Some whorls come with very specific ‘meanings’. The S shaped feathering is one of those.

When a horse has feathering on their forehead that twists and turns, sometimes in the shape of an S, others are just squiggly, it is said that horse will be accident prone.

While it does often hold true I think it’s important to look at what ‘accident prone’ actually means. It should be fairly obvious that the whorl doesn’t cause the horse to get hurt. Whorls are signs of what is going on…

Whether choosing a steer to train or picking out a heifer or bull, we can gain clues to what they will be like by looking at the whorls on cattle’s head.

Whorls form in utero as the rest of the animal develops. When there is any abnormality in the cells, a whorl in the hair develops over it. As the brain forms, whorls develop where there is activity. Whorls on the outside of a cow give us a unique view to what is going on inside the cow. We can use them to judge temperament, health,…

Lots of horses have whorls down the underside of their necks. Most of them are small enough that they don’t make a lot of difference. A small whorl will be a small spot in the neck where the neck will be straighter. There will be a little bit of extra muscling there.

As the whorls get bigger the effect they have will grow. Long whorls the length of the neck will make a major difference in how the horse carries the neck. What that difference will be depends on the type of whorl. There…

Looking at the forehead whorls on horses is understood and there are fairly basic rules. High shows an extrovert. Low shows and introvert. That much is simple.

What happens when we start looking at some not so basic equines though?

Most mules and donkeys have low whorls. Those low whorls almost always have feathering. Does that mean that all donkeys and mules, I’ll call them long ears for ease of typing, are left brain introverts? Is there so little variation among…

A single center whorl doesn’t tell us anything about the horses temperament, except that we can’t see any extreme’s from the whorl itself. It is neutral. That doesn’t mean that the horses temperament will be neutral.

Single whorls have a reputation for showing a quiet, dependable horse. That can be true, but isn’t a rule.

Instead when we see a sing;e center whorl we need to look at the rest of the head for clues to the temperament. Often the heads will show that, a simple,…

Sold at auction as a yearling, this horse sat in the feedlot until he was three. Luckily for him a loving family happened to drive by and spot him out there. They brought him home with them and he is now living the good life.  The first two pictures are him immediately after leaving the feedlot. The rest are later, after he had time to settle in.

He has a single whorl perfectly centered between the eyes. This only shows us that we don’t see any extremes of temperament from the whorl.…

This mare has a single center whorl. That doesn't make her simple. A single center whorl only shows that we can't see any extremes of temperament from the whorl. It is still completely possible to see extremes from the head shape. Not that we see any extremes here, we also don't see anything boring and simple.

From the front we can't get a true reading of her eyes. This is why it's so important to remember that pictures are only a moment in time. If the horse is in a normal state that…

According to tradition some whorls are bad luck.

That is such a broad term. What exactly does it mean? How did someone decide such a thing?

I’m not one for superstition so I enjoy breaking it down and looking at possible causes for such superstition. One of the most famous whorls, and one of the easiest to break down is the shredded collar, a…

The slightest change in the location of a horse’s whorls can make huge differences in temperament.

No where is that more difficult to figure out than in side by side and diagonal double whorls. These whorls show almost…

We’ve all seen the pleas, about to ship, this horse needs saved now.

I know there are pitfalls and a definite dark side to the slaughter horse industry. Setting that aside for the moment, what if you decide that you can’t let the horse go? How do you decide to take the chance and pull that horse? There are many reasons horses end up in kill pens. Lameness and behavioral issues are two big ones. There are also many good horses who end up there through shear bad luck. What are the odds…

Understanding Horse Whorls is now available in paperback!

Since its release as an ebook in April of 2021 Understanding Horse Whorls has sold around the whorl. Here in the US, next door in Canada, from England to Australia, and even Norway, Germany, Paraguay, South Africa, Bulgaria, Germany, and the Netherlands.

People kept asking when it would be available in paper form? An ebook is great but a book you can hold in your hands has a special appeal. After lots of work and with a…