Comparison of the five-element horse temperament typing with Parelli’s horse types
Several people have asked me how the Five Element Horse Typing System compares to Parelli’s Horsenality System, so here are my thoughts.
The Horsenality system is a fantastic system for identifying a horse’s behavior, and once the behavior has been correctly identified, the best way to address the behavior can be chosen. I believe that a horse’s Horsenality profile can be influenced by its environment and training.
I believe the five element typing system helps to identify the horse’s underlying temperament and certain temperaments will be more likely to exhibit one Horsenality profile over another.
These are the Horsenality profiles as described on the Parelli website. I list the general characteristics of each type (ie right brain/extrovert) and then compare them to the five element types.
++++ Riding descriptions ++++
Horsenality – Right Brain/Extrovert
Characteristics of a “right brain” (RB) extrovert include being frantic, fearful, and may have a tendency to run away and back off. RB extroverts are usually restrained and strapped down when they panic (martingales, nosebands, gags, twisted wire, etc.), but what they really need is to feel safe and build confidence.
Horsenality – Left Brain/Extrovert
Characteristics of a “left brain” (LB) extrovert include being mischievous, energetic, stubborn, naughty, domineering, and may have a tendency to be loudmouthed, biting, and biting. LB extroverts are easy to train unless you are boring and repetitive, in which case they act out and become unruly.
Horsenality – Left Brain/Introvert
Characteristics of “left-brain” (LB) introverts include boredom, disinterest, demotivation, short-tempered (stops and doesn’t move forward on challenge), lazy and stubborn and may have a tendency to buck. LB Introverts simply win by not responding until you give up. This type of horse will respond to rewards for good behavior and will perform better if they see a purpose for an activity.
Horsenality – Right Brain/Introvert
Characteristics of a “right brain” (RB) introvert include being uptight, shy, unpredictable, and may have a tendency to freeze and then explode. RB Introverts are usually pushed to move on when in doubt and insecure. Slowing down the training until the horse is confident and understands what he is learning is the way to go with this guy.
Get more detailed descriptions of each type on the Parelli website: http://www.parelli.com.
++++ How Five Element Types Compare to Cavalries ++++
Based on my understanding of the Horsenality system, I would expect a balanced fire horse to behave more often like a left brain/extrovert. If stressed by rough handling or pain or frightened, the Fire Horse could lean towards the Right Brain/Extrovert profile and need to have their confidence restored.
The Earth Horse will generally fall into the Left Brain/Extrovert profile. This type of horse is very solid and will probably not switch to right brain behavior unless severely stressed. The Earth Horse can switch to Left Brain/Introverted behavior if not treated kindly and encouraged to learn new things.
The Metal Horse will tend to behave like a Left Brain/Introvert unless they have been pushed to learn too many new things faster than they could. In this case, he may switch to right-brained/extroverted behavior, and his training will need to be reduced until he regains his confidence and shifts to a less reactive frame of mind, allowing him to learn.
The Water Horse is likely to be naturally right-brained/extroverted and with proper handling focused on building confidence, it can be taught to respond rather than react.
The Wood Horse tends to behave from the left side of the brain with a full range of extrovert and introvert characteristics. If the Wood Horse is kept stimulated with new activities and its energy is channeled into positive work, it can be a very rewarding horse to work with.
I feel like using these two systems together can be very powerful to not just deal with the behavior that you’re seeing at the moment and look under that and see why the behavior is occurring. If the Five Elements type is identified early in the horse’s life, then it can be managed in such a way that it remains strong in the positive Horsenality characteristics and is less likely to develop an undesirable Horsenality. Knowing your horse’s underlying five-element type can also help you select the correct Horsenality profile and choose the best actions to prevent or correct less-than-desirable behavior.
