Life Within the Herd: New Perspectives
Leigh Shambo,
MSW-
Epona Advanced Instructor
I enjoy
traveling to equestrian facilities throughout the region to help
people learn the skills of intuitive awareness and emotional
fitness through work with the horses. It is interesting to
feel the ambience of each herd, to notice the roles of
individual horses, and how the herd as a whole achieves balance
and adaptation to the environment. In the work we do together,
helping humans learn, grow and heal— each horse is just as
likely to display brilliance as any other horse. People will
often tell me that one horse or another is the leader, but in my
life with horses I’ve have gained a deep appreciation for the
wisdom of the herd: it takes all of us. Herd behavior
is complex, and leadership is shared by cycle and by situation.
The herd is not a fixed structure with one horse at the top, and
others at the bottom, though it might appear that way at first
glance, especially if that glance only comes at feeding time..
....The
concept of a pecking order within a herd is a
hierarchical paradigm that is more human than horse. It implies
competition for scarce resources, and a survival mentality.
It’s usually summed up as the horse who can hold the “gate
position” at feeding time, or the horse that would prevail if
all were hungry, and I put out just one pile of hay. But in
their natural state, the horses would spread out and they would
all get to eat.
In
between trips, I spend a lot of time with the HEAL herd, a small
and relatively cohesive band of five horses. I am grateful for
the human community that supports HEAL and its herd. Some give
time and labor to care for horses, some promote our mission with
organizational help or board service, and some with monetary or
in-kind donations. Within the herd itself, a pattern of
healthy interdependence, relying on everyone’s strengths and
character, prevails more often than sheer dominance. Within this
pattern, leadership is rotated and shared. At different moments
throughout the day, each horse’s unique energy will come forward
to influence the others in sometimes surprising ways.
If I
think of the herd as one integrated body, there would be a
brain, and guess what? It’s not me! Ameer, the 20 year-old
Arabian gelding
who has been in the herd three years now, is the smartest,
having a very human-like intelligence and communication style.
For instance, when I am closing up the barn for the night and he
wants his water topped off, he will let me know with a nicker
and a gentle kick on the bucket. He wants the water topped
off? This horse is thinking ahead!
Recently my barn manager, Khrista Englehardt, asked Ameer to
come toward her, through a gate that she intended to shut behind
him. Not only did he understand and come toward her
voluntarily, he stopped to swing the gate shut behind him, using
his nose! It is Ameer’s intelligence and self-certainty that
makes him the most dominant horse, but only at carefully chosen
moments.
Ameer
is mild most of the time—he doesn’t insist on being first at the
gate at feed time, and he routinely shares feed right from his
bucket with Tankha, the two-year old colt. But when Ameer has
an idea in his head, he is emphatically communicative. Once, I
watched Ameer discipline his young buddy for stealing hay from
the horse stalled next to them, who was angry but helpless to
prevent the theft. Ameer watched this for several minutes, then
walked purposefully to Tankha and kicked him once— a mild but
clear correction that had the desired effect of sending Tankha
contritely back to his own pile of hay. Ameer leads by clear
thinking, judgment, and communication.
When
healing of the human heart is what’s needed, as it frequently is
at HEAL, the horse most likely to step forward is Gem.
Once, I saw Gem stop when all of the other horses were galloping
in for their dinner. She stopped in order to greet a visitor to
the farm who was very timid of horses, especially galloping
ones! I marveled at how Gem slowed to a walk, and carefully
approached the woman with a low, maternal nicker. Months later,
the woman told me how the experience remained with her over
time. “She looked right into my eyes, into my soul,” she
reported. “I have never felt as honored as in that moment.” In
an ironic twist on the pecking order concept, it was so-called
“top horse” Frieda, who had to leave her own dinner to come back
looking for Gem. In that moment, Gem’s heart energy and her
equine “namaste” to my friend, held sway and the herd was drawn
back.
The
loving energy that Gem commonly exudes can be clearly sensed
quite far from her body, an interesting exercise for HEAL
students who learn to sense energy fields in both distance and
feeling tone. Also noticeable are the scars that are reminders
of Gem’s past. Gem is a model for caring, responsibility toward
others, and forgiveness.
I
could not be more grateful for any friendship, horse or human,
than for my horse Frieda, my most constant equine companion of
the last 20 years. Frieda has raised two foals, and was my
partner during many years of active riding and training, and she
is a powerful teacher of the subtle aspects of equine
communication and bonding. “She’s her own person,” more than
one client has remarked upon meeting Frieda. Her independence
is a distinct energetic ambience that is easy for people to
sense and distinguish.
With
her strong sense of self and tendency to pursue her own path,
she is in many ways truly the lead mare by temperament, even
though she is rarely aggressive. She calls the herd’s
attention to things, whether it is something to investigate or
flee from. But here is another irony of the so-called pecking
order, because Frieda really doesn’t go far if the others don’t
share her interest or alarm. She is very sensitive to whether
the herd is backing up her forays and initiatives. Frieda keeps
tabs on each of the other herd members, and is more prone to
fret when someone is gone, or to grieve when a member has been
lost.
“You
don’t own me,” as that old song said. I love Frieda most of all
for insisting that I honor her strong and willful spirit. I had
a whole lot to learn about authentic relationship and
understanding a horse’s soul while pursuing an active riding
partnership with Frieda. Her true affection for and trust in me
is one of the gifts of my lifetime. Frieda embodies the core
tension that we all feel as members of a group or family—how do
I go my own way, and still stay connected?
Tankha,
being a two-year-old, is the leader in the play department. By
far the junior member of the herd, he is low in seniority but
high in energy and initiative. Powered by the spirit of play
and the movement principle, he would be the legs on the body of
this herd. His motto seems to be, why walk when one can
canter? Tankha would not be described as a leader, that would
be impossible for such a young snip! But, as I am out with my
herd each day, I see that Tankha is very much the instigator of
the play and interaction sequences that punctuate the day out in
the pasture. His friendliness and desire to interact are
innate—he came out of the womb this way! Tankha’s dam, Frieda,
was critically ill around the time of his birth and he was
bottle supplemented as a young foal, which increased his
eagerness for contact. I have carefully watched how the other
horses set, and sometimes do not set, boundaries with Tankha.
Tankha
is persistent, but never overly rough in his attempts to
initiate play; in return, the older horses never punish his
exuberance or his desire, and frequently allow themselves be
led into play. But the older horses are not tolerant of
impudence—when they are serious about making a request (in horse
language, “Move outta’ there!”)— Tankha moves. And so in his
training, we strive for similar patience with and affection for
his basic character, even as we clarify and practice healthy
boundaries. Within this bright boy’s ever-changing field,
people get to experience the natural flexibility of the
emotional range and especially all of the nuances of the play
spectrum. In initiating play, Tankha is clearly a leader!
The
most recent newcomer to the
HEAL
herd is also the most physically vulnerable, being only age 21
but appearing more like 38—gaunt, crooked and sore in both body
and soul. I have always had an extremely strong intuitive
connection with this fellow, and so it was not a big surprise to
me that unexpected circumstances brought him to live at HEAL. I
knew that he had suffered many physical ailments over the last
two years, but I was hardly prepared for his appearance as a
mere shadow of his former self. We call him Gallant,
which seems to suit his view of himself, somewhat like a
grandfather recalling his more dashing days. Many people sense
in Gallant a deep sadness, the presence of the shadow of
suffering, although he is stoic and he always chooses to act
with dignity and kindness.
Although we cannot yet turn him out in the hilly pastures with
the healthier horses—and it’s unclear whether this will ever be
safe— Gallant has a pasture where the other horses surround him.
When the other horses have drifted off to graze down in the
valley, Gallant’s plaintive calls draw them back, and they will
take turns returning to comfort him. In an odd way, his very
vulnerability makes him the leader at that moment. Each horse
spends some time with him throughout the day. Gallant models
grace, and trust in his herd, even in the face of vulnerability
and suffering.
The
wisdom of a herd allows unique strengths to come forward – each
one at its own time, according to the need and the situation. I
can feel the wholeness of the herd resonating within my
individual being. There are moments when my brain should lead,
other times my heart; there are times to assert my will and
times to stay connected. I can trust that we will all be fed,
and that there will still be time for play, exploration, and
caring for each other.
Both
horse herds and human communities are different when we embrace
models of abundance – there is enough for everybody— instead of
models based on scarcity and competition. Perhaps we should not
place so much importance on who is first at the gate at feeding
time, which is a fleeting and distorted view of the multiple
intelligences embodied within the herd. When I understand the
lessons of the herd—it takes all of us—I see human
communities transformed.
