My Horse is a Rockstar

She's a People Pleasing Rockstar, that's for sure. I didn't realize (for various reasons, including that I skimmed through these blog posts) that you could take a quiz to determine your horse's personality type, as written about by Dessa Hockley in her book, "Is Your Horse a Rock Star? Understanding Your Horse's Personality." Sprinklerbandit and Bakersfield Dressage have written about this, along with a couple other bloggers I thought.

Anyway, I took the quiz for Dramarama/Little Miss Drama/For Your Entertainment/Lil' Miss Firecracker/Explosivity/I.Can't.EVEN/Hadassah (seriously, I need a show name for her) and.....

Your horse is a ... SEAF - The People Pleaser

Soft, sensitive, and very sweet describes this horse that will try and try to please you. They like to be told exactly what you want and then have you help them perform it. This is not your go-it-alone type of horse. They need you for support and can get very rattled if expectations are too high. This horse is in your life for the relationship.

SEAF = Submissive, Energetic, Afraid, Friendly. Reading the subsequent chapter and personality types, I'm pretty surprised with how accurately my training thoughts and her training tips align. Now, That's not to say this won't apply to many other personality types but it's fun to read along and nod at almost every sentence. It also reaffirms our training over the past year - we've broken down all the aspects of jumping and built up her confidence with grids. Also, repetition is key with her - she needs to know what the job is and if she's doing it right. Once she understands what to do, she tends to enjoy it or at least relaxes a bit. 

Here are some of the major take-aways from the free chapter you get after taking the quiz:

They try so hard but worry so much

SEAF’s need constant input and assurance that they are doing everything right

They are emotional, expressive and fairly feminine, similar to the SECF’s (Goddess)

A somewhat conflicting characteristic that shows up occasionally (in small herd situations) is the desire to be bossy and controlling even though they are Submissive (CHA-CHING)

They need you to have a quiet, consistent program and be understanding and fair with them. Keep your expectations low. They are insecure, so they need a confident, relaxed rider on whom they can rely. If their rider gets nervous, tight or tense, they will respond likewise by getting nervous, tight and tense

If left without input, before long, their busy mind will send them rushing off in some direction that will take their rider totally by surprise

Because they are trying so hard, riders think that they have got it and proceed on to more advanced work before they are ready and eventually the horse derails. They are dealing with fear and energy, so it is your job to slow it all down until they understand.

Some riders will think that they can lunge or exercise this horse to get him to quiet down. As the speed increases, the internal chatter increases until nothing is making any sense and you both feel frustrated and upset. That is why the canter can take a long time to develop in this personality.  (YES!!!!!)

 But we must understand that no amount of love is going to make them feel safe. We need to take their hand and guide them through life. This is why the confident rider who can tell the People Pleaser where to place every foot has success with this type. And when the rider does it in a quiet way that is constantly reassuring this horse that he is doing everything right, the SEAF will blossom and shine