PECKING ORDER? Where Are You in the

By DYLAN BIGGS

In the social world of cattle or horses, there is always a leader — a boss bull or cow or lead mare. The social hierarchy is dynamic, everyone is ranked, and the process is continual. Rank isn’t simply given; it is earned. Top rank gives physical dominance or control of time and space to feed, water, shade and mating in multi-sire bull batteries or stallions. The hierarchy benefits the herd in many ways, which we won’t go into here. What we are going to discuss today is the importance of acknowledging this social reality and understanding how we, as livestock handlers fit into this social fabric.

Everyone is ranked, and the process is continual. Rank isn't simply given; it is earned. Top rank gives physical dominance or control of time and space to feed, water and shade and mating in multi-sire bull batteries or stallions. The hierarchy benefits the herd in many ways, which we won't go into here. What we are going to discuss today is the importance of acknowledging this social reality and understanding how we, as livestock handlers fit into this social fabric.

I have realized over the decades the folly of those who assume that cattle, horses, and dogs, for that matter, will join us, as opposed to us joining them. It may sound like a semantic argument, but cattle, horses and dogs are not humans, and they can’t engage with us in a human capacity. Not that we don’t share certain characteristics regarding wants, needs and behaviours, but they don’t and never will share all human traits, regardless of how desperate some folks are to treat their animals like people.

What I am saying seems obvious, but there is a blurring of the differences and boundaries. Some folks treat their cattle, horses and or dogs as pets and begin ascribing human characteristics and intellectual capacity to them that they simply don’t possess. Some folks are just

desperate to believe if they just love a dog enough, they can control its behaviour entirely or even remedy dangerously aggressive behaviour. Or if they are nice enough or talk sweet enough, their horse will do what they want, or if they sing the right song or use just the right tone of voice, the cattle will do as they please. I also hear, “Oh, so and so would never do that.” I could ignore this wishful thinking if it was harmless, but it is ill-advised because it results in people getting hurt and, sadly, on occasion, killed.

What we are talking about is leadership. The boss mare or boss cow is in a leadership role. People also assume leadership roles with animals when developing effective working relationships. We need to engage with them socially in their capacity, in their world, so to speak. That requires learning their social structure and their social language if we are going to be communicating effectively and be successful in our leadership role.

The boss bull or lead horse can drive subordinate animals away. They can drive them in any direction, at the speed and distance they choose. Subordinate bulls yield space to the boss bull; they stay away at the indicated distance and for the time they are told. Subordinate horses also do the same thing; they are not the master of how close, when, or for how long they are in the sphere of the lead horse. With single sire breeding groups, there are bulls that control the movement of the whole herd of heifers. I am sure many of you have tried to move a herd and had the bull up at the front, stopping and turning the herd back on top of you. He essentially refuses to let you be the boss of the herd. If you want to remedy that, you need to be a better herder than him, and with very committed bulls, you need to single him out and drive him away from the herd until he goes without resistance, i.e., until he yields to you. The ability of the boss animals to drive individuals or the whole herd where and when they choose or your ability to drive the herding bull where you choose is a testament of leadership.