Lessons on Authority from a Surprising Source

Wisdom can be found in many odd places. For example, horses.

Horses are herd animals and every herd has a leader. My horse, Nina, is the leader of our herd. It’s her job to keep everybody safe and in line. For five years, I’ve watched her handle her herd, and I’ve begun learning from her version of authority. Because she doesn’t have to worry about feelings, gossip or people taking offense, her way is simple and easy to learn from. Of course, as soon as humans enter the equation, things become complex, but we can still learn from the principle.

Friendship is more important than feeling superior.

Relationships are built on trust. When we become overly dominant, we chip slowly away from that trust because people begin to question our motives. Are we stepping into a place of authority for them or for ourselves? Nina is a friend before she is a leader. Her herd can frolic with her while she keeps her authority intact. That example is one we should follow. We need to be there for our ‘herd’ just like a friend, somebody who’s always there for them.

Passive aggression isn’t the answer.

Watching Nina, I’ve noticed she responds one of two ways if upset. Either she’ll let it be known and confront the cause or she’ll ignore it and keep quiet. If only we were the same. To avoid hurting feelings and to still feel heard, we often resort to passive aggression. Putting it bluntly, it is the wrong answer. Instead of avoiding hurting feelings, we cause confusion. Passive aggression is unfair to our ‘herd’. We need to decide on a better route to take in the circumstance— either keep silent (be careful not to be passive aggressive subconsciously) or we speak up with kindness and mercy.

There is a time to protect and a time to let them fight it out.

On our farm, we have a herd of impala. Impala live in two different herds, a main herd and a bachelor herd. Bachelors often rut (play fight) to prepare for a big fight with the ram in charge of the main herd before breeding season. The ram of the main herd will be the biggest and strongest of all the rams, so the young bucks have to work hard to be ready to fight.

Sometimes, these bachelor boys will come into our horse’s field to graze with our horses. Often, they’ll also rut (play fight). My dad once got a video of these rams rutting right next to where our horses were grazing. Without much ado, Nina lifted her head and marched towards them. Knowing they were in her territory, not their own, they instantly broke up the fight. In this case, Nina decided that the play fighting was either ruining the peace or unfair, and did something about it. The key words are without much ado. She let them rut until a point, and then stopped it without embarrassing them in front of everybody.

We have a horse who doesn’t stand up for himself. He often ends up getting hurt by another horse who takes advantage of his Quaker-like morals. Sometimes, Nina leaves them so that the submissive one learns to stand up for himself, but if he’s getting hurt unnecessarily, she steps in.

I don’t think there’s much to elaborate on in these cases. It’s pretty clear that we, as the people in authority, need to decide whether it’s a fair fight or if we need to stand up for someone who can’t (or won’t) defend themselves.

In conclusion, I’ve learnt from watching Nina’s style of leading her herd, although it may sound crazy. Obviously, being in a position of authority with people involved isn’t quite as simple, but the principles are similar. To put it simply, Micah 6:8 says , “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” That’s all God requires of us, as leaders and as Christians. If we act justly, we live with discernment. Loving mercy, we conquer with kindness, not making a big show of ourselves, but serving our ‘herd’. To walk humbly with God is to simply follow his leading. He will guide us.

Have you ever learnt a lesson from a surprising source? I'd love to hear about it!