by MaryS on Apr 16, 2014 21:23:57 GMT -5
maybe you're right GR, this time amigo is steady eddy. That's better than goddess, I'll take it one more time tomorrow and see if I get something different.
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