A hair whorl is a patch of hair growing in the opposite direction of the rest of the hair.
Hair whorl
A hair whorl is a patch of hair growing in a circular direction around a visible center point. Hair whorls occur in most hairy animals, on the body as well as on the head. Hair whorls, also known as crowns, swirls, or trichoglyphs, can be either ...
s can occur on animals with hairy coats, and are often found on
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
s and
cow
Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...
s. Locations where whorls are found in equines include the stomach, face,
stifle
The stifle joint (often simply stifle) is a complex joint in the hind limbs of quadruped mammals such as the sheep, horse or dog. It is the equivalent of the human knee and is often the largest synovial joint in the animal's body. The stifle jo ...
and
hocks. Hair whorls in horses are also known as crowns, swirls, trichoglyphs, or
cowlick
A cowlick is a section of human hair that stands straight up or lies at an angle at odds with the style in which the rest of an individual's hair is worn.
The most common site of a human cowlick is in the crown, but they can show up anywhere. Th ...
s.
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
In statistics, correlation or dependence is any statistical relationship, whether causal or not, between two random variables or bivariate data. Although in the broadest sense, "correlation" may indicate any type of association, in statistics ...
between the location, number, or type of whorls and behaviour or temperament in horses and other species (but see
Correlation does not imply causation
The phrase "correlation does not imply causation" refers to the inability to legitimately deduce a cause-and-effect relationship between two events or variables solely on the basis of an observed association or correlation between them. The id ...
). There is some research suggesting that the direction of hair whorls may correlate to a horse's preference for the right or left
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
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
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
horsemen used whorls to determine the value of horses for sale. One
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse ( ar, الحصان العربي , DIN 31635, DMG ''ḥiṣān ʿarabī'') is a horse breed, breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is ...
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:
* A whorl on the chest meant prosperity.
* A whorl on the
girth was a sign of good fortune, and an increase in flocks
* A whorl on the flank was known as a 'spur whorl' and if curved up meant safety in battle; if inclined downwards it meant prosperity. The
Byerley Turk
The Byerley Turk (c. 1680 – c. 1703), also spelled Byerly Turk, was the earliest of three stallions that were the founders of the modern Thoroughbred horse racing bloodstock (the other two are the Godolphin Arabian and the Darley Arabian).Ahnert ...
, a founding
sire
Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French.
The words "sire" a ...
of the
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
breed, was said to have spur whorls and was never hurt in battle.
* The Whorl of the Sultan was located on the windpipe, and meant love and prosperity.
* Whorls above the eyes meant the master was to die of a head injury
* The whorl of the coffin was located close to the withers. If sloping downwards towards the shoulder it meant the rider would die in the saddle, probably in battle or from a gunshot.
Classification
There are several types of whorls on horses:
*Simple: hairs draw into a single point from all directions
*Tufted: hairs converges and piles up into a tuft
*Linear: hair growing in opposite directions meet along the same line vertically
*Crested: hair growing in opposite directions meet to form a crest
*Feathered: hair meets along a line but at an angle to form a feathered pattern
Image:Tucker 09-10.JPG, Single simple counter-clockwise whorl
Image:fat arab 09.JPG, Single simple counter-clockwise whorl
Image:Outlaw 09.JPG, Two whorls: one simple counter-clockwise and one simple clockwise
Image:SummerWhorl 2.JPG, Slightly tufted clockwise whorl
Image:Dominik 09.JPG, Linear whorl
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.
Konik
The Konik or Polish Konik, pl, konik polski, is a Polish List of horse breeds, breed of pony. There are semi-feral populations in some regions. They are usually dun gene, mouse dun or primitive markings, striped dun in color.
The Bilgoray, p ...
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.
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.
Whorls on
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
horses may be physical indicators of a predisposition to perform repetitive abnormal behaviours, i.e.
stereotypies.
References
{{Reflist
Identification of domesticated animals
Ethology
Horse coat colors