Dessa Hockley

Wrote a personality test for horses. You can take yours here:  http://www.horsepersonality.com/quiz.html#

Ashke came back as the Goddess: SECF

S = Submissive; E = Energetic; C = Curious; F = Friendly

There is a free chapter available from what I assume is her book and I want to post some exerpts from it in regards to Ashke.

"They will give back as much as they receive. They are loved and appreciated everywhere, including in the pasture. The Bosses will protect them, and the other Submissives will try to get as close as possible. They are happy to meet you at the gate and play at whatever you are doing. Usually quite vocal, this horse will be the one nickering to you when you get out of your car or open your front door."

This is Ashke to a tee. And this as well.

"They are emotional and sensitive and yet still confident. They are wonderfully sensible and safe. They aren’t inclined to get into trouble with you or with their environment like some of the other C’s. Everything about their demeanor denotes expression—they are talkative, have expressive eyes and ears, active movement, love to touch you, love to show off, act sassy but never in a dominant way, just enough to endear them to you more. If you want a horse to love on, then this is your baby. They like to be clean, pretty, pampered, blanketed, groomed, and fussed over in any fashion."

 

Two for two. I have a horse that nudges me on the back of my shoulder when we walk. He plucks at my clothes and the lead rope, but never in a mean way.

 

"For the Goddess the relationship is paramount. It is what they love, and they would love to engage in long conversations about it if they could. They trust you, and you can trust them. They want to be your partner, and they need you to be listening. If they feel unappreciated, they can spiral downhill into a puddle of worry and insecurity."

 

I feel the same way. The relationship between Ashke and I has continued to strengthen and grow, especially now that I am pretty much the only one who goes out to work with him. He is a little hurt, I think, by J and T no longer coming out to see him. He loves the relationship. Our relationship.

 

"They can get bored easily, so you do need an interactive, engaging relationship. They will want a lot of variety in the things that you do together. Your relationship will be strengthened when the (horse’s) need to be doing things, especially with you, is met."

 

This is why I need to make more of an effort to liven things up and why I think doing something like Working Equitation would be so good for both of us. Think of all the different elements we could practice and get good at. Or the Trail Riding where there are elements to interact and engage with along the course.

 

On Training:

 

"The greatest challenge will be keeping the foundation lessons interesting enough. The SECF will be anxious to get on to the higher learning. Give them a lot of variety and take them to a lot of new

places. They will love to travel and experience new things. They like a communicative rider who is as enthusiastic as them. Positive reinforcement is the key as they will thrive in that type of training program. As they are very engaged and emotional in everything they do they can have their days

or times where you will have to quietly sit in the middle and just allow some of the energy to dissipate."

 

This is so my horse. I can't begin to tell you how accurate and on the mark this assessment is. She goes on to say that the challenge is not to get stuck in one sport or event with these type of horses, but to explore everything, to do lots of different stuff. Which is an awesome personality trait, because that is what I want to do as well.

 

These exerpts are from the book, Is Your Horse a Rock Star? by Dessa Hockley, Chapter 13. I tried to buy the book, but it isn't available on Amazon, nor is it on kindle. I would have bought it had it been. As it is, I will start stalking her blog.