# Great article about a horses eye type and personality



## EponaLynn (Jul 16, 2013)

Look Him in the Eye - Western Horseman


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Interesting article!

I often hear of horses having "kind eyes" and my gelding has lovely, kind eyes. But he is still a Dennis the Menace! I'm not so sure I am good at reading their eyes. Or how much truth there is to it. 

To other forum members; Do you believe the eyes are an accurate indicator of a horse's temperment, or is it just sort of like reading hair whorls or using coat colors to judge temperment? 

Personally, I think eyes are a better indicator but I'm not sure if I am always good at reading them.


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## KigerQueen (Jun 16, 2013)

My horse might be the leader. I cant MAKE her do anything and nothing startels this horse (well maybe cactus to the leg). What do yall think?

Never heard about the eyes thing broken down like this. I know how the had swirls can affect a horse. have vowed to never get a horse with two swirls.


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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

A good article but limited in coverage.

I believe that the more you work with a diversity of horses that you develop an instinct for being able to judge the character of each animal. 

Horses eyes will change. Have a horse that has problems and get those resolved and a worried eye will mellow out. 

As said, it isn't just the actual eye but also the area surrounding.

I will never forget when a woman I was working for brought a horse she had bought to the yard.
She asked what I thought of him as she stood him up.
Conformationally he was fairly correct but I took an instant dislike of him. I told her he was "OK" She said "What do you really think of him?"
"I don't like him." 
"why not?" 
"He's nappy." was my reply.
She wasn't very happy with my response but I was proved right. He was a dirty horse. He would drop any rider he thought he could and if he didn't want to do something then he was the nappiest horse going. 
He was sold within weeks! 
It was something about his expression that gave me the clue.


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## tinaev (Dec 2, 2012)

It's accurate for my two. The herd leader and the open book fit Rio and Nick perfectly.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I picked up a spoiled horse, (1/2 TB and 1/2 Morgan.) very early in my training career. He was a true bronc and a renegade. This horse fought every thing you tried to do. He was mean, and had every bad habit in the book and spent most of his life mad -- just plain mad. 

This was back when I thought every spoiled horse was worth re-training and should not go to the slaughter plant. I worked with and fought this horse for 3 months and was thinking of giving up on him. Every day it was a new battle, often over things I thought had been settled before. 

He had a truly mean look in his eye. His ears were nearly always back or even flat back. He was not a horse you would ever turn your back on.

Then one day I went out to feed my horses and was going to put another ride on him. The day before, our ride ended with him doing what I asked, but he certainly did nothing willingly. There was no big 'sigh' or 'I give up' signal. We just quit when he reluctantly had done sort of OK. He was a very difficult horse to find a good 'quitting spot' on. 

When I caught him that day, the first thing I noticed was that his ears were up. He had a different, completely relaxed look in his eye. He absolutely looked like a different horse. As I brushed him, his muscles were not rigid and hard as a rock (like they usually were). He stood hip-shot and relaxed as I saddled him. He had never done that before. I stepped on him and he rode like a completely different horse. We never had a bad day after that.

I put a lot of ride and handle on him. I started him over fences. I ended up selling him to an English Riding School in Parker, CO. They called me several times to tell me how well this horse was doing as an over-fence lesson horse and asking if I could find them another like him. [They paid me $1500.00 for him in 1963 or 64 -- which was huge -- considering I gave $55.00 (killer price at the time) for him and trainers were charging $100.00 a month, including board.] They eventually showed him quite a bit and hunted him some with the Arapaho Hunt Club where I also hunted some as a guest. They never would have believed what he was when I started riding him. 

I think a horse's eyes show a lot of 'expression' and what kind of 'mind-set' a horse has ON THAT DAY. I do not think they are a very good reflection of disposition or trainability. I think a horse's ears are also very telling, maybe more-so than a horse's eyes, as to mind-set on that day. 

Now eye conformation is another matter, quite separate from expression. Horses with very small eyes (pig eyes), very high-set eyes and very narrow eyes are usually not of the best disposition and frequently very unpredictable and spooky. At least it has seemed that way.

Understanding horses' eyes and ears are a very big part of learning to 'read' a horse. But, people that have handled a lot of horses (including many spoiled horses) will tell you that you 'read' a horse on that day and during particular situation and that expression may change from day to day or incident to incident. 

JMHO Cherie


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## jenkat86 (May 20, 2014)

This is a really interesting article. Thanks for sharing!


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## Incitatus32 (Jan 5, 2013)

Exactly what Cherie said. The eyes/ears/muscles are a good indicator of THAT day. I had two rescue geldings come in. One had an extremely wild eye, nostrils flared constantly and looked genuinely like a 'bad apple' for about a month. The other had the calmest expression on his face. One lady told me that the 'bad apple' was going to be the problem child. Funny thing was that right after he got into work his eyes mellowed out and he looked just as calm as the other one. 

"Ears, eyes, and thighs tell you what the horse cries" is the saying I was taught. It's turned out to be true 99% of the time for that day.


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## sarahfromsc (Sep 22, 2013)

"I think a horse's eyes show a lot of 'expression' and what kind of 'mind-set' a horse has ON THAT DAY. I do not think they are a very good reflection of disposition or trainability. I think a horse's ears are also very telling, maybe more-so than a horse's eyes, as to mind-set on that day."

I love reading your posts, Cherie. 

As I was reading the eye article and looking at the pictures I was thinking he is all of those at one time or another. The wrinkles around my horses eyes can change daily, probably hourly if I watched 24/7, depending on what is going on around him.


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## ChitChatChet (Sep 9, 2013)

Cherie said:


> I picked up a spoiled horse, (1/2 TB and 1/2 Morgan.) very early in my training career. He was a true bronc and a renegade. This horse fought every thing you tried to do. He was mean, and had every bad habit in the book and spent most of his life mad -- just plain mad.
> 
> This was back when I thought every spoiled horse was worth re-training and should not go to the slaughter plant. I worked with and fought this horse for 3 months and was thinking of giving up on him. Every day it was a new battle, often over things I thought had been settled before.
> 
> ...


What do you think caused the sudden transformation?

Was it that for 3 months that you never wavered and he finally realized that your way was the way it was going to be?


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## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

Idk, I am wary of this categorization. There aren't only 4 types of horses, and even if a horse isn't the classic "pretty" and maybe has genetically small eyes, it can still be a good horse. Kind of like phrenology in humans has time and time again failed to identify criminals, as appealing as it sounds that you can not "like the look of someone".

That being said, of course there are more high strung, sensitive types (genetically), and of course body language and facial expression will give an indication of the horse's disposition and state of mind.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Foxhunter said:


> A good article but limited in coverage.
> 
> I believe that the more you work with a diversity of horses that you develop an instinct for being able to judge the character of each animal.
> 
> ...


Yeah I do the same, it's not a thought out process either.

I remember when we got our gelding and our neighbor (experienced lady) said "he's been very worried". We were puzzled then she pointed out some fine wrinkles around his eyes and such. She said "he'll feel better now that he's with you" and those have gone away. He is the type that internalizes but is so strong and quiet you'd never guess he was stressed so it's often ignored.

I was expecting some silly article but it is spot on.


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I have had many other horses change attitudes and their expression and eye always changed with them. This was my first really rank outlaw. 

I think I just out-lasted him and he just finally 'gave it up'. I have had other horses do that, but it was always after they lost a huge battle and they did the 'sigh' thing, dropped their heads and walked off a different horse. This one (one of the first really spoiled horses I 'rescued') had been through several different hands and whupped them all out. He had badly hurt the guy I got him from.

In later years, after a lot more experience, I learned to use 'restraints' like 4-way hobbles or to lay them down. Once I learned how to do that, the really rank horses gave it up much more quickly. It is much better than 'fighting' with one or having to always watch your back.


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## ellen hays (Mar 19, 2014)

Enjoyed the article. 

About a month ago I bought a spotted saddle horse. His eyes show a lot of white around the iris. Of course, more or less depending on his emotional state. If I talk to him and reassure him, his eyes soften and expose a calm, relaxed state. About 3 days ago, a friend came over and wanted me to ride with her. She was on her Clydsdale X. Very nice horse. I hesitated because I am still learning my horse and I am not confident riding him yet. She was going to ride him. I caught my horse and took him to my barn to saddle him up. I allowed him and the clyds x to briefly get aquainted. While saddling my horse, he got very nervous and was really upset. I went ahead and saddled him because I didn't think it would be a good idea to stop because of the behavior. My friend said that she had seen enough and wasn't going to ride him. She suggested that she pony my horse around some. He jumped and darted and spun all over the place. When she brought him back, she suggested I get rid of this horse immediately, and never should have bought one with white showing in his eyes. She stated that I needed to take her next time when I shopped for another horse. I will have to add that previously that day, I groomed River and picked his feet out with no unpleasant behavior. We seem to be getting comfortable and are trusting each other more as time goes on.

I have encountered many tried and true horses with the white naturally appearing around their eyes. My horse is relaxing and getting more comfortable with his new settings. He still gets nervous at times, but that is getting farther and fewer between. I think the white around some horses eyes are just physical characteristics and don't really have a baring on their emotional makeup. Am I correct or is my learning curve getting ready to take a quick turn north? Thanks for any response


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

Eye whites just go along with spotted coat patterns such as pintos and appaloosas. The horse can't help it and I wouldn't worry about it at all. It's something physical they can't change. On most other horses, the "eye white" is more of a muddy brown color. But on spotted horses, it is often white.

I had a Paint with a constantly worried look, even when he was calm, because his eye whites were prominent. I kind of loved him for it because it made him look expressive. And actually, he was a bit of a worrier but he was the most gentle horse and wonderfully trained. So eye whites or not, it was a non-issue. 

Go by how the horse behaves, not if he has eye whites or not. I think it would be a dumb reason to avoid buying a horse, especially a horse with a spotted coat pattern because it is a related trait. Same with blue eyes. I love them.


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## ellen hays (Mar 19, 2014)

trailhorserider said:


> *I had a Paint with a constantly worried look, even when he was calm, because his eye whites were prominent. I kind of loved him for it because it made him look expressive.* And actually, he was a bit of a worrier but he was the most gentle horse and wonderfully trained. So eye whites or not, it was a non-issue.
> 
> Go by how the horse behaves, not if he has eye whites or not. I think it would be a dumb reason to avoid buying a horse, especially a horse with a spotted coat pattern because it is a related trait. Same with blue eyes. I love them.


I know what cha mean. Here is a picture of one of River's eyes.:thumbsup:


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## Sharpie (May 24, 2009)

For my guy, it's spot on. He always looks worried, but that's because he is! He gets his confidence from his rider, though as he's matured, he much more confident in general which has made him easier to ride and deal with (and has helped reduce how much he gets beat up in pasture). I don't know that that is so much a horse 'type' as just their feelings in the moment. My guy is also half asleep at times, and I don't see that as one of the four options...

This is his (very) worried face... he CAN relax, but worrying is his default response to ...well... everything.


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## ellen hays (Mar 19, 2014)

Sharpie He looks like such a good boy. He is so fortunate to have a rider that gives him such good guidance. :thumbsup: Happy riding always


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## aussiemum (Apr 11, 2013)

I'm so glad to read some of your opinions, as I read the article and classified our new pony as the "Work Horse" type, maybe verging on "Flight Risk"!! But several of your replies have confirmed what I was thinking, that their eye only reflects on their mood at that time/day. I know our new girl is anxious about her new home, as she had previously been in the same place for all but 2 of her 14 years, so this is quite a change for her. But reading the article had me worrying that her worried look was more a permanent mind set than a reaction to the circumstances.
It was helpful though in how to read a horse's eye.


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## ellen hays (Mar 19, 2014)

Aussiemom They are all like kids and are unique. River, my horse is going thru a change. I know that when I am moved to a new location, it is very unsettleing. We sure tend to expect a lot from them when we don't for our selves. My pony is dear and I want him to remember me as a kind human. I think that he has been treated roughly. He has a haven here. People from down under are special to me and I know that they are kind and understanding as well. Your horse will see that in you, when you go that extra mile with him or her. Greetings from the states and God bless you.:wave:


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