Herd and Herd Dynamics | Ride Every Stride 078

Ride Every Stride | Horsemanship and Personal Growth with Van Hargis

You’ve probably heard me say this before, “Horses aren’t people.” You may have also rolled your eyes at me, because it seems obvious. Doesn’t it? Yet you’d be surprised how often people misinterpret horse behavior as being the same as human behavior, with the same emotions and causes involved. But the truth of the matter is different. Horses are a different species, with different instincts and social hierarchies. This episode goes in depth into the herd dynamic, and most importantly, where you fit into that dynamic. Spoiler alert, your position is to be the leader.

Key takeaways

If I could leave you with one clear message about herd dynamics it would be to observe your horses objectively. How can you be the leader of an organization you don’t know anything about? We have to watch our horses and see how they interact. Sure, a calf may be nudging against their mother because there is a mother-offspring bond, or the calf could have a spur on its neck. Humans can be very selfish in our love. However, horses are different—they care more about the survival of their species, something that drastically sets them apart from the human mindset in most cases.

If you are going to be leading more than one horse, you need to figure out where all of the horses sit in your herd as well—they can’t all be equal. Figuring this out will help you communicate with them better while using body language and pressure they already understand. You have to learn to emulate their behavior in order to do this.

And the humanship aspect of all this? Just know and respect those in our lives for who they really are, don’t twist your perception and assumptions about a person. When we know that and accept our role for what that is, and we can earn that role of respect with them as their leader – that makes the working relationship with our horse that much better.