- It's a direct quote from Wendy Williams' Scientific American article highlighted in my previous blog post, and I am putting it in all caps and bolding it because it is that important.
OBSERVATIONS FROM LONG-TERM STUDIES OF WILD HORSES SHOW THAT THE CONVENTIONAL, MALE-CENTRIC VIEW OF THEIR POWER DYNAMICS IS WRONG.
IN FACT, FEMALES OFTEN CALL THE SHOTS, EMPLOYING TACTICS SUCH AS COOPERATION AND PERSISTENCE TO GET THEIR WAY.
4 comments:
I read the article and it's very informative and interesting. Everyone should do all they can to educate themselves further and do more research into horse behavior. Unfortunately, a lot of people just take what a trainer says as law without asking questions. I've seen many good and bad trainers and clinicians over many years and even the best of them admit they're still learning. It's a process that never stops. Well, unless you're so smart and close minded that you already know everything.
As for the article I could picture Dusty and Nate in my mind. She always preferred to be with her chosen mate which was Nate. They were never far apart from one another and had a very close bond. Mellon who is a dominant herd leader would succeed in having her follow him by sheer force once in a while but she always found a way to return to Nates side. I think mares are smarter and can be more calculating than the males.
A, you are so right! I love the story of Dusty and Nate. I think the herd behaviors are so much more complex and nuanced than "dominant horse and everyone falls in line behind that one." The mares seem to have all kinds of ways of interacting that keep things from being black and white!
Very interesting stuff. :)
True!
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