Herding
Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group (herd), maintaining the group, and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. Herding can refer either to the process of animals forming herds in the wild, or to human intervention forming herds for some purpose. While the layperson uses the term "herding" to describe this human intervention, most individuals involved in the process term it mustering, "working stock", or droving.
A herder or herdsman is a pastoral worker responsible for herding, i.e., the care and management of a herd or flock of domestic animals, usually on open pasture. It is particularly associated with nomadic or transhumant management of stock, or with common land grazing. The work is often done either on foot or mounted. Depending on the type of animal being herded, the English language can give different professional names, for example, cowboy for cows, shepherd for sheep, or goatherd for goat.
Animal behaviour
[edit]Some animals instinctively gather together as a herd. A group of animals fleeing a predator will demonstrate herd behavior for protection; while some predators, such as wolves and dogs have instinctive herding abilities derived from primitive hunting instincts.[1]
Instincts in herding dogs and trainability can be measured at noncompetitive herding tests. Dogs exhibiting basic herding instincts can be trained to aid in herding and to compete in herding and stock dog trials.[1]
Most herbivores live in groups, called herds, they go from place to place grazing the grassland. There are special maps that show where big groups of these animal herders range from the US to Canada. Herding began over 10,000 years ago, as prehistoric hunters domesticated different animals.
Purpose
[edit]Herding is used in agriculture to manage domesticated animals. Herding can be performed by people or trained animals such as herding dogs that control the movement of livestock under the direction of a person.[2] A competitive sport has developed in some countries where the combined skill of man and herding dog is tested and judged in a "trial", such as a sheepdog trial. Animals such as sheep, camel, yak, and goats are mostly reared. They provide milk, meat and other products to the herders and their families.
Terminology
[edit]Herders may be distinguished by sex (e.g., herdsman, herdswoman or herdboy) or by the type of livestock, for example camelherd, cowherd, duckherd, goatherd or shepherd.[3]
By country
[edit]China
[edit]Tibetan herding communities living in the Tibetan Plateau in the Sichuan Province of southwest China continued to graze herds on common lands even after the 1982 Household responsibility system. Several reasons have been given for the endurance of the traditional pastoral lifestyle:[4]
- complex topography prevents the division of common grazing lands among individual households
- yaks require free grazing and become ill in fenced pasture
- rotation of grazing spots
Grassland degradation has been an issue. Herding communities and their leaders have taken steps to reach a consensus about sustainable grazing practices. These include developing the community political organization to enforce commitments to seasonal rotational grazing.[4]
By livestock type
[edit]Cows
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A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the vaquero traditions of northern Mexico and became a figure of special significance and legend.[6] A subtype, called a wrangler, specifically tends the horses used to work cattle. In addition to ranch work, some cowboys work for or participate in rodeos. Cowgirls, first defined as such in the late 19th century, had a less-well documented historical role, but in the modern world work at identical tasks and have obtained considerable respect for their achievements.[7] Cattle handlers in many other parts of the world, particularly South America and Australia, perform work similar to the cowboy.
The cowboy has deep historic roots tracing back to Spain and the earliest European settlers of the Americas. Over the centuries, differences in terrain and climate, and the influence of cattle-handling traditions from multiple cultures, created several distinct styles of equipment, clothing and animal handling. As the ever-practical cowboy adapted to the modern world, his equipment and techniques also adapted, though many classic traditions are preserved.There are numerous regional types of cow herder, many with a specific name; these include the stockman of Australia, the buttero, campino, csikós, gardian and gulyás in Europe, the buckaroo, charro, cowboy and vaquero in North America, and the gaucho, huaso, llanero, morochuco and qorilazo of South America.
Goats
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Sheep
[edit]
A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of pastoralist animal husbandry.
Because the occupation is so widespread, many religions and cultures have symbolic or metaphorical references to shepherds. For example, Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd,[8] and ancient Greek mythologies highlighted shepherds such as Endymion and Daphnis. This symbolism and shepherds as characters are at the center of pastoral literature and art.Other
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Hartnagle-Taylor, Jeanne Joy; Taylor, Ty (2010). Stockdog Savvy. Alpine Publications. ISBN 978-1-57779-106-5.
- ^ Renna, Christine Hartnagle (2009). Herding Dogs. Kennel Club Books. ISBN 978-1-59378-737-0.
- ^ Brooks, Alexandra (2003-06-19). "26 farm workers to receive long service awards". FarmingUK. The Breezi Publishing Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 2012-02-05. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
- ^ a b Wei, Han; Ling, Su. "Supporting Collective Action through Community Development Funds: An Institutional Innovation for Herder Poverty Reduction in Sichuan, China" (PDF).
- ^ "Music of the Plains (mural study, Kilgore, Texas Post Office)". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Archived from the original on 2024-06-18. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ Malone, J., p. 1.
- ^ "Home Page". Cowgirl Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- ^ Gospel of John 10:11
External links
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