Hair whorl (horse)

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A horse with two hair whorls on its forehead Outlaw 09.JPG
A horse with two hair whorls on its forehead

A hair whorl is a patch of hair growing in the opposite direction of the rest of the hair. Hair whorls can occur on animals with hairy coats, and are often found on horses and cows. Locations where whorls are found in equines include the stomach, face, stifle and hocks. Hair whorls in horses are also known as crowns, swirls, trichoglyphs, or cowlicks.

Contents

Hair whorls are sometimes classified according to the direction of hair growth (e.g. clockwise or counterclockwise), shape, or other physical characteristics.

Anecdotal evidence claims a statistical correlation between the location, number, or type of whorls and behaviour or temperament in horses and other species. [lower-alpha 1] There is some research suggesting that the direction of hair whorls may correlate to a horse's preference for the right or left lead and other directionality.

History

The theories that hair whorls could describe various physical and personality characteristics in horses have been around for thousands of years.

There are references of hair whorls in the works of the Indian sage Salihotra. Bedouin horsemen used whorls to determine the value of horses for sale. One Arabian horse has been recorded with 40 whorls on his body, although the average horse has around six. Bedouins looked for whorls between the horse's ears as a sign of swiftness, and if there were any on either side of the neck, they were known as the 'finger of the Prophet'.

One legend of whorls is the "Prophet's Thumbprint" a birthmark in the form of an indentation, usually found on the side of a horse’s neck, totally harmless although it comes with a legend.

The Prophet Mohammed was wandering the desert with his herd of horses for many days, and as they approached an oasis he sent them forth to drink. But as the thirsty horses approached the water, he called them back. Only five of his mares stopped and returned to him, and to thank them for their loyalty he blessed them by pressing his thumbprint into their necks.

It’s believed that a horse with such a mark will be outstanding, being a descendant of one of these brood mares that the Prophet Mohammed particularly treasured.

Other Bedouin beliefs include:

Classification

There are several types of whorls on horses:

Relation to behaviour

Several studies have reported a statistical relationship between the location, number, or type of whorls and behaviour or temperament in horses.

One study of 219 working horses found a relation between the direction of facial hair whorls and motor laterality; right-lateralised horses had significantly more clockwise facial hair whorls and left-lateralised horses had significantly more counter-clockwise facial hair whorls. [2] [3]

Konik horses with a single whorl located above their eyes were rated as more difficult to handle whereas horses that also had a single whorl but located below or right in between their eyes were easier to handle. Whorls that were found to be elongated or doubled acted the most cautious when coming up to an unfamiliar object. They looked longer and were slower to approaching then the single whorled horses. [4] [5]

Lundy ponies with 'left' whorls score highly on calmness, placidness, enthusiasm and friendliness, whereas those with 'right' whorls score highly on wariness, associated flightiness and unfriendliness. Ponies with two facial whorls are rated as significantly more 'enthusiastic' and less 'wary' than those with one or three facial whorls. [6]

Whorls on Thoroughbred horses may be physical indicators of a predisposition to perform repetitive abnormal behaviours, i.e. stereotypies. [7]

Notes

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horse breed</span> Selectively bred populations of domesticated horses

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arabian horse</span> Horse breed originating in the Middle East

The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse with historic roots on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest modern breeds. Although modern DNA cannot trace breed purity in the modern population beyond 200 years, there is archaeological evidence of horses in the Middle East with landrace characteristics that resemble modern Arabians dating back 3,500 years. Throughout history, Arabian horses have spread around the world by both war and trade, used to improve other breeds by adding speed, refinement, endurance, and strong bone. Today, Arabian bloodlines are found in almost every modern breed of riding horse.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland pony</span> Breed of horse

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hair whorl</span> Patch of hair growing in a circular direction around a visible center point

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lead (leg)</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roan (horse)</span> Horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body

Roan is a horse coat color pattern characterized by an even mixture of colored and white hairs on the body, while the head and "points"—lower legs, mane, and tail—are mostly solid-colored. Horses with roan coats have white hairs evenly intermingled throughout any other color. The head, legs, mane, and tail have fewer scattered white hairs or none at all. The roan pattern is dominantly inherited, and is found in many horse breeds. While the specific mutation responsible for roan has not been exactly identified, a DNA test can determine zygosity for roan in several breeds. True roan is always present at birth, though it may be hard to see until after the foal coat sheds out. The coat may lighten or darken from winter to summer, but unlike the gray coat color, which also begins with intermixed white and colored hairs, roans do not become progressively lighter in color as they age. The silvering effect of mixed white and colored hairs can create coats that look bluish or pinkish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North American Sportpony</span> Breed of horse

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References

  1. "Horsewyse Magazine – Around the Whorl". Horsewyse.com.au. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  2. Murphy, J.; Arkins, S. (2008). "Facial hair whorls (trichoglyphs) and the incidence of motor laterality in the horse". Behavioural Processes. 79 (1): 7–12. doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2008.03.006. PMID   18511219. S2CID   3895123.
  3. Oke, Stacey. "Link Between Facial Hair Whorls and Horse 'Handedness' Reported". The Horse. Retrieved 2012-08-15.
  4. "Hair Reveals Horse Temperament". Horse Science News. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.013 . Retrieved 2012-08-15.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Górecka, A., Golonka, M., Chruszczewski, M. and Jezierski., T. (2007). "A note on behaviour and heart rate in horses differing in facial hair whorl". Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 105 (1): 244–248. doi:10.1016/j.applanim.2006.05.013.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. Randle, H.D., Webb, T.J. and Gill, L.J. (2003). "The relationship between facial hair whorls and temperament in Lundy ponies" (PDF). Annual Report of the Lundy Field Society: 67–83. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. Williams, J.; Randle, H. (2011). "The significance of dermatoglyphic characteristics in the determination of equine phenotypic susceptibility to abnormal repetitive behaviour in the thoroughbred (Equus caballus)". The Veterinary Nurse. 2 (8): 482–488. doi:10.12968/vetn.2011.2.8.482.