Danada Equestrian Center: Behavior in a Herd

Volunteer Team Talks

Herd Formation:

It is by natural instinct that horses form strong bonds with other members in their group. A herd is a group of horses that live together.
The herd and its dynamics teach, order, and control the behavior of all of its members from youngest to oldest.
Wild herds consist of a stallion & his band of mares (and their offspring) Eventually, the stallion (or possibly lead mare) will drive off the youngsters to avoid inbreeding.
The stallion is the leader of the herd. He is top authority. He locates places to graze, finds water and chooses where to go.
Color and gender also play roles in herd dynamics. Careful observation of horses in groups often shows that horses of certain colors tend to group together and share similar rank in the hierarchical structure of the herd. Gender roles are fairly distinct in horse herd dynamics as well. For example, mares are more likely to have a higher rank than geldings (castrated males).
What makes a horse dominant or submissive? Weaker horses are sometimes more submissive, but it is more a state of mind. Some horses are aggressive while others don't care much about their position. It is also partly what the horses learn as babies. The foal of a mare high on the pecking order will see how his mother behaves toward other horses and will probably learn to do the same.

The lead mare is second in command. She keeps herd members under control or takes over as the leader of the herd when the stallion goes off on his own.

What horse would be considered the lead mare in Danada's herd?
Domestic herds may have a gelding acting as lead mare. Jefferson fills this role in Danada's herd to some extent as a peacemaker; Rosie also fills this role.

There is safety in numbers--a horse needs the company of his own kind for protection against predators.

a horse left by himself (removed from the herd, or members of the herd removed from his pasture) may become panicky, because he thinks he is going to be easy prey.
Notice when Scotch or Tucker are separated, they will call to each other.

Horses are social animals & prefer the company of other horses as opposed to being kept in a solitary environment.

Horses form strong friendships with their pasture mates. They will pair off with particular horses and engage in mutual grooming standing shoulder to shoulder & scratching each others withers with their teeth.
Horses will stand guard over each while napping. You can observe horses laying in a field or pasture while pasture mates stand nearby, keeping watch over them.
Horses enjoy engaging in play activities. You may see a pair rearing up, nipping at each others legs or the crest of their necks. They may also take delight in herding each other around the pasture (Leo is a great one for this). Who are some of the Danada horses that initiate playtime on a regular basis?
If there aren't other horses to form a bond with, horses have been known to substitute that bond with a variety of other animals including goats, dogs, cats, chickens or any other animal available (including humans).

Keep in mind that horses are always trying to figure out their place in the herd, particularly since herd dynamics are constantly changing as horses enter and leave the herd, buddy-up with each other, go into heat, etc.
This herd instinct can actually work to an owner's (or handler's) advantage. Horses can easily bond with humans because they want company.
Living in a herd can teach a horse many things (like manners!!!) that can be more difficult to teach to him if he grows up in a solitary environment.

Hierarchy

Horses are quick to establish a chain of command (whether it is a herd of 2 or 22).

This behavior actually lowers the number of disputes over food, water and other horses.
Unlike creatures who communicate through many different sounds, a horse's vocalization is quite limited compared to other animals. They rely primarily on body language to communicate to each other.
Subtle social signals can be used, such as a glance, a step in the direction of the horse or swishing of the tail. Often times, this is enough of a signal for the submissive horse to yield to his dominant counterpart.
If the subtle approach doesn't get a reaction, more obvious tactics are the result, such as pinning the ears back, baring the teeth or snaking the head in the direction of the target.
The lower ranking horse almost always gives way to a higher ranking horse without incident.
If actual physical contact is necessary, the higher ranking horse will usually bite his lower ranked herd mate. The submissive horse may buck or kick at his superior, but he will move out of the way.

The chain of command will change, sometimes dramatically, almost every time a horse is added or removed from the herd.

The most recent occurrence of this in Danada's herd is the addition of Scotch. The new horse has to adjust and find their place in the herd (which is currently near the bottom of the pecking order).
Not only are the new horses affected by this, but other horses will behave differently. Chance & Rosie went through a stage shortly after Scotch & Tucker were added to the herd. Why would that be?
Most horses prefer to follow a leader & are more comfortable in the submissive role, but will take on the dominant role if a strong leader does not emerge.

Current roles within the hierarchy (medieval analogy)

As far as the current herd hierarchy at Danada, it may be helpful to make an analogy to medieval times.

Chance is generally considered the King and Rosie is generally considered the Queen mare.

Jeff and Nick would be Princes, although they lead in different ways.

Austin would be the Head Knight (and some would say head instigator).

June, Shasta and Crystal are upper middle class Duchesses or Ladies of the King's Court.

Little June, Benny, Moxie, and Aiden are middle class with Smokey, Blackjack, Sundance, and Quazar being lower middle class serfs.

Lower class horses include Scotch, the Drudge and Phyllis, the Scullery Maid.

Horses develop their social skills through learned behavior. They learn to interact with other horses through subtle signals from the lead horse.
They learn to look for direction from a leader.
They learn to restrain themselves not to eat the lead horse's hay or kick the lead horse when they want to play.
The horse learns boundaries of acceptable behavior.
All of these lessons learned by living in a herd make the trainer's / handler's job much easier.