Hi Virginia,
Hi Virginia,
I love the photos you have of Orri and I am going to give you my sense of
his tendencies from a personality point of view. Some of you have read
Linda's book "Getting in TTouch" with your horse that looks at the shape of
the face, in combination, which will help you have an idea of your horse's
tendency for behaviour or response.
Looking at his mouth he has a flat chin which usually indicates the tendency
to be overly sensitive; he has a bit of a sloping muzzle which can indicate
a tendency to question things; he shows a lot of expression through his
mouth. He has kind of 'apple' shaped lips which is usually a horse that
explores his world with his mouth and can be kind of an extrovert (if on the
other hand the horse's upper lip is quite straight across in is usually an
introverted horse). His ears are wide at the base but a little straight up
and down which gives a tendency to be changeable (as opposed to wider at the
top than the base which is a bit more consistent). I can't see his eye
really well but from what I can see it is a kind eye but has times when he
gets a concerned, worried looking eye.
In looking at the side body shot this upright head, drops his back (slightly
ventroflexed) which is not a posture that we would want under saddle so
probably not one we would want to encourage on the ground. That high
headed, braced neck can trigger freeze or flight.
We have found that horse's facial characteristics can change depending on
how they are worked with. These tendencies are just that, but it could be
why you are seeing him okay one day, or okay with part of the training and
then not okay. I would really be aware of his breathing, his posture and
tension in his body and then adjust your program accordingly rather than
just trying to stay with progression lessons. Remember, not all animals
read the same book, or they might start in different places in the book : ))
Now the really strange part I will add, which may get lots of disapproval, I
have found that many, not all, horses in the dun family have special
characters and they are not horses that work well with pressuring them. In
TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) most of these horses have a lot of Wood
(as opposed to Earth, Metal, Fire) in their make up. That means that they
can be very sensitive if they don't understand something and can get rather
set in their ways. My daughter Mandy has a lot of Wood in her constitution
and so does her horse, Odur. They have really had to learn to work together
because otherwise they can butt heads and can be fabulous when balanced. I
will send you an attachment with some information that might help you.
There is a good Centered Riding teacher in Nova Scotia, Olga Comeau. She
offers workshops at her farm and it might be a great place for you to
consider.
Hope this makes some sense to you.
Robyn
Icelandic Horse Farm
Robyn Hood & Phil Pretty
Vernon BC Canada
www.icefarm.com
