Herd Leader - look him in the eye

This is the last post on "Look Him In The Eye" 

check out Open Book, Work Horse, Flight Risk 

first instinct with this horse is that he is highly intelligent but not mean, a leader and not a follower,.. “He is totally aware of everything that is going on and doesn’t worry about it."

alot of riders like this “ideal horse,” but you have to work to earn the horse’s respect.

a Quote from the article in Western Horseman...“This gelding had no interest in what I wanted him to do until I established myself as the herd leader. Then, he worked with me but not for me. The shape of his eye—not round, but more shuttered—forebodes that he will challenge any type of forced leadership.”

There is not an overabundance of tissue above the eye, and the few wrinkles are due to age, not worry.
..............

Rocky

Say no more ..... here at Kirkvillle
Rocky is definitely the herd leader and always has been
also a very intelligent and smart horse.  He is very solid
as a horse to ride but definitely you have to let him know
who the boss is and once you establish those grounds
its a lovely horseride!

Mr. Z

our 4 year old colt

is laid back and not concerned too much

{click here for resource article}

Western Horseman - Look Him In The Eye

Work Horse - look him in the eye

Most horses seen will fit into his middle-of-the-road category. The horse is semi-confident but looking for secure leadership. Often, this horse has more wrinkles around the eye and its shape is more oval than the round, open look of the “open book” horse.  This horse is suited for a more experienced rider.

Bruschetta (now named Grace)

This is our mare named Grace here at Kirkville.

She fits into this category as a work horse who is

 a good minded horse but does need leadership

and is not completely confident.  I like the middle-of-the-road horse.

I do have enough experience now to ride her.

from the article in

Western Horseman - Look Him In The Eye

Open Book - look him in the eye

let me take a look at an open friendly horse

and you can tell that by his eye it is soft

and not panicked

The Open Book
From reined cow horse competitors to weekend pleasure riders, most horse owners want a partner that is easy to work with. The perfect horse for an inexperienced rider has an “Elsie the Cow” type of eye: round, open and kind.

Buckley says that the non-complicated horse advertises its willing attitude.

Ben

here is our Ben
He is an open friendly horse

he get's concerned a bit but is really ready to please the
rider; he is a delight to ride and has never bucked in all our years
of riding him.  He is 22 years old now and still an honor to ride.

Schutler

Here is one of the young colts on our acreage who is almost 4 years old.  He is being placed in the

open book category.  He is super friendly, however he is yet to be completely figured out.

 What do you think?

from the article in

Western Horseman - Look Him In The Eye

Flight Risk - look him in the eye

I am fascinated by the way you can assess a horse by looking at his eye and wrinkles around the eye as well as shape.  Here is the first of my posts on this information.

flight risk

In the pasture or in the stall, this gelding has a slightly alarmed look. His outlook on the world is one of concern, even though he is a superior athlete. RIGHT: The angular shape of the horse’s eye and the excessive wrinkles above it indicate this horse is often worried and on the lookout for predators. It takes a skilled rider to overcome this horse’s mental obstacles.

Kirkville Horses (flight risks)

Tuko - sold as a "bucker"....  and new owner is thrilled with this horse

as he uses Tuko for a work horse

to train others; also the new owner is a reining cow horse trainer so Tuko gets to work

every day and owner keeps him for his own horse.  Lucky Tuko!

 He loves him!

Ziggy

Ziggy - is Mantracker's horse we purchased from Qu'Appelle many years
ago.  This horse is athletic and has great breeding lines.  He will take off
on you if you are not skilled to slow him down.  So we consider him
a flight risk but a great horse when work needs to be done.  

{click here for Western Horseman article on this)

Look Him In The Eye