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Two Perspectives on Herd Order
Kim McClelland
As I watched the horses brought in
for dinner one cool spring evening, I considered the separate herds.
Each herd knows the order that they will be brought in to the stalls at
night. They establish this order themselves. If the handler respects
this rule the horses are quiet, calm, and patient but if routine is
interrupted they become agitated. Suddenly they pick on one another,
trading spots at the gate in an attempt to reset the order. I reflected
on this behavior and how it relates to human interaction. In our own
unique intelligence, we are still very much like these horses.
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Many different personalities make up
a herd but when new horses are introduced, they may spend the whole day
readjusting. Some are allowed in almost immediately while others are
sent out to retry over and over again to belong. Once they are invited
into the herd they are also given a place in this order. They may stay
in their position for a very long time or change as their confidence
grows. These two character types caught my eye earlier that spring day.
Two new horses were introduced to the herd in the morning. One was a bay
and the other a grey.
While watching the herds I’ve
discovered some horses that are allowed and accepted quickly are
relaxed, easy to get along with, and submissive to the lead horse or
horses. They also will make a connection with one or more horses right
away. This type of horse shows no resentment towards others, is
forgiving by nature, and submits easily to dominant, more assertive
personalities. I find that these horses also do not use a lot of energy
and can quickly find a comfortable place to graze among the herd. This
is exactly what the bay horse did. He did not challenge at all even when
the other horses chased him or flattened their ears and eyes at him. He
just kept himself out of distance of the more assertive horses. It was
not long before he had picked another horse to comfortably graze with
and was indifferent to the more dominant personalities.
The grey horse seemed to spend all
day retrying to enter the herd. He would pace and run, challenge the
leaders, and show disrespect to those that have already been in the
pasture. He would get chased off, sneered at, and would run away just
fast enough to not get bitten. It was not until he actually stopped
trying so hard and dropped his attitude and defensiveness that he was
forgiven by the herd and accepted in. This type of horse may try this
same game for a few days until the herd has “told” it where it will be
and the horse complies. Until the grey made this change, he grazed a few
yards away from the herd staying alert. The process looked very nerve
wracking because the grey was in a heightened state of anxiety.
When I took notice of this herd
behavior I felt as if I was watching a replay of so many past lessons. I
was also receiving clues to life lessons I may still need to learn. I
felt sad for the horse that was not allowed in right away. I watched his
efforts over and over as they waned into acceptance and a much more
relaxed state. How many times have I tried the same thing over and over
only to realize later that without changing myself and my actions I get
the same response every time. It is at that point that I stop trying so
hard. I open my mental eye and see for the first time that the answer
was right in front of me the whole time. I had ignored it because I had
my own ideas about how the situation should pan out instead of looking
for the obvious answer so that I could grow with intention and grace.
Thinking of the horse that was easily
accepted splits my thoughts in two. When I am feeling like I am not
valued or I am using up all my energy in too many areas of my life, this
horse actually makes me feel like it should be fighting harder to rise
to a higher status. It brings up resentment and disrespect. Why doesn’t
it just tell the lead horse off? Where is the bravado? Doesn’t this
horse respect itself? This horse is so soft and weak. It allows itself
to be tromped upon by the dominate horses, and current leaders.
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