Living in the herd…
I often use analogies with living in a family as living in a herd. or tribe. There are always complexities within any group that have different personalities…man or animal. It literally has taken me years to finally have a herd that suits me. The horses here are not just a herd of 5 horses, but a complex family that can be harmonious more often than not for if no other reason, but their existence depends on it. Each one has a position or job within the herd. My alpha mare is not the lead mare of the 5. She gets her ears pinned while swishing that tail acting like she’s a badass at the same time moving out of the way of the even more badass, geldings. She hangs by the lead mare most always, with herself blocking something or someone. When alone or with just the lead mare, she is visibly happier and more apt to participate. Less tension as seen in her mouth and jaw.
I have watched the dances, since last spring, between the 3 geldings and the 2 mares. The 2 older geldings pairing with the 2 mares. And that leaves the young Tall Wolf gelding. Exuberant and immature for his age, he was the product of an oops between an older stud and a 2 year old filly. The first 2 years of his life were filled with family and play on a few thousand acres living in a healthy herd until,the herd of 200+ was struck with devastation and the horses were seperated and sold. He was a 4 year old, unhandled stud colt bought by a woman in California living in Oregon. The day he was put into the stocks for the first time he was gelded then immediately loaded on a trailer to make a 1,500 mile trip from North Dakota to Oregon. Arriving with an infected sheath, the owner now had the responsibility of haltering and handling the untouched horse for medical attention. Fast forward to when he arrived here at VHF. I thought it was the skin infection as to why he didn’t want to be brushed, let alone touched. I would see him mouths locked, biting, chasing, playing with one of the other geldings so it must not be that he hurts. It is because the human wasn’t presented in a calm, safe, feel-good way. How could she? Horses are associative thinkers you know…
Finding his place in the herd of other horses and humans here has taken time for him to figure out. It has been within the last few months, with more attention, the gelding is coming up sooner and hanging around longer. Like reprograming the brain and the body to heal from whatever trauma has manifested there… It is not dissimilar to what happens with recognized trauma in our body and brain.
I am grateful for the “living in a herd” lessons afforded to me by a life with horses. If only all of us knew about ourselves what the horse knows about us. Whoa…
I believe that God intended for the equine and canine to be utilized by His people because He loves us. Whether for companionship or service they are a blessing. It was an 18th century author that said, and let me quote…” In the Garden of Eden, the Horse was of no service to man, but the fall of man revealed to the Horse his noble mission”.