What do swirls on horses mean?

A swirl located between the eyes indicates an easy going, uncomplicated horse. Swirls higher on the forehead indicate intelligence and a more reactive nature. High and tight side by side swirls can mean a horse that is super focused and talented, but challenging and difficult in the wrong hands.

What causes hair swirls?

Your hair that grows from this point in your scalp is arranged in a circular formation that’s called a “whorl.” When you have two “whorls” at the crown of your head, it’s called a “double crown.” Having a double crown has been associated with everything from certain health conditions to being especially intelligent.

What is the hair swirl called?

Hair whorls
A hair whorl is a patch of hair growing in a circular direction around a visible center point. Hair whorls occur in most hairy animals, on the body as well as on the head. Hair whorls, also known as crowns, swirls, or trichoglyphs, can be either clockwise or counterclockwise in direction of growth.

Where are hair whorls found on a horse?

Hair whorls in horses, also called rosettes or trichoglyphs, are usually small swirls of hair on the face, but they can also be found along the flank, neck, or stomach. Hair whorls are considered a permanent form of identification for horses since a whorl at birth does not change in location or direction during a horse’s lifetime.

What do the swirls on a horse’s hair mean?

Horses with clockwise swirls tended to be “right handed”, while horses with counterclockwise swirls tended to be “left handed”. Scientific studies link abnormal hair swirls with brain development and temperament.

Can you use horse hair swirls to evaluate disposition?

Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Since the pioneering work of author and educator Linda Tellington-Jones in the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s, the interest in using horse hair swirls, or whorls, to evaluate disposition has been gradually gaining adherents.

How does a horse bend in a swirl?

If the flank swirls are uneven, the horse will bend easiest in the direction of the swirl that is furthest back or the direction of the longest swirl. Likewise, if a horse’s forehead swirl grows clockwise, that horse will tend to be right sided, where if it grows counterclockwise the horse will be more left sided.