01/05/2026
Horses do not seek dominance.
They seek predictability, clarity, and safety.
This idea can feel confronting if you were taught that horses are constantly trying to rise to the top of a hierarchy. It challenges a story that has been repeated for decades. A story that gives humans a sense of certainty and control.
But when we slow down and actually observe horses, sit in the herd and really watch in true presence, then a very different picture emerges.
Horses are not preoccupied with power, actually, they are preoccupied with safety.
Their nervous systems are shaped by evolution as prey animals living in open landscapes, where threat can appear without warning and escape depends on rapid, coordinated response. Because of this, what matters most to a horse is not who is “in charge”, but whether the environment makes sense, whether signals are consistent, and whether they can predict what will happen next.
Predictability is regulating, as is clarity and most of all, safety. This is the ground state from which everything else emerges.
A herd is not a rigid ladder with one horse permanently on top and the rest falling into fixed positions beneath them. It is a fluid social system that shifts with context. Who initiates movement can depend on who is closest to the gate, who has the clearest view of the environment, who is feeling most settled in that moment, who is hungry, sore, lactating, young, ageing, or alert to something unseen by the others.
Leadership in horses is situational, not positional.
That does not mean all horses are socially identical or interchangeable. Some individuals are more influential than others. Age, experience, confidence, and temperament do shape interactions. Certain horses are more likely to be followed or deferred to, not because they hold a fixed rank, but because they are predictable, experienced, or consistently regulated. Influence exists. It just does not operate through dominance and submission in the way we have been taught to imagine.
This is where dominance narratives begin to unravel.
When a horse pins an ear, moves another out of their space, or controls access to a resource, it is often labelled dominance. But what we are usually witnessing is boundary communication or resource regulation. In environments where space is limited or resources are concentrated, these behaviours become more frequent and more visible. Not because horses suddenly become power seeking, but because pressure increases and choice decreases.
In more natural settings, with adequate space, movement, and multiple access points to resources, these interactions tend to be brief, low intensity, and quickly resolved. They are not ongoing power struggles. They are information exchanges.
It is also important to name the role of domestication here. Many of the behaviours people point to as proof of dominance are artefacts of management. Small paddocks, fixed feeding stations, limited movement, and enforced social groupings create conditions where competition becomes necessary. Horses are responding appropriately to environmental pressure, not revealing an inherent drive to control others.
Horses are exquisitely sensitive to clarity. They respond best to cues that are consistent, neutral, and understandable. Confusion is stressful. Mixed signals are stressful. Unpredictable pressure is stressful. When a horse appears “pushy”, “disrespectful”, or “challenging”, it is often a sign that something in the interaction or environment lacks coherence.
That said, not all behaviour that humans find difficult comes from anxiety alone. Some behaviours are learned. Horses are excellent learners. If a behaviour has previously resulted in relief, access, or reward, it may be repeated. Young horses also explore boundaries as part of normal development, just as they do with other horses. The answer is still not dominance, but clear, consistent guidance that helps the horse understand where the edges are.
The horse is not testing you. The horse is trying to understand what works, what is expected, and whether it is safe to comply.
This matters deeply when we translate herd behaviour into our relationships with horses.
If we assume horses are always seeking dominance, we position ourselves in opposition to them. We brace. We escalate. We attempt to assert authority. The horse’s nervous system feels that immediately. What follows is often labelled defiance, when in reality it is dysregulation or confusion.
But if we understand that horses are seeking predictability and safety first, our role shifts.
We become anchors, not enforcers. We become sources of clarity, not control. We become regulated nervous systems that the horse can orient to.
This does not mean permissiveness. It does not mean the absence of boundaries. Boundaries are essential. Horses use them constantly with one another. But boundaries are not dominance. They are communication.
A calm, clear boundary reduces uncertainty.
An inconsistent or emotionally charged one increases it.
There are also moments where firm, decisive guidance is exactly what supports a horse’s sense of safety. In situations of genuine risk, confusion, or overwhelm, clear leadership provides containment. This is not power over the horse. It is responsibility for the moment.
Social order within a herd is responsive. It adapts to terrain, weather, threat, health, age, and emotional state. Horses do not cling to status. They prioritise cohesion. A fragmented herd is unsafe. A volatile environment is unsafe. A confusing interaction is unsafe.
Safety is the foundation. From safety come curiosity, play, social connection, exploration, and rest.
When we stop projecting human ideas of hierarchy onto horses, we begin to see them more accurately. We recognise that many so-called behavioural problems are not moral failings or challenges to authority, but nervous system responses to inconsistency, pressure, or reduced choice.
And from that place, horsemanship does not become vague or ineffective. It becomes grounded. It becomes ethical. It becomes more precise.
Because horses are not asking us to dominate them.
They are asking us to make the world make sense.
