The Science of Hair Whorls and Laterality Part 2, The Nurture Side of Nature/Nurture

Nervous system reactivity, whether high or low, is subject to some change if done during the first year after birth. Hypothetically, if you look at the bell-shaped distribution and your horse is on the reactive end, with gentle handling, it may move slightly closer to the mean (middle) but not much. On the other hand, a horse that lies on the opposite end with low reactivity and is handled roughly or mistreated can move slightly towards the mean but not much. The nervous system is flexible or malleable during this early period, then becomes fixed and stable for the horse’s life. Environmental intervention is the nurture side of the equation.

The statement above explains why, at the beginning of my studies, the confusion about why some horses with high hair whorls were not always high-strung and fearful. Furthermore, some horses with low hair whorls WERE high-strung and nervous, but the percentages of lows behaving fearfully were far fewer than the highs. This is because most horse trainers’ forced handling methods work on the lows. Force methods are less threatening or frightening on a low-whorl horse than on horses with high-hair whorls.

Where the horse lies on the distribution curve determines how it will respond to early life experiences. First experiences are CRITICAL in forming future responses.

Here’s an example; when people try and teach a young horse to stand for hoof care, if it pulls away, most people believe that “you can’t let the colt or filly get away with it,” so they persist until the foal gives in. The resistance from young horses to foot handling is often mistaken as disobedience, but it’s FEAR, although the level of fear is greater on reactive horses with high hair whorls than those with low whorls. Repeated handling teaches the horse with low reactivity that hoof handling is not so bad and nothing much to worry about. They give in.

Now imagine a foal with a fearful temperament and a high hair whorl forced to submit. Approaching a colt or filly with a reactive temperament and a high level of FEAR with the same “don’t let it get away with pulling away” approach only makes the FEAR worse. In those cases, people often resort to more unpleasant methods like lip twitching or worse. When the reactive foal finally allows its legs and feet to be handled, it only does so because it’s “TOO AFRAID NOT TO.” This conditioned response does not involve reasoning; it’s more like a simple cost-benefit analysis, “Which is worse?” It never willingly accepts legs or feet handling, and the resistance over time becomes passive but still motivated by fear and can last a lifetime. Often this passive FEAR is manifest by leaning on the farrier or constant agitation, pinned ears, tense muscles, a defensive posture, a head held high, and other signs of behavioral agitation. The horse looks angry, but the initial FEAR response becomes attenuated (lessened in degree). I’ve known horses in their 20s that still mildly resist shoeing, and one wrong move makes them pull away.

When you meet resistance during training, believe the horse is testing you, and think the horse needs punishment so it doesn’t “think it can’t get away with it,” you’re making a fundamental mistake that can lead to lifelong problems. Horses lack the cognitive capacity and the ability to “reason.” This wrong-headed thinking suggests they have the mental ability to “decide” whether or not to cooperate. If they had this ability, they’d be riding us. Think about it. If they could reason and decide what to accept, why not just jump the corral fence and find their way to the hay stored in the barn? Or, they could easily refuse everything we ask because they’d know they’re bigger, stronger, and could take us out with one swift kick in the ass.

In a fearful horse, this type of handling is considered a “non-contingent punishment,” and the horse doesn’t understand why it’s being punished. When we mistake fear for disobedience and punish a reactive (fearful) horse for not standing for the farrier, it initially confuses the horse, then leads to resentment. On the other hand, a horse with a low hair whorl and low reactivity (low fear) soon overcomes its initial fear and cooperates because it’s easier than putting up a fight. People often mistake this for intelligence, a word I rarely use because of its false connotation. A truly intelligent horse refuses anything it doesn’t understand and attempts to flee; people often call that horse “stupid.” Horses are prey species and fear and escape from any unknown situation. We are the predator, and an intelligent horse should resist anything we do. It’s our job to convince them otherwise. This mistake is so common. I’ve known veterinarians who think horses should know they’re there for the horse’s benefit, and when they resist care, it’s because they’re ungrateful and should be taught a lesson.

Another behavior often mistaken for intelligence happens in horses with low reactivity and low hair whorls. They are motivated by self-gratification, such as food, and will learn to open gates to get to the grain bucket. People used to tell me their horse was so wise it could get out of any enclosure they put them in. But when I looked at the hair whorl, it was usually low. It wasn’t wisdom but a strong and persistent motivation for food. That kind of horse will stand at the gate for hours or days, fiddling with the latch until it opens. Just like that, a learned behavior is established and reinforced over time and practice.

The effects of early experience can have profound effects on subsequent behavior. When I was training horses full-time, people would bring a two-year-old to me and say, “Nothing has been done to him.” In my mind, that was as far from the truth as truth can be. Almost every horse is handled, maybe not what people call training, but handled for post-natal care, farrier work, and veterinary care. When they’re first born, people dip foals’ umbilical cords in betadine; some get “imprint trained,” and some ride in trailers, either pre- or post-weaned; and all of them are taught to wear a halter, but rarely is nothing done to them.

In my way of thinking, they learn from every experience we expose them to, for good or bad. All those experiences are perceived differently according to the level of reactivity and the hair whorl position on the face.

In the following two parts of this multi-part series, I present a thought experiment that returns to when the foal takes its first breath, stands to nurse, and progresses through the pre-and post-weaning period. This critical stage of development sets the stage for how the youngster behaves toward people after that.

Follow my Facebook Page, Horse Behaviorist UT, for more in this series.