While at Powell's in Portland over New Years, I found a section of books on horses! I got super excited. I owned a fair amount of the books I saw there, and a lot of them were either about breeding (nope), owning property (nope), or for beginners (despite what I might feel like sometimes, I am not a beginner). But what I did find, was the book "Ride the Right Horse" by Yvonne Barteau. And with a forward by Carol Lavell, rider/trainer of my favorite horse of all time Gifted, I couldn't NOT buy it.
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| This book |
The book is essentially a personality guide for horses, with a bunch of mini case studies to accompany each section. The reference section was... lacking, but I'm willing to take anything I can at this point with TC. I want to understand him better and figure out how to train him better, even if the book has no real research to back it up. Anything at this point that gets me thinking in a different way might help us.
On the train and then on the plane, I read the sections that I was mostly interested in. And I'm going to use this post to walk you through the results. So this isn't a book review, but the fact that I'm talking about it on the blog means that I enjoyed it enough and probably recommend it. I probably wouldn't have paid full price for it, but I also hate paying full price for books.
The book breaks horses down into four personality types, and they can be mixed as well. These types are Social, Fearful, Aloof, and Challenging. The types present on a spectrum from passive to aggressive. For example, a horse can be aggressively or passively social, or aggressively or passively challenging.
Right away I knew that TC was absolutely not aloof or challenging. I wouldn't use those words to describe him at all. He LOVES people and horses and has never been standoffish in his life. And he's really not the sort of horse who has ever come up against me in his work (except recently, more on that tomorrow). Sometimes he plays rough with his people, but it's not in a mean way, it's in a "hey come play with me" way, even if sometimes it presents as him appearing to want to bite your face.
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| So social he doesn't care about food when I'm around |
So I read the section on Social horses, Fearful horses, the Social-Fearful mix and the Fearful-Social mix (the one that comes first is the stronger one). I put the lists here and made notes on where TC falls on these.
Social Horses
Interaction: Want to observe and interact with the world.
** For sure, TC loves to be involved in everything. If he had his way, he'd come to work with me, shower with me, and sleep in my bed.
Need for personal space: Tolerant of people or other horses in their personal space. Appear almost welcoming.
** This is pretty accurate, TC doesn't mind if you get in his space and regularly welcomes himself into your space. BUT he can feel claustrophobic when he is scared.
Relationship to herd/humans: Rarely at the top of the pecking order, but often second or friend to the chief.
** TC hasn't been in a herd since he was young, but he was for sure not at the top, but that could have been due to age or how completely unathletic he was- he started being more dominant as he got stronger/older.
Vocalizing: Often more vocal than other personality types.
** TC is constantly screaming- he screams for me, he screams for other horses, he screams at anyone who looks like me, walks in the same direction as I usually do, or has food.
Adaptability: Generally accepting of new experiences.
** I wish they'd separate out new experiences brought on by the rider vs new experiences brought on by outside stimuli. TC is fine with new experiences if I introduce them to him- meaning if I ask him for a new movement or introduce an object to him, he's fine. If an object appears out of nowhere, he is NOT okay.
Reactiveness: Generally tend to underreact to a new stimulus; not usually explosive.
** Again let's separate by outside stimuli vs the rider/handler. He underreacts to new stimuli that I bring on. If I shake a plastic bag at him, he doesn't care. If a plastic bag floats around on its own, he is for sure going to be explosive. That's why I reluctantly call him a reactive horse- he IS, but not to the rider.
Attention Span: Attention span can be very short, especially in youngsters. May have trouble focusing on one thing in a busy environment. May leave own feed bucket to socialize.
** This is definitely TC. He does best in the arena when there are horses that aren't doing very much. He doesn't like being alone in the arena, but the other horses can't look like they're having more fun than him or he'll try to go join them and tune me out.
*there's a section on weaning, but I didn't know TC at weaning so I'm skipping it, I might ask his old owners about his weaning though.
Response to training: Once trained, are usually steady performers; will need occasional tune-ups on basic issues.
** I think this is true. Once as TC knows something, he almost never needs to have it drilled (though doesn't mind having it drilled), though he will get rusty and need a tune-up.
Lessons and routine: Appreciate variety in their lessons.
** TC gives no fucks about variety, he'd do fine with a completely regimented ride schedule. He doesn't mind variety though, and likes trail rides/the trail course/pole work. But I don't think he needs it.
Tolerance: Tend to be more tolerant of inept or poor handling than other types
** I haven't had anyone inept deal with him, but he does tend to deal with me mishandling him okay. Though I think he'd take advantage of someone who didn't know how to handle him once as he figured that out.
Happiest and most content: When allowed to interact with other horses, people, and the environment.
So TC is FOR SURE a social horse. Honestly if it wasn't his harsh reactions to things, I would have thought this book was way obvious. I know he's social. After reading more on the social horse, I'd classify him as pretty aggressively social. He wants to be in your space NOW and he wants to play with you NOW and he wants to go play with that other horse NOW and there's not much you can do to stop him when he's got playing/socializing on his mind.
Rico, on the other hand, is more passively social. He plays with other horses but doesn't seek it out all the time. He's okay on his own and would leave friends to go exploring with me. He is curious but doesn't get into trouble with new objects/things (vs TC who trotted over to a piece of plastic in turnout the other day, picked it up, and was hopping around flipping his face with it still in his mouth).
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| PLZ BE MY FRAND I NEED THEM |
Fearful Horses
Interaction: Guarded or cautious, especially as youngsters.
** Nope. He's only cautious around new/spooky things, but I wouldn't call him an overly cautious horse. Certainly not with people.
Need for personal space: May indicate a need for more personal space than they have; may be somewhat claustrophobic when uncomfortable or confined
** That first bit isn't true, but YES claustrophobic describes TC to a t when he gets uncomfortable. If you crowd him or if he's scared of something, he will go through you to get away from it.
Relationship to herd/humans: Very dependent on social structure. Likely to bond with another horse or human.
** Yep, though I fail to see how this differs from a social horse because I don't quite know what she means about social structure. He likes his people, but I feel like he'd bond immediately with someone else if I were to sell him. It took him two seconds to bond to me. He definitely bonds to other horses- anyone who lives with him/near him, or has ever been ridden in the same ring with him, is instantly his BEST friend.
Vocalizing: Usually vocalize out of anxiety or loneliness, and upon the arrival, with or without food, of someone they have bonded with.
** Yah he whinnies at me all the time and will scream when he's by himself.
Adaptability: Not immediately at ease in new situations.
** Absolutely. He struggles even with riding in arenas he doesn't normally ride in even at his home barn. Like you can literally see your house from here, TC, it's okay.
Reactiveness: May have strong, quick, or reflexive-type reactions to stimuli or aids. Almost overreactive.
** YES this is how I'd describe him- strong and quick almost reflexive with his responses to OUTSIDE stimuli (again not the rider's aids). It's like he bolts first and thinks later.
Attention Span: Once comfortable, often have a long attention span.
** When this horse is on, he's on. He will focus on his walk-trot transitions for days and days if I have his mind with me. Doesn't seem to get bored with his work at all. He will get distracted of course, but when he's focused on me, almost nothing can distract him unless it's terrifying.
Response to training: Once trained, usually make very strong efforts to comply.
** He loves to work and aims to please unless he's scared/upset/wants to bolt.
Lessons and routine: Prefer consistent, predictable routines; have trouble adjusting to multiple riders.
** He goes best when he is given a lot of freedom from aids- doesn't handle static on the aids and desires the lightest of light aids. I think that sensitivity makes it appear that he has trouble adjusting to other riders. He isn't bad with other riders or refuses to work for them, he just doesn't give them as good of work as he gives me (who is used to riding him/still blocks him but not as much as other people tend to do).
Tolerance: Not tolerant of poor treatment.
** I dunno, if you scare him or get too aggressive toward him, he will either run away from you or through you. But he's not completely intolerant of poor treatment (not that he's ever been treated poorly).
Happiest and most content: when in the reassuring presence of a stronger personality, either human or equine.
While I wouldn't say TC is classically fearful (they also mention fearful horses being poor eaters or stall walkers- nope), there are some elements there that stand out to me. I would call TC's flight response fairly aggressive. But he doesn't appear to be as scared as this book makes an aggressively fearful horse out to be. He happily drinks water in new places, eats every bit of food he has in front of him (he's not super food oriented but he does like his food), rests a foot for a lot of the day, and is not at all afraid of people, any people.
There's also no telling what his flight response would be if he had more ability to self-exercise or was a less powerful horse- sometimes I feel like his athleticism makes his responses a lot more extreme than he would if he were less athletic or could run around more during the day. So is he aggressively fearful or are his fearful responses just aggressive because of circumstances outside of his personality?
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| New things = terrifying |
So this led me to the Social-Fearful mix. A horse who is primarily a social horse, but has some fearful tendencies. Let's look at what the author says about this horse. She both has some general thoughts and a case study about a horse she trained with these characteristics.
"When things are well in this horse's world, he will resemble any other social horse, but when stress or conflict arises, he will display fearful-type behavior."
Hey, that's my horse.
"He was a very athletic and talented horse, but too nervous under pressure to be suitable for any rigorous or top-level competitive work."
Hey, that's my horse (doesn't get nervous about rider pressure, but new places for sure)
"He was the kind of horse that made you feel badly if you walked by him or took care of him without some sort of interaction."
Hey, that's my horse.
"Most fearful horses are rarely offensive in their behavior. Almost everything they do is defensive or reflexive in its origin. I was not worried that he would hurt me."
Hey, that's my horse. I only fear for myself in that he won't realize he's going to hurt me.
"I urged him forward. He shot off in an almost hysterical gallop as if he were being chased by demons. I could have been anybody or no one on his back for all the attention he paid me."
Hey, that sounds familiar.
"As soon as our relationship under saddle was established, his social self came forward, and he became almost slavish in his desire to learn and work. I have never, before or since, worked with a horse that learned things so quickly and paid such rapt attention to his lessons."
YES THIS.
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| Fuck is this horse fun to ride, if only I could actually ride him |
This horse she rated a social 4 (lower = passive, higher = aggressive) and fearful 9. I think TC is probably the opposite- more passively fearful (since he isn't afraid of his rider like this horse was- this horse basically had a panic attack being tacked up) and more aggressively social (since he was a lot more playful than this horse). But this is the only social-fearful mix she talked about.
The story ends with this horse, once too freaked out to be ridden in general, able to perform in a drill team type show under lights, surrounded by a massive crowd. She said the change took three and a half years and that the horse thrived on a one-on-one partnership situation. Interesting.
The book also included some information about rider personality and what works best. This is where bf really decided that the book was bullshit, as evidenced by this hilarious interaction on the plane.
Me: They're talking about rider personality now
Bf: Are they using the Big 5? (aka OCEAN- the only personality test that actually has research supporting it)
Me: No, Myers-Briggs
Bf: *eye roll so big I was afraid he'd lose his eyes out the back of his head* Myers-Briggs is really good at marketing itself
Me: That's such an INTJ thing to say (he does score INTJ on the MBI, so do I, I am also a Leo, which gives you a similar quality of information,
pop science for you)
Bf: *dying a bit inside*
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Maybe not the best personal relationship with this horse, but
hopefully we can work out a good working relationship |
But again, not using this book as a research manual, more as just another way to interpret TC and my interactions.
The book made me realize that TC is really not quite the horse for me. I couldn't have known this when buying him, and I'm not going to go sell the horse because of it, but it shows me that it's not only his problem (duh, I mean it's for sure me too).
The book says that introverted people should avoid aggressively social horses, since those horses need a lot of social/emotional support that introverted people may struggle with. I for sure feel this. Sometimes I forget that TC needs lots of very loud praise- I have to tell him out loud and pet him a lot. Rico just needed a release of the aids. I spend time with TC, but it's not time interacting with him socially as much as it's just being around him. I brush him and pick his feet and tack him up and ride him and put him away. I don't fawn over him, play with him, take my time brushing him all over, or tell him how brilliant he is at all hours of the day. I think he'd like that a lot more.
The book also said that people who score high on Thinking (I score real high on that) should avoid aggressively fearful or social horses, again for the social support issue. I apparently need a horse who benefits from repetition, such as aloof or challenging horses. Great, you know, the two personality types my horse is not.
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This guy on the other hand, is more passively
social and NOT AT ALL fearful so we got along well |
It was an interesting read. There's not a lot of research done on equine personality (if you know of any journal articles, PLEASE tell me), so a lot of these books/websites just guess at it based on experience. But it really makes me think about TC and what he needs in life: social interaction with people and horses, and more confidence in himself.
Tomorrow I'm going to actually let you know what has been going on with this horse. I've sort of not talked about him in two weeks on this blog for a reason. But just based on reading this book, I can tell you that I'm FOR SURE going to be working with the barn to get TC into a large paddock in the next week or two, where he can have direct access to other horses. Later on this year, I might consider putting him back in a pasture.
I think this is very important for him. He had literally not sniffed another horse's nose in almost a year, and it's not healthy for him. His mental and physical health is suffering, and I'm unable to ride him (haven't been on him in over a week, haven't been able to work him in two weeks) at this time. This decision does mean that I could lose him to his suspensory injury (before you leap on me about not doing this earlier: this is going directly against my vet's recommendation for the severe tendon injury he suffered last year, it is not a decision I am taking lightly since I spent a LOT of money getting him sound from that damn injury), but I would rather take the chance of owning a horse I cannot ride due to injury than for sure own a horse I cannot ride due to behavior.
I'll let you know the other stuff we're doing to improve his life tomorrow, but I'm really glad that I picked up this book so that I could understand him a little more and so that I feel more validated in my decisions.
