Reading your horse's face, part 2

Here's reading your horses' face, part duex.

In our first series (click here and you can check out the book all this comes from), we were looking at a profile. Now here's a full face view of Smokey...

But first, a few answers to questions posed.

1. Bumps on the profile - what do they mean?
A bulge between the eyes is unpredictable and slow learner, a bump below the ey is some inflexibility and resistance under pressure, and a "quirk bump - several inches below the eye" indicates a horse that has trouble with submissive training.

2. What's a moose nose?
A moose nose is a bulge on the lower part of the nose, it sort of looks like the horse has a little fatter or longer upper lip. Sensitive but bold, this horse is like the herd leader, but a "kind" alpha. I think Woody is this kind of horse and he has a moose nose. Either that or a Roman nose.

3. Is it valid?
I have no clue. I see some things that seem dead on, but many times I can't tell one attribute from another and its always the ones where if it's A your horse is an angel, if it's B, you've got demon spawn.

As I mentioned before, Mireya is helping me with the close calls, since she hasn't read the book and is not predisposed...

Nostrils: I'd say he fits the large open and moveable nostrils. In fact Smokey likes a nice nostril rub now and again. "Eagerly active and interested." I'd tend to agree.



Ears: I'd say he has fine, fluted ears, sort of Arab like. I think this is a Morgan characteristic though. Supposedly signifies intelligence. And Smokey does like to multitask, as you can see. LOL

Lily has broad ears that flare out in the middle, reminding me of Kate's Noble. Those denote steadiness and reliability.

Pin ears (really short ears) are willful.



Lip: Smokey's is pretty flat - not heart shaped, but at the same time he has the most mobile upper lip I've seen on a horse. I swear he could pick up a dime and spin it with that lip. Means having curiosity and physical need to have contact with humans.

Absolutely. He is a very affectionate horse, and curious. We had a session with the ball in the round pen (for despooking fun), and within 10 seconds he was moving the thing with his lip. (Apparently I need quail or vultures for de-spooking. He's not worried about plastic bags either).

Eyes again: Not widely set, not narrow. Wide means intelligent, narrow means slower to learn. I think he looks average.

Swirls: Smokey has two very faint swirls, which in 70% of horses can mean a horse that will react badly. Other times they are a great horse (this is where the similarity with horoscopes comes in. Can sorta apply anything to any feature sometimes).

A long swirl down the nose means it's a horse that is friendly and particularly enjoys people.


So the bottom line? Smokey's features seem to bear out what I've experience with him so far. He's smart, friendly, curious, and willing. He is young, so he does need the miles, but overall I'd say he fits his photo profile (two swirls not withstanding).

I plan on running a few more horses at the barn through this book. Definitely the king of my kiddos, Cody. Would you like me to post those? Let me know...