Character

Learning to understand your horse
What does your horse need.
The horse has been taken by us from its natural environment. That is why we should create a living environment that is as natural as possible. For the safety of your horse and yourself, it is important to develop a good relationship in which mutual respect, trust and clear leadership are paramount. Training a lot with your horse and being on the road together can help. Symbiosis between horse and owner is the goal, both mentally and physically.

Recognize your horse
Discover the true character of your horse …
In order to keep our horses healthy, we have to learn to understand them. Watching and observing teaches us what we need to properly approach, ride, train and feed every horse. Wu Xing uses a character type classification. Just like humans, every horse has its own character with specific needs. The character can be identified into 5 elements. These elements are:water, wood,fire, earth en metal. Every horse has characteristics of all elements. Yet there are often a few prominent main characteristics that belong to your horse. Per element a description to easily recognize your horse’s character. The detailed information per element is available in the main menu above.

It is difficult to determine the exact character of your horse from a story. Therefor Wu Xing has developed a questionnaire. By answering the questions on this form with “YES” or “NO”, it becomes clear what character your horse has. The questionnaire is available in the main menu

The five elements

The five element theory is used in acupuncture for example. The theory origins in traditional Chinese medicine. A medicine method that is more than 5000 years old The Wu Xing the five element theory is used to make a character type classification of your horse, based on your own observations regarding the behavior of your horse. It provides an additional option to learn how to analyze your horse. By looking at and observing your horse you learn how to best deal with your horse (environment, nutrition and relationship).

The character type classification of the horses will show that not every type is suitable for the possible purpose you had planned. The possibilities and impossibilities that arise from this, will help you to adjust your expectations, it gives more understanding of the reactions of the horse. It is also a reason to look at your horse completely differently.

To determine what type your horse is, you have to observe a lot. Observe your horse in different circumstances and try to look objectively. For the owner, this objectivity is always the most difficult. His or her impression is often influenced by what he or she wants to see.

The emotional connection with the horse makes it also less objective. And the joined xperiences also have an influence. (Once afraid of tractors, always afraid of tractors.) It’s recomended to do such an observation with someone else or to compare each other’s results.

The five elements are: water,wood,fire, earth and metal. Each element represents a specific character type. See the main menu on this site for a detailed description per element.

Every horse has a constitution (a number of strengths and weaknesses that characterize the horse). Usually the constitution of the horse fits into one or more elements. A horse will represent several elements and not strictly one. In fact, the horse usually goes through all elements in its life. Each element will have recognizable influences. Yet the horse has a constitution that is more or less constant. A number of strengths and weaknesses that characterize the horse and will continue to be. Of course there are many characteristics that are so subject to change. It is therefore important to identify the outlines that are more or less constant. Usually the type of your horse is a combination of a number of elements as main type with characteristics of other elements. Occasionally it happens that the type of a horse consists of only one main type.

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