22/02/2026
🦄 Day 3 of whole herd integration 🦄
Couldn't be happier than to see these guys all together, with this kind of diversity and cohesion.
Elsa Sinclair specialises in teaching (among other things) how horses communicate and interact with each other.
As a student of Elsa's I have found the introduction of Diego and Nathan to my herd absolutely fascinating, especially as Diego is young and inexperienced at complex herd life, but full of enthusiasm and big, bouncy greetings.
It has been an absolute masterclass in leadership from my gelding Linus and oldest mare, Mahlia. I think they should be running executive retreats 😆
I was lucky enough to have Elsa here shortly after Diego and Nathan started living with Linus and Mahlia, and so Elsa
was able to break down for me in detail what was happening in their conversations.
One particular lesson that stood out to me was Linus teaching Diego how and when he has to pay attention, and communicate back that he had noticed important things.
"See that? Linus charged at Diego because he looked at him, waited for acknowledgement, didn't get it, looked with more intent, still didn't get a response, so then had to make a point to Diego that he has to pay attention!"
Like a typical teen boy, Diego was often in his own world mentally!
It has been great to witness so clearly how attention is a critical part of horse currency.
It makes sense. If you don't notice a lion in the bushes or that your herd-mate has subtly asked for your attention, or you missed the cues about how and when we're moving (even when it's just a tiny step) or how your buddies are feeling then you aren't being a good herd-mate, and you are definitely not helping everyone else to stay safe.
This week I added Lulu and Caesar to the mix.
Diego demonstrated that he has learned a lot about herd communication and how to be a good citizen, and even provided great support to his Uncle Nathan when he needed it.
Previously Diego made a lot of mistakes, like coming in a bit too hot with his greetings. He's learned to cool his jets (sometimes!) and make a casual, slower arced approach, rather than a speedy excited bee-line. This is much better received by all his herd mates.
Mahlia helped broker the introduction of Lulu, stepping in to help Diego feel supported when he needed an ally, telling him to move NOW when he put himself in foolish places and then very blatantly removing herself and napping in the corner when she felt it was time to take a step back.
Likewise, Linus was insistent on access to the herd when he felt he had stuff to sort out, but made a point of being very busy in far away locations when it was best for others to make their own negotiations.
Elsa talks a lot about the different ways you'll see horses using mirroring, being 'the same as', pair bonding, work at a distance, parallel versus perpendicular alignment, and obstacles like trees to assist their communications or how they are feeling.
I absolutely saw all of this play out with my herd as they negotiated relationships or expectations, supported others, asked for help or set their personal boundaries. I also felt I could understand and predict the conversations.
Not only was this fascinating, but it made me better able to set my herd up for success and even step in to help them out a bit.
As the herd find their new dynamic, I see every horse working their pair-bond with every other individual.
Elsa will be here again at the end of March. Link in the comments if you want to come along . In the workshop you'll get to practice your skills with these legends 😊
