Horses are social animals, at least to themselves. In their primal life, horses lived in tribes with extended families, where each member took on the responsibility of looking after the others. Later, as horses became more independent, they were tamed to be companions and herders. That means there is a balance of activity between the introvert and extrovert in a horse. If you show your horse that you appreciate him by playing and grooming with him, you are showing your horse that you want to be around and be part of him.
Many riders want to know the reason behind their horse’s personality and that is why many trainers make their horses an introvert or an extrovert. If your horse is an introvert, and you attempt to force him to be something he’s not, he may become hostile. Being a Brain extrovert is the way most horses are just slightly left of center. To understand your horse better, you need to understand horsenities.
Horsenities are what horsenials call pastimes. There is actually a science to horsenities, it is called the Energetic Theory. According to Energetic Theory, the energy of a horse is measured in joules (the French word for jolt). Jolt is similar to electricity, but in this theory jolt is measured in horse energy.
The most dominant horsenities are seen in right-brain extroverts and left-brain introverts. Left-brain extroverts are warm people, they love to spend time with people, good listeners and good kiners. Right-brain extroverts love precision and form; they like to think before they act. In order to be a right-brain extrovert, you must be very careful not to be left-brain extrovert.
Knowing what your personality type is, will help you find the right horse. Understanding horses and being able to pick one who is suited to you is important in helping you enjoy your riding experience. Horses differ, so it is important to choose horses that compliment your personality and riding style. For example, some horses don’t work well with right-brained riders, so it is important to determine this in order to choose the right horse.
Some people are naturally right-brained, others are left-brainers. If you are naturally left-brain, you have to realize that this is a huge advantage because it makes it much easier for you to pick the best horse. On the other hand, some people are right-brained and need to know how to get the best out of their left brain. This can be seen as a disadvantage. Most trainers don’t agree with this claim, however, if you go to any horsinarian school and listen to the coaches they will tell you the opposite.
If you have personality extroversion, you can also look for horses that are left-brain friendly. This is harder to do because some horses don’t really have any personality at all. It is hard to determine which ones have personality, but it can be found in the temperament page of your local search engine. Just don’t settle for the first one you find because chances are, you won’t get very far!
Another way to classify yourself is by your dominant personality type. You may be an extrovert (or an introvert) or a feeler (or a server). Your dominant personality type will have an effect on which horse you want to bet on. Betting on extroverts works well for the horses with high body markers such as a high price or high marks. Betting on servers or feelers usually works better for those with low body markers such as nosed or flat. There are two ways to do this, you can bet on the horse that has the most personality type or you can bet on the horse with the least personality type.
Now you’ve learned your own type, you can make your own list of horses based on them. Just remember to keep it fun. You don’t have to stick to your own personality type. You don’t even have to stick to the right horse type either.
