Xena’s Horsenality Report

Xena's Left-Brain Extrovert Chart - click to enlarge Horsenality™ is a combination of the words ‘horse’ and ‘personality’. The Horsenality™ Report was created by Parelli Natural Horsemanship™ to help horse owners better understand equine psychology, by analyzing their horse’s innate personality traits. By knowing a horse’s psychological strengths, challenges and attributes, it’s possible to create a more customized training plan. Visit Parelli.com for more details on the Horsenality™ system.

Right-Brian Extrovert

I’ve filled out the free Horsenality™ chart on Xena a few times. Two years ago, she exhibited many of the right-brain extrovert personality traits — impulsive, panicky, over reactive, hyper alert, spooky, high headed and bracy. At that time I thought of her as an extreme RBE, and it kept me from being hurt during one of her many spooks and panics.

Right-Brian Introvert

Last summer, I thought she’d become quite confident, so I changed my training tactics a bit. But, after a few weeks I realized I’d misread her, as she became very introverted when stressed or overwhelmed; she was now an RBI / RBE. The right-brain introvert traits are: tense, unpredictable, explosive, timid, hesitant, and shut down. This was right in-line with how previous riders had described her, and it became the focus of my study for the next 6 months. Read about one of our introverted episodes

Extreme Left-Brian Extrovert

Lately, I’ve been seeing a more confident mare, so this time I ordered the comprehensive online version of the Horsenality™ report. I was surprised when it concluded that Xena had transitioned into being an extreme left-brain extrovert! An LBE is: energetic, mischievous, playful, willful and mouthy — and Xena is all these, but to a lessor degree because she’s not yet as confident as most LBEs. She’s considered ‘extreme’ because she still has several strong right-brain qualities, although these seem to be gradually diminishing.

Since receiving the Horsenalty™ report, Xena and I have played together three times, and I’ve concentrated on treating her more like an energetic LBE, than a fragile RBI. What a difference that’s made! She seemed to enjoy the challenge, and we both had a great time. I think we’ll be making rapid progress in the next few months, now that I know she’s confident enough to handle more challenging training sessions.

The long and short of it is, she’s constantly changing. And, I’m constantly studying horsemanship, just to keep up with her! But, I wouldn’t want it any other way.

P.S. – A few hours after I wrote this article, Xena allowed me to stand in the stirrups for the first time, and hold her tongue for the Vet!

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