Hair swirls...and other things

I'm curious as to what others in here think about things like hair swirls, facial features, etc., and their link to your horse's personality, temperament and characteristics. Do you think they are fact or fiction?

As Ellen knows, I've become quite interested in Chris Irwin and his training. He is a believer in the hair swirl theory, after seeing proof of it over and over again in the past thirty years. And then there is Linda Tellington-Jones who has an entire book on the subject of the above-mentioned variation of features. She has done surveys and continues to study this.

I want to investigate it further because if it can give me insight into understanding Fanny better, then it certainly can't hurt. I understand that environment also plays a part in who your horse is, and if a person buys a horse that is already well trained, yet has a "complicated" swirl, etc., then it could be that the trainer just knew how to work with that particular horse.

And if there is something to this, does anyone know of any resources that guide you in how to work with specific horses? Ultimately, it's best to know your horse and learn from it what it likes and doesn't like when it comes to training, but a few pointers of what to start with would be helpful. How does a person know what to teach a horse? Do you just think of things you'd like to do with your horse and search for ways to teach that particular thing? Training a horse to collect on its own helps the horse become more balanced and fit (at least that's what I've been reading), but what is the starting point for that? Is it best to read dressage books and then do your own thing to help a horse achieve these 'exercises' while having fun?

When Fanny was at the trainer's, she and I had fun playing around the poles and jumps and so on, so I'm hoping that John lets me set some up in the front paddock. I plan to let Fanny pick the game she wants to play, so maybe I could use that to help her be more balanced and fit while having fun.

Hay Cyndi,
Well, I plan to become a Horse Starter myself! So, so far I've learned quite a bit doing courses.
If I came across a horse that didn't want to stop. Rather then just yanking on the lead rope and using force and uncessesary tools(which aren't effective anyway!) to stop it, I would find out why the horse didn't want to stop in the first place, whether it was scared and didn't know what you meant, hadn't been trained properly, or was just been plain hyper. Let's say for instance that the horse was scared, you could pick that because it wouldn't have that naughty look of a hyper-active horse, but a confused and frightened look, mainly told by the eyes and tension of the horses body language. An important key to remember is to READ a horses body lanquage! And not to get frustrated, horse training requires PATIENCE! So, I use Clicker Training(a positive reinforcement), and that's how I would get the horse to stop. For instance, the horse wouldn't pull-up at a walk while ridden, but would stop well on the ground at a walk. Then I would try walk-stop, trot-stop, canter-stop,etc. Once the horse was stopping really well at the canter with no pressure and just words. You could then try hopping on and walking, and when you want to stop, just sit deep in your seat(don't pull on the reins!) and ASK the horse to stop with your seat, and slight pressure on the reins to let the horse know what your asking. Your horse would have to understand the STOP very well on the ground first before riding. Oh, and ride in a smaller area, just to be safe. If the horse does NOT stop, have a helper to lead the horse and stop it from on the ground with you helping.
Hope I've helped, and on the correct topic!!!!
Grace