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. De...
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Garrochista Español - Spanish Shepherd.jpg
Spanish Shepherd on horseback
Goat herds in the Apennines (1864), by William Linnell.jpg
Goat herds in the Apennines (1864), by William Linnell
HerdQuit.jpg
"The Herd Quitter." Oil C.M. Russell, Montana Historical Society MacKay Collection, Helena, MT
Karjus.jpg
A man herding goats in Tunisia.
Mustering sheep in Patagonia.jpg
Gauchos mustering sheep in Patagonia (Argentina).
Rumunia 5806.jpg
Shepherd in Făgăraș Mountains, Romania.
Shepherds, Chambal, India.jpg
Shepherds, Chambal, India.