Horse Personalities for Kids

Page 1

RED

YELLOW

PURPLE

YINCold

YANGHot

GREEN

BLUE

Page 2

RED

YELLOW

PURPLE

YINCold

YANGHot

GREEN

BLUE

The Blue horse is a horse that loves to express its nature mentally, physically and emotionally. They are extremely quick learners and need creative leadership as anything repetitive will drive them mad. They are very confident and love to show off, they love attention, people and playing. In the wrong hands their play can become dangerous and intimidating as they are very good at inventing games and taking over. They love to rule the roost and be the centre of attention, playing with everything and anything in their paddock.

The Red horse is a highly sensitive, instinctive, intuitive, emotional horse. They are very quick learners and extremely willing as they will do almost anything to avoid pressure. They need to move and love a job. They are born worry warts and can easily become fearful and panic, they tend to react first and think later, shying and spooking easily, leaving you fearful. They are the most likely to be herd bound and notice the smallest changes in their environment. They are honest and wear their hearts on their sleeve.

Expressive/Intimidating Sensitive/Reactive

Training Strategies: Variety is the key to training this horse, flat work in an arena will drive them mad and before long they will be inventing games and spooking. Try to be creative in how you train this horse, use applied dressage strategies rather than teaching the end goal. The Blue Horse needs to be entertained and detest a monotonous approach such as mindless circles and lunging. It’s essential that you do regular, creative ground work with this horse. They need exceptionally strong leadership, time and feel. Trying to keep this personality under control through dominance rather than leadership will shut the horse down making him insecure, dangerous and grumpy. They make excellent Dressage horses if you can capture their natural flamboyancy without shutting them down, they love games, hunting, cutting cows and activities that are energetic and interesting.

Training Strategies: The Red Horse needs to be kept busy and tuned in to the rider at all times. They like to move so you need to be able to go with the horse and not hold them back. Because they can be easily distracted giving them a job helps them and you stay focused. They are ultra sensitive so you only need to think what you want and they’ll respond. When the Red horse “Loses the plot” they will often need a pattern interrupt, so do something that takes their mind off their problem. They also need consistency as change really bothers them, so don’t keep changing the rules on them. Don’t try and work with this horse either if you’ve had a bad day, they’ll always catch you out. Forceful aids, punishment and bad timing will send this horse completely over the edge, so less is always more with the Red Horse.

Key Personality Indicators:Desirable Traits: Forward, Thinking, Inquisitive, Like To Move, Clever, Playful, Quick Learner, Confident, Creative, Honest, Likes to Move, Sociable, Smart, Athletic, MouthyUndesirable Traits: Challenging, Takes Over, Intimidating, Invents Games, Pushy, Dominant, Defiant, Bad Mannered, Excitable, Mischievous

Key Personality IndicatorsDesirable Traits: Energetic, Motivated, Eager, Forward, Likes to Move, Perceptive, Soft, Willing, Honest, Action Rich, Vocal, lateral thinkers, Expressive, Highly Intuitive.Undesirable Traits: Reactive, Bolts, Tantrums, Emotional, Panics, Crowds You, Shy/Spook, Accident Prone, Herd Bound, Distracted, Restless, Hyper Active, Lose the Plot, Dominate out of Fear.

Page 3

The Purple horse is very independently minded and often known as the “bombproof” horse. They’re unflappable, reliable and a loyal friend. However, these horses can also be one of the most frustrating horses to own as they are not easily motivated, giving them the name of “royal pain in the butt”. They are often not worried about what the herd is doing and are happy doing their own thing, which normally involves eating or standing. To train a horse like this you need to offer many rewards and think laterally, as they can be very contrary.

Bombproof/Stubborn Quiet/Explosive

Training Strategies: The Purple Horse requires a very clever, patient owner. This horse is naturally oppositional, and will nearly always be inclined to do the opposite of what you ask. You will need to be equipped, with exceptional lateral thinking skills and not be someone who gets hot under the collar quickly or you’ll go mad.

They didn’t get the name “Purple Pain” for nothing. Because these horses love standing around and eating and doing nothing you can use this to your advantage, using food and lots of stops as a way of getting the horse to work with you works like a treat!!!

The Purple Horse is not that sensitive and not that motivated so kicking and whipping and applying more force will just cause them to tune out and ignore you completely, you can never get the trust or respect of this horse with that style of training.

Once you have your Purple Horse understanding their job they are exceptionally reliable, unflappable mounts and make great beginner horses and ponies.

Training Strategies: The Yellow Horse can be difficult to read as they don’t externalize their emotions. They need someone who is ultra patient, puts the relationship first and understands that this horse needs time to make decisions and should not be forced into things.

Ask and wait.

The Yellow Horse is very sensitive and cares a great deal about how much you care. They are driven by comfort and security and need to trust their riders and handlers.

To train these horses you reward them with comfort. Eg. Get the change and let them stand around, they need time to process and reflect on information.

They can become very evasive, aloof and bossy with the underlying manipulation of an explosion if you push too hard. So take your time, be patient, but be firm and have a strong image of the outcome you want to achieve.

Once they trust you this horse will do anything for you.

The Yellow horse is one of the most challenging horses to own, train and read. They internalise their feel-ings and emotions until they all boil over and then everyone knows about it. They care a great deal about their relationship with you. Trust, comfort and safety are what motivate this horse. They are very sensitive but can also be bossy and aloof. If your timing is out then they can go from being super quiet to explosive in milliseconds, causing you to feel very insecure. Once you have the trust and a solid relationship with this horse they are truly amazing, very reliable, calm and super responsive.

Key Personality IndicatorsDesirable Traits: Reliable, Calm, Accommodating, Consistent, Tenacious, Congruent, Confident, Loyal, Bomb Proof, Unflappable, Non-reactive, Thinking, Strategic, Relaxed.Undesirable Traits: Defiant, Doesn’t Like To Move, Contrary, Buck/Rear, Sucks Back, Over Powers, Bores Quickly, Rebellious, Tunes Out, Calculating, Rigid, Lazy, Tough Minded.

Key Personality IndicatorsDesirable Traits: Agreeable, Soft, Easy, Sensitive, Disciplined, Submissive, Bonding, Quiet, Responsive, Reliable, Kind, Tries Hard, Solid, Gentle.Undesirable Traits: Insecure, Fearful, Unstable, Hard to Catch, Disconnected, Aloof, Evasive, Shutdown, Doesn’t like to Move, Reserved, Defensive, Explosive, Robotic, Solitary, Unreliable, Hide at the back of the Herd, Don’t catch me.

Page 4

The Green and Ever Green Horse are horses that may appear to be red as they are anxious and flighty or Purple, non-responsive. They may definitely have the character traits of a particular personality but it is important to be able to decipher the difference between character traits and an untrained horse.We don’t analyze the Green horse in the same way we would their personality. Instead we look at how well they are able to do things we ask of them.

To assess the “Greeness” of your horse we ask how well do they do the following:Catching/Haltering, Leading, Saddling, Bridling, Grooming, Girthing, Clipping, Worming, Needles, Rugging, Trimming/Shoes, Tying Up, Float Loading, Water Crossing, Bridge Crossing, Traffic, Strange Animals, Strange Objects, Plastic Bags, Jumping, Trot Polls, Jig Jogs, Head Tossing, Snatches Reins, Head Shy, Herd Bound, Anticipates, Dominating, Stays in Gait, Holt/Stopping, Back-up, Transitions, Leg Yielding, Yields to Pressure.

Once you know where your gaps are and the personality of your horse you can then start using the appropriate training strategies to start developing your horse’s education and confidence.

Some horses could be 15 or 20 years old and still have Green tendencies. We call them “Ever Greens”. Unfortunately, these horses have never been given the opportunity to really learn our language as it has not been consistent, so they are confused and often very frustrated. It would be like going to high school and having each teacher educate you in a different language in each subject before you’ve actually learnt the language. We expect a lot from our equine friends!

Green horses are young uneducated horses that have yet to experience the world of humans and riding and are generally willing participants. Sometimes the new things are scary so we need to be consistent when building their confidence.

Good

Fair

Poor

ClippingWorming

Rate how well your horse does the following

Catching/Haltering

Leading

Bridling

SaddlingGirthingGrooming

NeedlesRuggingTrimming/ShoesFloat LoadingTying UpWater CrossingBridge Crossing

TrafficStrange Animals

Strange ObjectsPlastic Bags

Jumping/Trot Polls

Jig JogsHead Tossing

Snatches ReinsHead Shy

AnticipatesDominatingStays in Gait

Holt/StoppingBack-up

Transitions

Leg Yielding

Yields to Pressure

You can download the horse and owner personality decoder FREE at: www.horsepersonality.com.au

Holistic Equitation

H E Written by: Jo McInnesIllustrations: Kailie Nott

RED

YELLOWPURPLE

BLUE

Sensitive/Reactive

Quiet/Explosive

-

Expressive

Forward

Thinking

Inquisitive

Moving

Clever

Playful

Quick Learner

Curious

Charismatic

Heroic

Con�dent

CreativeGrumpyNippy

Mischievous

IntimidatingChallengingBad ManneredInvents GamesPushy

Dominant

Takes Over

De�ant

Contrary

Buck/Rear

Unmotivated

Not Moving

Sucks Back

Over Powers

Bores Quickly

Rebellious

Tunes Out

Reliable

Calm

Accom

modat

ing

Consiste

ntTe

nacio

us

Stra

tegi

cLoya

lBo

mb

Proo

fU

n�ap

pabl

eCo

ngru

ent

Non

-rea

ctiv

eTh

inki

ng

Con�

dent

Rela

xed

Ener

getic

Mot

ivat

edEa

ger

Forw

ard

Mov

ing

Perc

eptiv

e

Alert

Qui

ck L

earn

erSe

nsiti

veW

illin

gIn

tuiti

veHonest

Responsiv

e

Action Rich

Bolts/Reactive

Emotional

Panics Easily

Crowds You

Shy & Spook

Hyper Sensitive

Fearful/WorriesAccident Prone

DistractedHerd Bound

Insecure/FearfulUnstable

Hard to CatchDisconnectedAloof/EvasiveShutdownNot MovingReserved

Bossy/DefensiveExplosive

AgreeableSoft

Seeking

Disciplined

Humble

Submissive

Bonding

Quiet

Responsive

Obedient

Sweet/Kind

Tries Hard

Solid

Gentle

Honest

YIN

Cold

EVER

GREEN

TENDENCIES

   Tough 

Minded ­  Calcula

ting ­ Rigid ­ Lazy ­ Thinking             Sociable ­ Excitable ­ Energetic

 ­ Active ­ Athle

tic ­ Sm

art  Expresses Feelings ­ Vocal ­ H

yper Active

 ­ Restless ­ A

nxious                 U

nsociable ­ S

olita

ry ­ Unreliable ­ Quiets ­ Robotic...........                                                                                                    

Und

esira

ble

Beha

viou

rs &

Per

sona

lity T

rait

Undesirable Behaviours & Personality Traits

Undesira

ble

Beha

viou

rs &

Per

sona

lity

Trai

ts

Undesirable Behaviours & Personality Traits

Desirable Behaviours & Personality Traits

Desirable Behaviours & Personality Traits

Desirable Behaviours & Personality Traits Desirable Behaviours & Personality Traits

SOMETIMES

ALL THE TIME

RARELY

True Blue Red Hot

Yellow BellyPurple Pain

Bombproof/Stubborn

Expressive/IntimidatingEver

Green

TENDENCIES

Good

Fair

Poor

ClippingWorming

Rate how well your horse does the following

Catching/Haltering

Leading

Bridling

Moving

Not Moving

Thin

king

Not Thinking

SaddlingGirthingGrooming

NeedlesRuggingTrimming/ShoesFloat LoadingTying UpWater CrossingBridge Crossing

TrafficStrange Animals

Strange ObjectsPlastic Bags

Jumping/Trot Polls

Jig JogsHead Tossing

Snatches ReinsHead Shy

AnticipatesDominatingStays in Gait

Holt/StoppingBack-up

Transitions

Leg Yielding

Yields to Pressure

YANG

Hot

Expresses

Energy

Suppresses

Energy

It’s important to determine the difference between personality and

depth of training so an ever green horse is properly understood. See

our chart below to rate your horse.

Moving & Thinking

Moving & Not Thinking

Not Moving & Not Thinking

Not Moving & Thinking

Untrained Behaviours

Horse and Owner Personality Decoder©

www.holisticequitation.com.au

RED

YELLOWPURPLE

BLUE

-

Bossy

Likes to Win

Competitive

High Energy

Ego Centric

Results Driven

Know it all

Super�cial

Need Recognition

Needs Authority

Challenging

Intolerant

Judgemental

CriticalImage Conscious

What’s in it for me

IntimidatingPedanticDominantOver BearingShow O�Self Absorbed

Takes Over

Stubborn

Aloof

Self Righteous

Demanding

Controlling

Insensitive

Pushy

Forceful

Confrontational

In�exible

Habitual

Precise

Super

ior

Rese

rved

unim

agin

ativ

e

Conv

entio

nal

Criti

cal

Pess

imis

ticCo

ld H

eart

edRe

sists

Cha

nge

Blac

k &

Whi

te

Rule

s Bas

ed

Dic

tate

sRe

activ

eH

ot S

eat

Impa

tient

Dra

mat

izes

Pani

csIrr

atio

nal

Acciden

t Pro

neEmot

iona

lFe

ar o

f Fai

lure

Cuts

Cor

ners

Rush

es Th

ings

Inse

cure

Unprepared

Likes Recognitio

n

Blames Horse

Lacks Perseverance

Irresponsible

Lacks Re�ection

Gets Angry

Hyper Sensitive

Want it NowEasily Distracted

Win at all costs

Hot Headed

AnxiousGets Frustrated

Worry WartCatastrophizesHyper SensitiveLow EnergyReluctantLacks Con�dence

Defensive

Safety Driven

InternalizesFearful

Over Thinks

Comfort Driven

Freaks Out

Passive/Aggressive

Unfocussed

Over Protective

Distracted

Day D

reamer

Obsessive

Impulsive

Cautious

Emotional

Perfectionist

YIN

Cold

GREEN

and

EVER GREEN

Purples are introverted in personality, co

nservative

in na

ture &

like r

ules &

syste

ms *

Blue

s are

Extro

verte

d in p

erson

ality, li

ve out lo

ud & like to be at the top of what they do Reds are extroverted in personality, social, love to talk & wear their heart on their sleeve * Yellows are introverted in personality, prefer a few close friends & like to self reflect

Rigid

Det

erm

ined

Ener

getic

Hig

h St

amin

a

Crea

tive

Athl

etic

Achi

ever

Get

s Job

Don

eCo

urag

eous

Intu

itive

Push

es S

elf

Con�den

tM

otivat

ed

Quick Le

arner

Responsiv

e

Action Orie

ntated

Risk Taker

Driven

Fearless

Imaginative

Outgoing

Goal Setter

Optimistic

Easy Going

Perceptive

Caring

SensitiveSoft & Kind

Relationship First

PatientCalmCompassionateAlternateNatural

Lateral ThinkerInventiveFeeling

Relaxed

Forgiving

Connected

Self-Aware

Creative

SpontaneousConsiderate

Quiet Achiever

Holistic

Re�ective

Grumpy

Philosophical

SpiritualDet

erm

ined

Toug

h M

inde

d

Com

mitt

ed

Har

d W

orki

ng

Ded

icat

ed

Cong

ruen

t

Focu

ssed

Syst

emat

ic

Never

Qui

ts

Relia

ble

Asser

tive

Steadfast

TenaciousPreparedMeticulousEven TemperedControlledPersistent

PredictableUncomplicated

Striving

Thorough

Diligent

Outgoing

Friendly

Sets High Goals

Organised

Helpful

In�uential

Positive

Knowledgeable

Charismatic

Expressive

Analytical

PersistentClarity

High AchieverCon�dent

Well Presented

Experimental

Leadership QualitiesBig Picture Thinker

Winning M

ind setD

edicatedEnergetic

Self-Motivated

Driven

YANG

Hot

HIG

HER S

ELF

- ACTIN

G A

ND

BEH

AVIN

G A

RO

UN

D H

OR

SE

S W

ITH

CR

EATIV

ITY, E

NLIG

HTEN

MEN

T A

ND S

ELF A

WAREN

ESS

HIG

HER S

ELF

- A

CTIN

G A

ND

BEH

AVIN

G A

RO

UN

D H

OR

SE

S W

ITH

CR

EATIV

ITY, E

NLIG

HTEN

MEN

T A

ND S

ELF A

WARENESS

BASIC S

ELF- ACTIN

G A

N

D B

EH

AVIN

G AR

OU

ND

HO

RS

ES

WITH

OU

T T

HIN

KIN

G, D

OIN

G W

HAT

YOU’V

E A

LWAYS D

ONE

Blue Owner

Charismatic/Egocentric Reactive/Energetic

Red Owner

Reflective/Worry Wart

Yellow OwnerPurple Owner

Steadfast/Stubborn

Green and Ever Green

Mounting

Catching

Side Pass

Bridling

Haltering

Leg Yielding

Leading

Skilful

Can do

Struggle

Saddling

WormingInjections

Sitting Trot

Back-up/Halt

Walk

Rugging

Float Loading

Canter

Picking up feet

Round Pen PrinciplesGround work

Scary ObjectsJumping

Equine Psychology

FeedingHoof Care

Rising TrotDiagonals

Ride without stirrupsRide on Loose ReinBare Back RidingRide in Halter

Canter leadsRiding Out/Trails

Assess your skill level and ability handling horses and riding. How would you rate your skills?

TASK

Thin

king

Feeling

Expressive - Action Orientated

Introspective - Thought Orientated

Intuitive

Sens

ing

BASIC SELF - ACTIN

G A

ND B

EHAVIN

G A

RO

UN

D H

OR

SE

S W

ITH

OU

T T

HIN

KIN

G, D

OIN

G W

H

AT Y

OU’V

E ALW

AYS DONE

Expresses

Energy

Suppresses

Energy

ExpressiveCon�dent

Bossy

EnergeticIntuitiveReactive

Re�ectiveInventiveAnxious

CongruentLoyal

Stubborn

Level of horsemanship

skills

Horse and Owner Personality Decoder©

www.holisticequitation.com.au