Learning about Herd Dynamics: Indra's Role

One of the most impactful learnings as an equine-guided coach has come from observation and learning about the dynamics in our herd.

When we offer the space and wisdom of our horses, we pay attention to, who shows up for each person, what role that horse plays in the herd and what is symbolic about that for the person, and also what we learn from that display.

Witnessing horses in a herd you learn many nuances of their behaviours and how they interact as a community, they inform us of their language and help us understand the application of hierarchy.

Understanding herd behaviour is an important dynamic of how we hold space in this work, it can also be a powerful space of observation for us humans to learn something where we hold dysfunction around that behaviour.

Today’s learning in the herd dynamic comes from our horse Indra, who is a mentor to the young horses, schooling them in being respectful of boundaries, and finding their place in the herd, and he is also the horse that policing and enforces the guidelines of proper behaviour to respect and empower the hierarchy.

Indra is masterful at his approach, knowing exactly what pressure to apply to his herd mates that are stepping out of line and to be both firm and purposeful in his approach with a sense of groundedness and leadership.

He gains respect and he often goes unnoticed at times at how much he does in the herd and how important his role is.

When introducing a new horse, Indra is often the one that ensures their smooth integration and that they know how the “law” of this herd works, for horses that have never been in a herd setting before, they can be overwhelmed and unsure of how to integrate into the dynamic or what proper herd etiquette is.

Indra will take them under his wing, teaching them the subtitles of the herd while enforcing the rules with clear and purposeful instruction.

His ability to hold clear boundaries and to empower the roles of leadership in the herd creates a harmonious space within the herd, and for those horses that come with imbalances, they become more settled, grounded, and integrated.

With the young horses who are pushing boundaries and finding their way, they look to Indra to teach them proper manners, appreciating and being drawn to his steady and clear nature to help them in their own maturity and balance as they find and grow into their roles in the hierarchy.

We took a video showing Indra in his energy with our young horses to give some insight into how he holds that space, you can watch that below.

Indra’s teaching role with human behaviour and dysfunction.

Watching Indra in his mastery has taught us a lot about how to empower boundaries and set the stage for holding masterful boundaries in our own spaces.

As someone who found themselves thrust into a leadership role when I bought my 80-acre retreat center, I felt overwhelmed with the responsibility of having staff, multiple businesses to run, and how to maintain sacredness in my space.

I used to be someone that really struggled with setting a boundary, I didn’t want to hurt the feelings of others, I would rather put my head in the sand and avoid confrontation.

What I created in that behaviour was a dysfunctional environment with my human team at my retreat space that had a ripple effect on the energy of the space.

My inability to set clear guidelines and boundaries and hold that with my team, created a power vacuum and an unease in the space because there wasn’t any clarity. I was also at times pushed around in my own leadership without respect being held with only myself to blame.

Indra was the one who taught me that in my role in leadership that being able to set boundaries and create clear guidelines of behaviour, both in others and in myself, was what empowered the sacredness of the space for everyone.

This gave me courage and helped me see a shift from dysfunction to functional harmony and a supportive team with clear leadership identities in my space.

The ripple effect of that meant that people coming into my space could feel the resonance of the energy of the space, which enhances the experience I get to create.

Without being able to apply the wisdom that Indra holds, we create dysfunction or can in our teams and also in our environments.

Learning from Indra in knowing the purpose of where we need to be guardians and holders of boundaries in ourselves and others, is powerful.

When we recognize the roles our horses play in their own dynamics, we create a powerful mirror for our clients as well, we learn about what they bring in their unique role of teaching and can leverage that teaching to teach others that step into our spaces.

Let us know where this wisdom resonated for you today and what you learned or what you are curious about herd dynamics and their wisdom.

Love your mentor and guide,
Hillary