All Stressed Out, Now Where To Go; Leadership, Relationship, Partnership
Authored By: Garret Leonard
Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree.
Livestock stress occurs when livestock is required to make extreme or prolonged adjustments to adapt or cope to their current environment or surroundings. Stress in livestock can weaken immune systems, elevate blood pressure, and contribute to heart, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and skin conditions.
Implementing the proper level of stress for each individual animal, paying attention to behavioral changes, and following proper handling protocols are important in keeping animals and handlers safe during the process. Stress has a negative impact on all livestock and keeping stress levels down will contribute the livestock’s future well-being.
The goal in any stress-related situation is to limit the amount of stress over a period of time. Animals can endure high stress levels for short periods of time, and low stress levels for longer periods of time. If animals are under high stress conditions, the process needs to be quick and efficient. It is important to note, livestock with limited human interaction react differently than livestock that have been handled properly.
When handling livestock and keeping stress levels low, I have 3 objectives: Leadership, Relationship, Partnership.
Leadership: You must be the leader. If you don’t lead, they will lead themselves. Think of a few leadership qualities that are important. Leaders listen, communicate, provide direction, motivate, serve, and meet the needs of the team. Without leadership no one is in charge.
What can I do to get livestock to feel safe and trust me? Do I act like a predator or do I take action to earn and build trust. My actions, verbal and non-verbal, determine if the animal will trust me. Remember, animals won’t follow someone they don’t trust. Being a leader means that you influence by providing purpose, direction, and motivation.
Leaders listen. It can be difficult since animals can’t audibly talk, but their body is speaking loud and clear. Understanding livestock body language is key to successfully building leadership. A lot of the time it takes respect, patience, kindness, and encouragement.
Relationship: Leadership is relationship. Understating an animal’s flight zone is critical. Where you stand, how you stand and your movements influence behavior and increase or decrease trust. If you are you aggressive, assertive, or fearful yourself, you can’t build relationship. You must communicate using body position and body language. Never punish a mistake and always reward the slightest try.
Partnership: When we have equipped the animal for success, now we can work together in partnership. Effective leadership is not based on being clever; it is based primarily on being consistent. If we don’t have a partnership with the livestock, we are handling, we will be unsuccessful. You can’t make livestock do something they don’t want to do, we have to build trust, so they want to do what we ask.
In a herd, livestock always follow the leader that they can trust to keep them safe, a leader that always has their back, a leader that acts with the best interest of the group. When handling and moving livestock we must become the leader they trust. One may say the same is true for all relationships, be it livestock, companion pets, or humans.
