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stood in defensive postures, holding their heads high, and showing the whites
of their eyes. These are all signs of fear.
Hair Whorls, Temperament, Side Preference, and
Environmental Interactions
After several years and several-thousand horses, I was finally a believer.
Most horses with high whorls were reactive and fearful, but not all. I began
to suspect the reason for this must be due to experience and upbringing. For
example, I made most of my observations in the home environment, which
could have masked fearfulness and reduced reactivity. And for most horses,
horseshoeing is not a novel experience. I began to focus my interest on the
effects of experience. Horses with high whorls and excitable temperaments
often had excitable owners, or owners who handled their horses roughly.
Was it possible that reactivity and fearfulness of horses with high hair whorls
was being masked by experience, or changed in young horses handled
gently? Searching for answers led me to develop the non-intrusive neonatal
handling practice described in the first section. I began to handle my foals
all in the same way (regardless of hair whorl) and studied their reactions.
It soon became clear that experience has a significant effect on behavior. If
I handled foals with high hair whorls roughly, they resisted, and resistance
continued in the future. On the other hand, gently handling foals with high
whorls made them easier to handle in the future. The considerable variation
in reactivity and fearfulness I observed in horses with high hair whorls was
starting to make sense.
The Paradox of Double Hair Whorls
The puzzle pieces were falling into place—except for one. Horses with dou-
ble hair whorls showed little variation. This presented a paradox. I never saw
double whorls below the eyes. Double whorls above the eyes meant these
horses should be similar to horses with single high whorls; however, this
was not the case. Doubles were either very reactive and difficult to handle,
or non-reactive and easy to handle. Very few individuals showed behavior
between the two extremes. I didn't know what to make of this. I also noticed
differences in the way some horses resisted during shoeing or training.
Horses with single high hair whorls reacted mainly with flight reactions,
whereas horses with double whorls were more likely to fight, bite, or kick.
On the other hand, when horses with double whorls showed good behavior,
it was very good. ( Figure 7.3 ) Many of the good ones also showed leadership
and competitive traits, similar to my double-whorled mare, Jenny. I began
to wonder about what caused them to be so different. To find an answer,
inheritance of hair whorls became the focus of my interest.
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