Herd Dynamics, Hierarchy and Behavior

Our friends at The Pegasus Project Horse Rescue in East Texas recently took these photos. The horse on the right has never had an opportunity to interact with other horses. This series of photos show the gelding’s first ever face to face meeting with another horse. The horse on the left has lived in herds most of his life.

I have been fascinated with herd dynamics and behavior for as long as I can remember, and have been lucky enough over the years to have gotten a chance to work with and observe large numbers of horses, both feral and domestic. I must say, the amount of information that is often passed back and forth between horses at any given time, and the various levels of subtly (or lack thereof) with which they communicate can, even for the most experienced of horse folks, be a little mind boggling. It is…