Pushing Personality

The first thing you need to learn about horses before you do anything with them is you need to discover their personality. Every horse has a different personality, and that personality affects the way they need to be treated.

According to Pat Parelli, a horse trainer who focuses on natural horsemanship, there are 4 types of personalities. They would include the right-brained introvert, right-brained extrovert, left-brained introvert, and left-brained extrovert.

A horse that is a right-brained introvert has a personality that is shy, tense, unpredictable, and has a tendency to freeze and then explode. These horses are the definition of fight or flight. They are very unconfident and will run from any situation that is new or unfamiliar. These horses can’t think. They just react. They can be very dangerous to anyone who is not confident and experienced around horses.

Right-brained extrovert horses are quite similar to that or a right-brained introvert except they are very frantic. Unlike the introvert, the extroverted horses just explode. They have a tendency to buck and rear when they sense danger. These horses act instinctively and do not really think about what they need to do to get away from danger. They can be described as fearful, spooky, claustrophobic, over-reactive, hypersensitive, can’t think, emotional, and they have difficulty with change. They have no self control and this may cause them to have trouble learning anything new.

Now, we switch from the right brain to the left brain. Left-brained introverts can have characteristics such as being sully, bored, disinterested, unmotivated, lazy, and stubborn. These horses often win out by not responding to what their rider is telling them until the rider gives up. These introverts are not afraid of people. They are very self-confident and love to play. When they want something from you, they tend to be very pushy and can sometimes get aggressive. These horses can be dangerous if you lose their trust.

Lastly, there is the left-brained extrovert. These horses have characteristics such as being mischievous, energetic, willful, disobedient, and domineering. They are probably the easiest to train unless you are boring and repetitive with your motions. They are similar to the left-brained introvert in that they are self-confident and are not afraid of people, but these horses are very energetic and excitable.

Even though there are only four personalities that are described, many horses can be a mixture of a couple personalities. If put into a scary situation, any horse can show the right-brained characteristics because the fight or flight response is programmed into their brains. When you are around horses, you need to make sure that you are not afraid yourself. Horses can sense that panic which makes them become more uptight and nervous themselves. It is very important to stay relaxed in scary situations. This allows you to keep an open mind and you’re able to keep the horse calm which can allow you to get yourself out of danger.

It is very important to keep all of these personalities in mind when you are around horses. You can be a much safer person if you are able to identify what kind of personality a horse has.