Photo: © Copyright Sonya Calooy, 2024
Yesterday, a winter storm moved in, bringing with it high winds and near-freezing rain. When I brought in the horses to feed and put them up in their stalls for the night, I put on their blankets to help to dry them off and warm them up overnight. This morning, when I opened up the barn to feed them, I noticed my gelding, Trio, wasn't covered in pine shavings, the usual indication that he had relaxed enough to lie down and sleep. Instead, I found him looking out the stall window in the same stance he had when I said good night the evening before. By contrast, his herd mate, a miniature horse mare named Indee, was completely covered in pine shavings, a sure sign that she’d had a good sleep while lying down.
Horses are herd animals. If given a choice they prefer the company of other horses, but if none are around, they will adapt to a herd of other prey animals, and if none of those are around, will accept a human as a herd mate. Their herds do have a hierarchy, which if large enough will have leaders such as a boss mare (a female) and a dominant stallion (an intact male) or gelding (a neutered male). When my older mare died a year ago, she passed the baton of herd leadership to my gelding. However, at the time that made him a herd of one. I searched for a new herd mate for him and adopted a yearling miniature horse mare from a local rescue. As soon as she arrived on the ranch, he immediately bonded with her and assumed the role of herd leader and dominant male. He has been very protective of her ever since.
The ways in which Trio watches over her have been fascinating to witness, and so endearing to my heart. At 19 years old, he has assumed both a fatherly role as well as that of dominant male herd leader. He has been teaching her the ways of the herd on this ranch, showing her how things are done, demonstrating what is safe and what is not. Finding him standing watch over his young charge was evidence of his leadership: he’d remained vigilant, looking for dangers during the oncoming storm. He had sacrificed his own time to sleep so she could get some rest.
I have long believed that horses are excellent metaphors for leadership. My gelding sacrificed his time to get some valuable rest so that his herd could conserve energy and recuperate from the stress of the winter storm. He has shown that young mare that he is a trustworthy leader and will keep her safety a top priority.
Inspired by the herd, I offer the following questions for managers and leaders:
What have you done to develop trust with your team?
What steps have you taken to develop both physical as well as psychological safety for your direct reports?
How do you demonstrate quiet leadership, showing the team that you hold their best interests at heart?
What thoughts on leadership does this story bring to light for you?