10/21/2025
What do you think?
I'll never forget when I was in a clinic in a with a well known horseman who was asked what he thought about whorls explaining horse characterstics. His response was, "I don't think I believe in it, but I'm not going to buy a horse if there are whorls in a bad place!"
10 whorl real facts that even the staunchest of whorl doubters can’t deny.
Lots of whorl study is hearsay and anecdotal. While this is proving to be extremely effective, it is nice to have science to back things up.
1. Genetics related to temperament are strongly related to whorl development. “the SIRT1 gene, which is expressed in the hair follicle, and may participate in hair whorl formation. This gene has also been associated with depression and schizophrenia” Whorls phenotypes are good indicators of genotypes. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8532986/
2. The position of the forehead whorl is directly related to “their manageability during handling, as well as the latency to approach an unknown object.” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159106001808
3. Cattle have whorls that have been carefully studied too. Cattle with high or no whorls are more reactive than cattle with center or low whorls. Same in horses, even if they weren’t included in the study. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159101001320
4. Horses are right or left sided (handed) and the position and direction the hair lays in the whorl can show us which side is the preferred side. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0376635708001071
5. Horses that are right sided, therefore left brain dominant, have been shown to be more ‘optimistic’ than right brain dominant horses. They are less fearful, more open to new experiences. Which means whorl position can show us temperament traits. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6315450/
6. Head shape fits in with whorls like peas in a pod. Horses who look alike behave alike. In humans it has been shown the people who look like each other are far more likely to have similar traits than coincidence can account for. https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(22)01075-0
7. In humans whorls in the hair are signs of many developmental disorders and diseases. Prader-Willi Syndrome, Spina Bifida, and even possibly schizophrenia. Unusual whorls show unusual brain development. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Multiple-Hair-Whorls-in-a-Child-with-Normal-Cranial-Malathi-Chandrasekhar/7a725c35a03cc29857533a27a0c8652044dd1077
8. “hair whorl position on the forehead is highly influenced by genetic factors and can be used for the indirect selection of more docile animals, given the association between forehead position and animal temperament” https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871141321002870
9. The position of a whorl on the forehead is highly heritable. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13104-019-4386-x
10. The number or whorls on a foal is thought to be caused more by environmental factors than heredity. Although, non-scientifically, we all know those horses who always throw their match in whorl numbers as well. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s13104-019-4386-x
