#13 Warning signs in humans

I limp along behind Rebbe, our young horse, completely bewildered. It’s my birthday, and I was only going to…

It turned into an afternoon and evening in the emergency department, followed by another visit to the ER the next day. My leg was put in a brace, and I was ordered to remain still for six weeks. The whole summer – why? I failed to read the situation correctly, and a 550 kg horse reacted in panic, in an instant.

When we humans forget the laws of nature and forget to live in accordance with them, our dogs and horses can become dangerous to us – and that brings me to the thought that the same applies to humans!

Blindness

Our beloved, beautiful brown Labrador had not been himself because of a B12 deficiency. Since he is an extremely allergic dog, we had found a herbal-based B12 extract that his body could actually tolerate. B12 deficiency can, among other things, lead to anemia and neurological symptoms – Baloo was no longer Baloo – and he had actually been trying to tell us, we just didn’t want to see it 🤎.

That day, Baloo behaved in a way that terrified our young horse Rebbe, sending him into complete panic. I ended up making a 180-degree turn and, unfortunately, landed on the “wrong” leg.

Communication is information

Horsemanship: It also rests on our understanding of the horse’s needs, as well as how it reacts, acts and communicates – we learn to read the horse.

When you’re dealing with a roughly 600-kilo horse, we horse people are highly motivated to develop our horsemanship. The same goes for our dogs, whose teeth are rather unpleasant when they sink into our flesh 😉. We watch the tail, the ears, the eyes, the posture, and we listen when the dog growls (giving us important information) …

As a leadership nerd and leadership developer, this raises a question for me – so what applies to humans?

Humanship

I know we like to believe that we are divine (wink), b u t – humans are actually animals too, and we are dependent on the laws of nature.

Sure, we have built schools, companies, sports clubs, societies and fairly advanced technology, which may have made us believe that we exist outside of nature. But underneath the suit, tracksuit, riding breeches or sweatpants, there is still a biological being with a nervous system. A nervous system that comes with us to the breakfast table, the classroom, the football pitch, the workplace, the stable and into our relationships.

Humanship: understanding the needs of Homo sapiens, as well as how Homo sapiens reacts, acts and communicates.

Warning signs in humans

The human brain interprets something as a threat, triggering the sympathetic nervous system, just as it does in our animals:

Physically: changes in breathing, a tense body, raised shoulders, clenched jaws, altered gaze, restlessness or stiffness.

Behaviourally: shorter patience, irritation, a raised voice, defensiveness, avoidance, withdrawal or unusually strong reactions.

Strange, isn’t it? When faced with a 600-kilo horse, we take responsibility for reading the signals. When a human signals fear, we choose, rather rudely, to take offence. Isn’t that fascinating?

The leader’s actions matter

Whatever kind of creature you choose to lead, as a leader you need to take responsibility for your own state of mind. When the other person becomes stressed, you should not follow them there. The parasympathetic nervous system is the body’s brake and helps us return to calm and balance – from there, we are better equipped to think, listen and act wisely.

Boundaries matter – but they need to come from the right nervous system! When a human, horse or dog has gone all the way into panic, they are difficult to reach through logic or reprimands. First, we need to create a sense of safety rather than add to the stress – and that is where our own ability to remain calm and regulated becomes crucial.

We cannot demand that the child, employee, dog or horse “calm down” while we ourselves are the ones spitting and hissing.

I had six weeks in a leg brace to think about that – it is through mistakes that we learn!

Humanship, Horsemanship or Dogmanship – leadership always starts with you.

//Therése Johansson