If you read about horse temperament you might come across this or a similar scale from one to ten:

1-4: Very quiet, steady, forgiving.

5-6: Ideal competition horses, still calm enough, but with enough spark to excel.

7-8: Hotter, more intolerant, needing calm, subtle aids.  Talented, but only very good riders can “get at” that talent.

9-10: Too hot, they bring only pain and misery.

These temperament scales can be amusing if you look at horses for sale on sites such as www.dreamhorse.com.  Often a horse will be rated a “10,” and when you look at the horse’s sale ad you realize the “10” is simply the seller trying to say their horse is wonderful.  Yet many people search by horse temperament and will avoid any horse that is a “10,” believing that horse would be unmanageable.

If you read or talk to people about horse temperament, you will find that most people look for the following qualities: Calm, unflappable, steady, reliable, consistent, patient, kind.

 I wonder how many of the people searching for these qualities in a horse would be able to say honestly that they have these same qualities.  I also wonder why we narrow horses down to just a few traits that we find valuable, while allowing ourselves to have dozens, if not hundreds of qualities that we might describe as “good” traits.  Here is a list of some personality traits in humans.  How many of these do we find in horses as well?

It seems that people tend to value calmness in horses but don’t necessarily value many other good qualities their horse may possess.  For instance, you may have a horse that does not strongly portray the personality trait of calmness, but the horse may be good-natured, genuine, careful and earnest.  Or you might have another horse that is not very calm but is adventurous, responsive, reliable and sincere.

Each of my friends and people I know are a unique mix of many qualities in varying degrees.  That is what makes them one of a kind and special.  Some of my friends are hyperactive, lack confidence, are followers rather than leaders, or have some other qualities people view as negative in horses.  Yet that doesn’t make them less valuable people.  Each horse I’ve known also has a unique mix of many qualities.  There is a certain type of person I’m drawn to, and I get along better with certain types of horses as well. 

If you find that calm, unflappable, steady and reliable horses are what suit you best, that is fine.  You can also choose the type of people you spend time with.  But if you find yourself drawn to energetic, imaginative, sensitive horses, that doesn’t mean that your “9 or 10” horse is “too hot and will only bring pain and misery.”  As with all overly energetic beings, there must be enough of an outlet for all that excess energy.  You should consider your horse the Border Collie of the horse spectrum.  Energetic creatures must have a serious job or they will drive everyone around them crazy and become potentially destructive.  But they also can accomplish great things – Border Collies can either destroy many of a person’s valuable possessions or they can be useful working dogs or athletic companions.  

Calmness has value when the situation calls for it.  But I believe that people often want to blame horses for not being calm and tractable when what is really lacking is their own riding and handling skills.  On the other hand, whether you value calmness in horses or not, you must understand how crucial it is to cultivate calmness in yourself, especially if you are working with hot, reactive, “square” horses.