Determining if Your Horse is a Right- or Left-Brain Learner

Every time I attend a Parelli event I take something new away. I don't mean I learn something I never knew before, but that I learn a better way of presenting it to others whether they are people or horses.

This is the real genius of Pat and Linda Parelli, not that they are doing things no one else has ever done before, but that they are organizing and presenting it in a manner so others can use it in their lives.

I've been a professional horsewoman for forty years. I have taken a lot of lessons and attended a lot of clinics. I'd learn something, go home and try it with my horses. Sometimes, it would work. Sometimes, I'd have an almighty wreck.

I had my first introduction to the Parelli method of training horses (the big secret here-they are training the people not the horses) and after buying equipment and materials offered for sale at the clinic went home and tried it out on my horses.

The first thing I realized after my first attempt was that, while I got very frustrated during that session, at no time was I in danger of wrecking either my horse or myself. When I tried to pass what I'd learned on to my students I also saw that it was a safer way to teach them horsemanship.

That was twelve years ago. The most recent Parelli event I attended was the 2007 Tour. There, once again, they have taken something that is already out there and presented so everyone else can access and use it. This time it involves left brain-right brain learning.

The concept of different sides of our brains having different functions and roles is now common knowledge. We know the left side of our brains is the part that organizes things and allows us to do things in a meaningful manner. Our right side is the creative side-the side used to create stories, new music, paintings that speak to others. We need both sides, but we also need to know how to let one side dominate when we are doing certain tasks.

Horses also have right brain-left brain functions. Only they don't create works of art with their right brain; rather a horse's right brain is his re-active side. Something different? Jump ten feet sideways to get away from a possible predator and then look at it. Good for a wild horse that might get et, but not so good for a horse with a rider on its back. Whether horse or human there is a time and place for the right brain to be in charge; there is also time you don't want the right side of the brain dominate.

The left brain of the horse is the thinking, considering, logical part of the mind. We need it in charge when we are with our horses, just as we need for them to have the left side of their brain in control. If a horse is left brain dominate then he is thinking. If the right side is in control then a horse is reacting.

If you know which side of your horse's brain is dominate then you have a better idea of how to teach it new things and refine old knowledge. Body language will give you some idea of which side of the brain your horse is most likely to work from. I'll enter a caveat here; a horse's natural conformation will play a part as well. If a horse is built so that his neck fits into his body at a level or even below level angle (such as a Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred) he may appear to be calm, thinking horse when he is actually a nervy, reactive horse. Likewise a horse that has its neck setting into its body at a high angle (such as an Arabian or American Saddlebred) may appear at first glance to be a reactive horse when it is actually a calm, thoughtful animal. By watching the horse for awhile you will be able to tell how it looks when completely relaxed, engaged in some activity or excited. The level built horse will raise its head higher than normal for it. This triggers the release of various enzymes, hormones and chemicals that will give it more strength and stamina to flee or fight. The high headed horse will carry its head at an angle that is relaxed for it and not trigger this release.

Having determined which conformation traits most describe your horse it is then time to watch it in its normal environment. The ideal would be in a pen with other horses. There you can see if your horse likes to be close to the other horses. While all horses are genetically wired to be herd animals some need more space than others. Does your horse want to play with the others? Is it one that fiddles with things-this is the horse that picks up buckets and carts them around, tries to open gates etc.-or does it tend to skitter away from the other horses and anything strange? The first horse is a left brain dominate or thinking horse. The second horse is right brain dominate or reactive. They need to be approached and trained differently.

The training methods that work well with a left brain horse may actually damage a right brained horse's mind. The methods best for a right brain dominate horse will bore a left brain horse and cause it to get in trouble.

Circumstance will also effect how the horse presents itself. If a horse is in a strange, threatening environment-a horse show or other event can be interpreted this way-it will react differently than is its normal habit. Even a calm well-trained animal may trip into the reactive mode if something threatening is happening. If the horse is in a familiar, safe environment such as at home, it may appear to be a calm, thoughtful animal. It may take you some time and observation to discern just which side of the brain a horse is most accustomed to using, but the time spent will repay itself by shortening the training time. If you are presenting your material in an appropriate manner for that particular horse it will learn much faster and better.

The left brain horse needs play, new things, and the unexpected to keep them engaged and learning. Drilling is not the way to teach these horses. Having a purpose and moving on to the next task is what the left brained horse needs in order to stay with you and learn. These horses need to regard their people as a source of new and fun stuff.

The right brain horse is opposite. New material must be presented only once the right brain horse feels safe and trusts you. It is very important for you to think about what you want to accomplish with one of these horses and then never, ever get them in trouble. They need to know they can trust you to keep them safe. They need to learn you are their safe place.

Other traits to enable you to identify whether a horse is right brain or left brain is-does it move its hindquarters more easily-or forequarters? A horse that moves its forehand easily, but gets stuck when ask to move its hindquarters is right brained. If the horse moves its hindquarters quickly and easily, but gets stuck when asked to move its forehand then it is a left brain horse. The left brain horse will be more inclined to be mouthy or nip. My own left brained horse, Monty, has replaced the nipping with working his lips. We have a real Mr. Ed thing going at feeding time. The right brain horse is more likely to kick. My right brain horse, Doc, replace the kick tendency to a stomp with the hind foot away from me. As long as he wasn't taking a pot shot at me or anyone else this was cool. Eventually it faded entirely which is a very good thing when a horse is 18 hands tall and weighs nearly a ton.

A further division when analyzing a horse before beginning training is whether a horse is an extrovert or an introvert. I will write a separate article on how to analyze these traits since they are also very important in developing your equine's learning program.