The Five Roles of a Master Herder
A Revolutionary Model for Socially Intelligent Leadership
Linda Kohanov
2016 New World Library (Book)
Now available at www.amazon.com
Across several bestselling books, author and teacher Linda Kohanov has explored “the way of the horse,” an experiential wisdom gained by studying the nonpredatory power of horses. In The Five Roles of a Master Herder, she adapts these horse-inspired insights into useful tools for developing collaborative leadership and managing change.
Over thousands of years, Kohanov writes, “master herders” of nomadic herding cultures developed a multifaceted, socially intelligent form of leadership combining the five roles of Dominant, Leader,Sentinel, Nurturer / Companion, and Predator. The fluid interplay of these roles allowed interspecies communities to move across vast landscapes, dealing with predators and changing climates, protecting and nurturing the herd while keeping massive, gregarious, often aggressive animals together — without the benefit of fences and with very little reliance on restraints.
She includes an innovative assessment tool that will help you determine which roles you currently overemphasize and which roles you may be ignoring — or even actively avoiding. Through this powerful, at times surprising and moving book, Kohanov will show you how to recognize, cultivate, and utilize all five roles in the modern tribes of your workplace, family, and other social organizations.
The Power of the Herd
A Nonpredatory Approach to Social Intelligence, Leadership, and Innovation
Linda Kohanov
2012 New World Library (Book)
Now available at www.amazon.com
Linda Kohanov is beloved for her groundbreaking articulation of “the way of the horse,” an experiential wisdom known to riders for centuries but little studied or adapted to off-horse use. Now Kohanov takes those horse-inspired insights on the nonverbal elements of exceptional communication and leadership into the realms of our workplaces and relationships. Here we explore the benefits of “nonpredatory power” in developing assertiveness, fostering creativity, dealing with conflict, and heightening mindbody awareness.
In “A Brief History of Power,” the first part of this far-reaching book, Kohanov profiles cultural innovators who employed extraordinary nonverbal leadership skills to change history, usually on horseback: Winston Churchill, George Washington, Alexander the Great, and Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha), among others. She also draws on the behavior of mature horse herds, as well as the herding cultures of Africa and Mongolia, to debunk theories of dominance hierarchies, challenge ingrained notions of “survival of the fittest,” and demonstrate the power of a consensual leadership in which governing roles are fluid.
Kohanov then adapts these lessons into twelve powerful guiding principles we can all incorporate into our work and personal lives. Eloquent and provocative, this is horse sense for everyone who seeks to thrive in the herds we all run in — our communities, careers, families, and friendships.
Way of the Horse: Equine Archetypes for Self-Discovery
A Book of Exploration and 40 Cards
Linda Kohanov
2007 New World Library (Book)
From bestselling author Linda Kohanov (THE TAO OF EQUUS and RIDING BETWEEN THE WORLDS), this wisdom-filled book-and-card set brings her groundbreaking teachings about human-horse connections and equine archetypes to readers interested in the hidden offerings and profound insights found in the powerful relationship between horses and humans. WAY OF THE HORSE is useful both as a divination deck and as a book of deep insights (255 pages) into the WAY OF THE HORSE as a teacher of self discovery.
The book consists of forty chapters, each describing one card. Each chapter begins with the card title, key phrases conveying the card’s concepts, and a discussion of the image depicted on the card, its meaning for the reader, and its mythical/archetypal history.
The urge to be with horses can take hold at any age. These spirited creatures gallop through ancient myths, favorite childhood stories, wishes, dreams, and drawings. For many people, the desire recedes over time, hiding in a secret corner of the heart, ready to leap forward, suddenly, when a movie, photograph, or painting triggers emotions too complex to voice, yet too important to ignore. Those lucky enough to own a horse would seem to have a better understanding of this longing, this mysterious promise of an ancient freedom and an even more ancient knowing. Yet a living, breathing mare or stallion is often more of an enigma than an imaginary one. Answers to the questions that horses pose, silently, relentlessly, to the human soul have always hovered just outside the scope of reason.
These animals mirror, and help us recover, the beauty, power, and nobility of our own spirit, that elusive Presence so easily lost in the frenzy and disconnection of civilized life. Now that horses are no longer obliged to work in our fields and carry us to war, they’re free to do something arguably more important: work on us. This time around, however, the hero’s journey involves stepping off our high horses, removing the armor, and letting these powerful yet sensitive beings lead us to greater physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual balance. This deck and the accompanying essays are designed to reveal the various lessons horses are available to teach.
“To produce a singular work — like no other in equine literature — is what Linda and Kim have done with WAY OF THE HORSE. This archetypal exploration of the wisdom that horses offer us is totally intriguing.” — Robert Vavra, author and photographer
Riding Between the Worlds
Linda Kohanov
2003 New World Library 1577314166 (Book)
Riding Between the Worlds: Expanding Our Potential Through the Way of the Horse — Two years ago author and horse trainer Linda Kohanov wrote THE TAO OF EQUUS, a daring multidisciplinary exploration of the powerful spiritual, emotional, and psychological connections between people and horses. Its provocative narrative, blending her story of prescient dreams and ancestral communication with a wide ranging exploration of equine-facilitated therapy practices, created a worldwide demand for her workshops and lectures. In addition, she received thousands of letters and emails from readers around the world describing their own strange and wonderful experiences with horses.
Building on the theoretical groundwork in her bestselling debut, RIDING BETWEEN THE WORLDS concentrates on sharing these extraordinary, life-changing accounts. “I have the opportunity to share some of these stories, illustrating that personal anecdotes I initially worried were too strange to confess in print are not unique, but rather representative of the powerful connections that humans and horses around the world are having with increasing regularity as taboos against treating animals as equals lose influence,” she says. “Defining exactly what shifts in the presence of horses, and why, has been the focus of my research for over a decade. In RIDING BETWEEN THE WORLDS, I delve more deeply into the equine mind and spirit to discover what these amazing creatures have to teach us about the untapped potential of our own species.”
The Tao of Equus
Linda Kohanov
2001 New World Library 1577311825 (Book)
We are happy to offer Linda’s first book to those listeners who have enjoyed her compelling liner notes over the years. THE TAO OF EQUUS considers the mystical nature of horses and the magical connection between horses and humans. Equine therapist Linda Kohanov tells of an extraordinary spiritual awakening she experienced with her black mare, Rasa. This incident led her to investigate the apparent metaphysical as well as scientific aspects of the human-horse bond. Using neurological research, cultural history, mythology, and firsthand anecdotes from years of teaching and facilitating equine therapy, Kohanov examines the profound communion that people, and women in particular, often experience with horses. Some of the areas Kohanov explores are how the equine mind compares with the human mind, and what horses can teach humanity.