Down the rabbit (w)horl on Leap Day
Holy wind batman! It might have been sunny, but the wind at -15 degrees celsius cut through us as we crossed the field. It almost had an impact, but our field crossing is a very short distance. So we just grin and bear it.
And then we get to the narrow trails and find ourselves in quite the pickle. The heavy snow of late has weighed down the branches and created quite the little tunnel. Not so bad if you are riding a pony or walking. But we were over height. I stopped to take a picture and instead snapped an image of Q telling me to “duck, lady!”. He did warn me, so I guess I shouldn’t blame him for all the face whipping I got by conifer and birch branches with crusty snow and ice minutes after his chattiness.
And it got me thinking about Q’s personnality and all the recent internet rabbit holes I fell into these last few days. First, the whorls.
https://www.westernhorseuk.com/horsemanship-blog/2019/2/17/whorlology
Turns out, Qs head whorl is set high and centered meaning he is impulsive and reactive. Some sources even say not too bright. I mean, maybe if a tarp attacks him. Or maybe Ive trained most of the flightiness out of him. Or maybe his whorl is not set so high after all. I took a picture as evidence.
Does that look high?
And then I plunged down the 26 personality types, and wondered if he was a minister, king, or dandy, or combination of those. It quickly got so confusing that I just gave up, decided to love my special unicorn for the way he is, and to hurry to the barn to get a trail ride in before I got too comfortable on the couch with a cup of coffee.
And so my trail ride had me whipped by branches, slowed by sleighs, and chilled to the bone. But Q also gave me the softest loftiest lope on the trail while I cooed at him about how wonderful he is. I think he loves being my special unicorn. Especially when I dispense peppermints.
A while back I was chastised in a clinic for overdoing the verbal cues and praise on my horse. The clinician was a man, who was very effective at providing me some critical skills that I used to train Q. His perspective is that horses are physical and energy focused, not verbal. And that the constant chatter (or nagging) that some (mostly women) resort to is both distracting and ineffective. His advice was to focus on my energy and body language. And learn to read my horse better. I did adopt many of the skills he taught me. But that piece of advice I have mostly ignored. And I still love it when Q flicks his ears at me when I sing his praises.
Recently he has gotten into a funny habit of pointing to his itchy spots with his nose. The side benefit of grooming without being attached. A funny boy. To bad “comedian” isn't a horsey type.
And then we get to the narrow trails and find ourselves in quite the pickle. The heavy snow of late has weighed down the branches and created quite the little tunnel. Not so bad if you are riding a pony or walking. But we were over height. I stopped to take a picture and instead snapped an image of Q telling me to “duck, lady!”. He did warn me, so I guess I shouldn’t blame him for all the face whipping I got by conifer and birch branches with crusty snow and ice minutes after his chattiness.
And it got me thinking about Q’s personnality and all the recent internet rabbit holes I fell into these last few days. First, the whorls.
https://www.westernhorseuk.com/horsemanship-blog/2019/2/17/whorlology
Turns out, Qs head whorl is set high and centered meaning he is impulsive and reactive. Some sources even say not too bright. I mean, maybe if a tarp attacks him. Or maybe Ive trained most of the flightiness out of him. Or maybe his whorl is not set so high after all. I took a picture as evidence.
And then I plunged down the 26 personality types, and wondered if he was a minister, king, or dandy, or combination of those. It quickly got so confusing that I just gave up, decided to love my special unicorn for the way he is, and to hurry to the barn to get a trail ride in before I got too comfortable on the couch with a cup of coffee.
A while back I was chastised in a clinic for overdoing the verbal cues and praise on my horse. The clinician was a man, who was very effective at providing me some critical skills that I used to train Q. His perspective is that horses are physical and energy focused, not verbal. And that the constant chatter (or nagging) that some (mostly women) resort to is both distracting and ineffective. His advice was to focus on my energy and body language. And learn to read my horse better. I did adopt many of the skills he taught me. But that piece of advice I have mostly ignored. And I still love it when Q flicks his ears at me when I sing his praises.
Recently he has gotten into a funny habit of pointing to his itchy spots with his nose. The side benefit of grooming without being attached. A funny boy. To bad “comedian” isn't a horsey type.
Carmen points out all her itchy spots too. As soon I say ‘I’ll get it’ she waits expectantly. I’m on the fence about whorls. But maybe I should look and see how/ if it fits.
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