Horse Types Acccording to Chinese Wisdom

Ample Prosecco

Ample Prosecco

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When I did my Equine Assisted Therapy training, some of it was a bit 'out there' and we learned about 5 horse personality types. 6 actually - there were aslo 'void' horses, so mentally damaged/shut down that they could not be worked with.

As part of the assessment you had to work with several different horses then categorise them either within 1 or across 2 categories. And when selecting a horse for a client you would factor in the horse's category, matching the horse type with the presenting problem.

After passing the course I forgot all about it but revisited this today as I found it funny/curious that I have ended up with 3 such different horses. So for just a bit of fun, can you classify your horses on this?

Felix is 100% earth. Myka really fits water so could either be pure water or water with a bit of fire. Not sure about Mylo as I've not done enough work with him yet.


equineshiatsu.org

Five Element Horse Types | Earth Fire Water Metal Wood | Equine Shiatsu

Five Element Horse Types | At the heart of traditional Oriental medicine is the theory of the Five Elements - Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood.
equineshiatsu.org
 
Interesting and fun!

9yo would be a mix of water/wood
6yo (mother of 2yo) is less clear cut to categorise. Probably a mix of water/wood/fire
2yo from what I can ascertain so far is most definitely fire
Old mare (mother of 9yo) is probably also water/wood
 
I would say my mare is a mix of earth amd metal. Good to look at without e=being a worldbeater. Very calm and polite but can appear a bit withdrawn. Doesn't know what it means to kick or bite and a willing sensible ride. When I was younger I might have found her boring but in my old age she is perfecct, just a pity she isn't sound enough to ride.
 
That's a fun way of thinking about different personality types

Of mine:
Hetty is definitely Earth
Pebbles is very much metal
And Arty is harder - mostly wood with a bit of water
 
My connie X TB is metal with a dash of Earth. Earth becoming a little more obvious as he matures.

My old connie gentleman is water with a dash of Earth. Does that make him Mud?!!! Definitely not as he is brilliant!
 
I think D is mostly wood with a bit of water but looks like earth so is often a bit misunderstood.
 
I wonder if it's auspicious for a horse to be born in the Year of the Horse according to the Chinese zodiac, and how it affects them if they are born in some other year eg Rat or Snake
 
My previous Hairy Champion was a definite fire, but I'm struggling with my current ones.

Little Madam is probably metal and wood.
Old Lady would be earth and wood, I think. A strange combination of laid-back restlessness.
I think I would probably class Enormosaurus as Water. She's not shown any signs of fearfulness but she does behave a bit like a tsunami when she's not a still pond.

It looks like I've managed to cover all five types over time, though I would not normally choose earth types for myself, though I admire them for what they can bring to the table.

Pippin is still waaay too young to tell, though he seems bold and adventurous and playful for now. I think I would hope for a lot of fire, plenty of wood and a touch of his mother's metal.
 
I enjoyed reading that AE! I think all my horses fall into 3 categories.

Eb my old section D was definitely a fire horse with a hint of wood. He definitely had the self-confidence and purpose which prevented the fire explosions, I think. He didn't get frustrated by not being allowed to do his own thing, he just did it anyway and you were along for the ride whether you liked it or not. Luckily, what he wanted to do was generally what I wanted to do too! The bit about the fire going out was accurate with him. When I tried to retire him, he got so depressed I had to take him on little 15 minute hacks twice a week to keep him happy. Walking in hand wasn't good enough either, I had to ride him.

Arch was a water horse, generally laid back but if he really didn't like something, you knew about it.

Charlie I think was water but I don't think we ever got to the stage where we trusted each other enough to get the good bits.

Wig and Monty are (were) both Earth horses but without being 'grounded'. They both will (would) do anything for an easy life, which meant doing whatever is asked of them straight away so they can (could) go back to sleep sooner. Wig is definitely food orientated, Monty was the opposite, especially while in his stable. He'd gain weight very easily in summer but lose it all in winter because he'd hardly touch his haylage.
 
Baggs is deffo a mix of an Earth and Water horse - the less work and more food the better. He was always the dependable one when hacking and often strolled past things, giving leads to other horses like it was nothing. He is also extremely loyal to me and will do anything for me, but everyone else gets told where to go 🤣. However, his conformation isn't the best and he's more podge than muscle nowadays as he is happily retired and living his best semi feral life!

Rabbit I would say is a mix of Water and Fire - again he is extremely loyal to me and will also do anything, he also loves a crowd and at his first in hand show, I could barely keep up with his trot as it was so expressive and free moving. The judge when handing me my rosette first said "Bloody well done for handling him - he likes a crowd doesn't he?!". He's also a few spot buckskin so is quite nice to look at (if I do say so myself!) and I'm sure he knows it, as he does the "because I'm worth it" mane and tail flick when floating across the fields ;) He also adores attention and will happily leave other horses if it means he gets all the cuddles and kisses - I've lost count the amount of times I've totally stopped what I was doing to give him a cuddle and kiss - 30 minutes later I go back to what I was originally doing aha!
 
I would say Fire in everything except build, he's only fine if compared to something like a Suffolk Punch!
 
My share Icey is earth. Yes, he can be stubborn and loves eating - and is also very calm and dependable. When he worries he usually just freezes. I don’t really know my new mare well enough yet to classify her…but she might be a bit similar.
 
Mylo is so useful as a companion to the pregnant mares that I’ve been offered free livery to leave him there when I said I wanted to pick him up. He’s calm, relaxed and they all love him so he keeps them happy. He's definitely not earth or metal though. So perhaps he will be water and wood, - much less of a tsunami effect than Myka.

Amber and Lottie were both wood. They absolutely would not tolerate being bullied, but were hugely self confident and bold, with a great work ethic. Perhaps Balou adds the fire for Myka!
 
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