Do Horses Really Want to Be Dominant?

Bronzz and Brandy are in my space, but it's a friendly visit, not dominance

Do horses really want to be dominant? No they do not. Decades of studies of free-roaming horses consistently show their herd structure is a family unit, not a dominance hierarchy. They survive on cooperation, not competition. They don't care who is in charge; they want to feel safe. Some of the world’s most awe-inspiring trainers describe this as the foundation of their success. Frederic Pignon of Cavalia dazzled audiences with performances of 5 stallions working at liberty. His wife Magali Delgado, riding with neither saddle nor bridle, performed graceful, high level dressage routines. Vanessa Bee, founder of the International Horse Agility Club, teaches horses to negotiate complex obstacles at liberty. In Gallop to Freedom, Pignon says, “A horse seeks freedom from fear and stress above all else… If we provide this feeling of security, he will freely give himself to us.” Vanessa Bee explains that horses don’t want to be “on-duty” all the time, “...so when you turn up and take responsibility for their safety for a while, they’re delighted!” Research is clear on this point. In feral or free-roaming herds, social bonds are more important than rank. Long-term friends hang out together, groom each other, and provide security. Rank, most often determined by age, is not typically a source of conflict. Leadership is shared. Different individuals might initiate different activities, such as heading off to the water source, or looking for shelter, but no one is required to follow. Aggression is rare except when band stallions are guarding their mares. If horses don’t care about being dominant, how did this concept became so widely accepted? At least three factors have contributed to misconceptions.
1. Domestic horses show more aggression than feral ones because their lifestyles typically include common stressors that cause aggression:
• Confined spaces
• Introduced food
• Artificial social groups with high turnover
• Poorly socialized individuals
The resulting behavior is often mistaken for normal, instead of being recognized as symptomatic of a lifestyle nature never intended horses to live.
2. Horses are sensitive and easily stressed, resulting in defensive behaviors. Monitors on a group of ponies in training registered anxiety when whips were shook in front of their faces. If merely a shaking whip stressed them, think how easily a horse can be frightened by actions that we take for granted, such as waving arms, loud voices, twirling ropes, tapping whips, or a person stepping quickly toward him. A frightened horse wants to escape. Feeling trapped by ropes and fences triggers his fight instinct. If he bluffs by pinning ears or swinging his butt, for instance, few people recognize the fear behind his actions. They see “resistance”. An aggressive “correction” gives the horse even more reason to feel threatened and escalate the fight. What appears “dominant” to people is self-defense to the horse.
3. When horses don’t get clear messages, they have no way of knowing that people expect to be in charge. If we want consistent cooperation, we must give clear, consistent signals, and be patiently persistent (not punitive) about making sure the horse complies. When people give unclear signals, which happens more than we like to think, horses are left to guess, and typically blamed when they guess wrong. When people are inconsistent, horses have no way of knowing we expect compliance this time. Yet their failure to “obey” is often interpreted as a bid for dominance.
People and Dominance When people believe that horses want to be dominant, it’s logical to respond by asserting dominance over them. This approach can appear very successful in the short term. With enough pressure we can make a horse move instantly in any direction, and the same techniques work on every horse. Such dramatic results are good for impressing audiences, marketing training systems, and selling gear. Little skill is required. However, disregarding how the horse feels about the process tends to backfire in the long run. If one carefully watches the horse’s body language, signs of anxiety may show that he is moving because he is intimidated, not because he respects the trainer. An anxious horse is not only defensive, but less responsive because he fears making a mistake or resents feeling bullied. The “training” really falls apart when the horse encounters something that intimidates him more than the person does. Not trusting the person to protect him, he thinks only of saving himself.
Earn Trust by Being a Protector Leader Good trainers in every discipline do this, sometimes so instinctively they can’t explain how they do it. Helping the horse feel safe is rarely defined as part of the training process because it’s more difficult to demonstrate, more complex to teach, and rather tame to watch. Happily, many horse owners provide this sense of security for their horses, guided by intuition and a good balance of kindness and consistent expectations. They understand that respect cannot be taught or demanded; it must be earned. A horse who feels secure with his person is a safer horse because he looks to his leader for direction when he’s scared. He is a more capable and willing partner because he can focus on his job, undistracted by anxiety or defensiveness. He is a pleasure to ride and handle because he works to please the leader he trusts will take care of him in return. My book What Horses Really Want: Unlocking the Secrets to Trust, Cooperation, and Reliability describes in detail how to become a Protector Leader. The research supporting Protector Leadership is cited every step of the way.

References:
Horses in Company by Lucy Rees

F. Heitor, M. do Mar Oom, L. Vicente, “Social relationships in a herd of Sorraia horses Part I. Correlates of social dominance and contexts of aggression”, Behavior Processes, Sept 2006. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16815645?dopt=Abstract

Rikako Kimura, “Mutual grooming and preferred associate relationships in a band of free-ranging horses”, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Sept 1998. http://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591(97)00129-9/abstract

S. M. McDonnell, J.C.S. Haviland, “Agonistic ethogram of the equid bachelor band,” Applied Animal Behaviour Science 43 (1995) 147-188 http://research.vet.upenn.edu/Portals/49/95Agonis.pdf)

Cathrynne Henshall, Paul D. McGreevy, “The role of ethology in round pen horse training – A review”, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, June 2014, pages 1-11. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159114000811

Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir; Machteld C. van Dierendonck; Sigurdur Snorrason and Anna G. Thórhallsdóttir, “Social relationships in a group of horses without a mature stallion”, Behaviour, Volume 140, Issue 6, pages 783 – 804, 2003. http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/10.1163/156853903322370670

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