Those single whorl horses. They have an amazing reputation in the horse whorld. Steady, dependable, unchanging. They are the unicorn of whorls. Yes, this is mostly deserved. It’s entirely possible that they can be those things.That single whorl shows a lack of extremes. Extremes are good to avoid with anything in life. The middle of …
Category Archives: Blog
Double Whorl Club
They have a bad reputation. Watch out for those double whorls. Nothing but trouble. Said to have double personalities, wildly swinging mood changes. Jekyll and Hyde temperament. Avoid them when you can. And yet. There are a select few of us who like our double whorls. What is a double whorl? For this purpose it …
Ears Back
We’re taught from the beginning with horses that when they lay their ears back it means they are mad. It’s a threat of attack. We need to teach them to respect us if they have their ears back when they are with us. That can be entirely misleading. There are many reasons why a horse …
Chins, Cause or Effect?
There are so many parts of the horses head that give us clues to their temperaments. The chin and lips are some of these. They are unique from things like eyes and ears in that they are muscle. The shape of eyes, ears, and profile are fairly well set. The horses are born with them …
Cattle Whorls
Whether choosing a steer to train or picking out a heifer or bull, we can gain clues to what they will be like by looking at the whorls on cattle’s head. Whorls form in utero as the rest of the animal develops. When there is any abnormality in the cells, a whorl in the hair …
Pectoral Whorls
All horses have them. A feathered whorl down each side of the chest above the front legs. Usually the pectoral whorls are even. Either both reaching high into the chest or both short and compact. The breed, type, and movement of the horse reflected in the hair. Sometimes that isn’t the case. Occasionally the whorls …
Neck Whorls
Lots of horses have whorls down the underside of their necks. Most of the whorls are small enough that they don’t make a lot of difference. A small whorl will be a small spot in the neck where the neck will be straighter. There will be a little bit of extra muscling there. As the …
Mule Whorls
Looking at the forehead whorls on horses is understood and there are fairly basic rules. High shows an extrovert. Low shows and introvert. That much is simple. What happens when we start looking at some not so basic equines? Most mules and donkeys have low whorls. Those low whorls almost always have feathering. Does that …
Understanding Horse Whorls
Understanding Horse Whorls is now available in paperback! Since its release as an ebook in April of 2021 Understanding Horse Whorls has sold around the whorl. Here in the US, next door in Canada, from England to Australia, as well as the non English speaking countries of Norway, Germany, Paraguay, South Africa, Bulgaria, Germany, and …