Is your quiet horse really as quiet as you think?
I’ve seen so many people who really just want to buy a quiet horse, nothing spooky, nothing hot, and often it comes in the same phrase as nothing OtT.
BUT
What if I told you that your quiet horse may actually be shut down and stoic instead of sensitive and reactive? What if I told you that their personality type is just different and that they may not be as OK as you first thought they were.
Have you ever heard someone talk about their quiet horse that just exploded out of nowhere? Well, was it from nowhere, or were the signs that the melt down was coming just missed?
Now, let’s be clear, there are a lot of horses who are lovely, quiet animals who aren’t reactive, horses that don’t show signs of anxiety or horses that just plod along, horses that stand quietly tied up and don’t carry on. These horses may be well educated, well routined in their job or simply be born with a very chilled out nature.
However, while on your horse hunt, could you tell the difference between a horse that’s routined and just accepting their lot in life and sometimes had their spirit broken, next to a horse that’s genuinely quietly accepting and happy with all that’s being asked of them? Trying to tell them apart can actually be trickier than you think.
Without trying to be breed specific, there are certain horses that are more reactive than others and they can often have a bad name for themselves. There are other breeds that can be highly desirable as their reputation of quiet, steady, non spooky creatures can proceed them.
But what if I told you that you could have one of each personality type standing next to each other, feeling exactly the same about a situation, yet all reacting in a different manner with only some giving slight tell tale signs that they’re not ok, and the other bouncing out of its skin.
To me this says that one isn’t necessarily quieter than the other, it’s just less reactive and quite possibly more likely to put up with things. No one has yet taught this horse “It’s OK not to be OK” followed by teaching them how to be OK!
So my question to you is, do you want to buy one of these quiet horses so that you can do anything you want with it anytime you want, or do you want to use the more reactive ones as an indicator of how they may truly be feeling to help you become a better horse person? There is no right or wrong answer to this question either, but it should also depend on your abilities.
Now, before I offend too many people here, my aim isn’t to say that one type is better than the other, it’s really just to say that for the quiet, introverted horses we as horse owners need to become better listeners. We need to pay attention to what their slight tell tales are to help us create a wonderful partnership with them. To listen to them even when we think they’re not speaking to us, they probably are in their ever subtle ways.
For the more reactive horses that wear their hearts on their sleeves, we need to not just be better listeners, but better teachers and partners to these animals. We need to not be afraid of their outgoing and extroverted manner but use it to better ourselves as horse people so we don’t just think they’re nut jobs, but instead horses that are just less afraid to speak out than their introverted friends.
The personality types that exist within our beloved horse friends fascinate me every single day. They are what draw me to this line of work, learning all the time how best to help them through their lives and to give their owners the tools to create understanding partnerships.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to create a better partnership with your horse, no matter the breed, age, training level or personality type, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.
You may find with just a few more tools in your tool box that you’ll be on your way to an even better relationship with your four legged friends.