So I have been wondering what types of jobs/tasks would exist within a fluffy herd.
I do know that there is the Smarty leader, Toughy enforcers, Nummy finders whom look for food for the herd.
What other jobs/tasks would exist within the herd?
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They also have nurse mares for will be mummahs.
They got scouts too
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Mares who take care of pregnant mares.
Digging slaves
Enfie pals
Storyteller
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I did a story once with Food Keepers, smarter Fluffies who were able to keep a basic count of the food supply. Don’t know if they’d fit in every canon but it’s an idea
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Oh yeah. Forgot about the Helper Mares
And Scouts are so obvious. How didn’t I thinn of that? They gotta look out for “Munstahs”
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The helper mares makes sense
Digging slaves is new to me tho.
I dunno if the enfie pals are a job more so than something forced upon the fluffy.
And Storytellers would also make sense if it was an older fluffy that has seen some shit go down.
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Food keepers do sound like an interesting concept, since then there is those that ginds the food, and those that keeps it safe.
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Someone has to dig them burrows. And fluffies aren’t built for that, so it’s going to hurt.
And there will be lots of things that the fluffies have learned through the years that will need passed down to new generations.
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Ay. That’s fair. But then they need to survive that long that they can tell the stories.
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The poopies ain’t gonna num themselves!
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I covered this in March of the Fluffies: Rural Herd Dynamics.
What jobs I had for fluffies herds:
- Smarty Friends: Leader. A smarty friend and a smarty aren’t the same thing.
- Toughie Friends: Enforcers. Big, usually earthies.
- Hidey Friends: Scouts, usually dully or naturally colored.
- Pwetty Hidey Friends: Brightly colored bait fluffies. Usually a punishment job.
- Story Friend: Older fluffies with good memories that retain the hive knowledge of the herd. Unusual as it requires both an older and smarter fluffy that isn’t a smarty or smarty friend.
- Mummah Helper: Nurse mares that look after the soon mummahs and help with delivery.
Finding food is usually everyone else who doesn’t have an assigned job and not finding food is a great way to get kicked out of a herd for being a dummy.
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Nannies: usually the young adult fluffies that have to take care of the weanlings or other orphan foals when either the parents are gone to find food or if they’re dead which will happen a lot.
Jesters: fluffies that can dance and sing to keep the spirits up in the herd on hard times. Though if they can’t keep doing their job right or make the fluffies really sad they will be exiled from the herd.
Patrol: similar to the scouts these fluffies only stay in the vicinity of the herd to keep an eye out for predators, humans or incoming diaster. With their fear of the dark ingrained in them many don’t commit to it.
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I don’t think I have seen that post, but I appreciate that you wrote it here. 
That is fair. Gotta put those poopie fluffs to work then.
Within my head canon:
Smarty: The leader. Generally chosen via herd consensus of who is the smartest and therefore fittest to lead, but some with inflated egos, high charisma, or who simply want to boss others around can seize the position when there’s a power vacuum. While obnoxious, selfish, egotistical assholes get all the attention, most feral herds are run by a ‘smarty’ who simply wants what’s best for his herd and has ended up in a position of authority, whether he really wanted it or not.
Toughies: The biggest, strongest stallions. They act as both the smarty’s enforcers, maintaining good behavior (or simply obedience to smarty’s whims) within the herd and basically act as cops, as well as the herd’s first line of defense against predators or other herds intruding on their territory. Toughies sometimes take on leadership roles within the herd, often simply because other fluffies are used to obeying when the toughies say to do something; this can be as simple as acting like a junior officer under the smarty general, or it can result in a herd that has lost its leadership following one of the toughies, especially if he continues enforcing good behavior as usual. A toughie may have a couple of subordinate stallions, not big or strong enough to be toughies, who happen to be his friends and back him up. This can lead to large herds having their first line of defense be the toughies, with each toughie backed up by a couple of his buddies as the second line of defense. Other stallions form the last line of defense, with one or two of the bigger mares joining in, but these fluffies typically aren’t suited to combat against other fluffies or a predator and generally run away or cower much faster than the toughies and their friends.
Nummy finders: Not a fixed role, fluffies take turns acting as foragers for the herd. Fluffies who are especially adept at finding food for the others will get the task more often than others, but being a nummies finder isn’t a full time assignment like being a toughie. Fluffies take breaks, fill other roles within the herd, and swap chores as a favor to a friend. In smaller herds, every fluffy takes turn finding nummies for the herd, but in bigger herds the smarty and toughies often simply act as supervisors/guardians for the foraging fluffies rather than foraging themselves.
Nurse mares: Nearly always a mare, but sometimes a stallion will fill the role, especially in a small herd with a gender imbalance, or in what is simply an extended family. Nurse mares assist soon mummehs in getting around and, once immobilize by pregnancy, will bring them food and water, clean up their poop, and generally just help them out. Nurse mares also babysit foals too young to be left unsupervised while their mother stretches her legs going outside the den to forage, poop, or simply have some time to herself. Sick fluffies often receive food and hugs from other fluffies, in much the same manner as nurse mares, and often from the same fluffies. Being a nurse isn’t a fixed role within the herd, but some mares end up with the role more often than others, either because they enjoy it or because they’re better suited as a nurse than in some other role.
Scouts: Often friends of the toughies, most herds have only one or two scouts, fluffies brave enough to go ahead of the rest of the herd to search for safe places to make a den, food and water, and threats. Good scouts tend to be more clever and survive longer than other fluffies on their own, and as a result the herd scout has a better than even chance of becoming smarty when the position has an opening, especially if he has a good track record of success, helping the herd find food and shelter while avoiding monsters. Being a scout isn’t a fixed ‘job’, and the role simply doesn’t exist when the herd is staying in one place.
Storyteller: Some fluffies naturally fall into a role as a storyteller for the herd, based on personality. Some herds have a storyteller, many don’t. A storyteller is often respected for his memory and ability to craft a narrative, and as he ages he will be valued more for telling stories and acting as a repository of institutional knowledge than for finding nummies or digging holes or whatever. An established storyteller often fills a role similar to the high priest within human hunter-gatherer tribes, telling the herd stories about their history, their common identity, coming up with cautionary tales to teach the foals how to survive and behave, entertaining stories and jokes, etc. and many become trusted advisers to the smarty. In some cases, the storyteller IS the smarty. A herd can have multiple storytellers, or none at all, with varying degrees of rigidity to the role; some are simply fluffies that the herd like to listen to while forming a fluff pile for the night, telling a story or a joke or singing, and others have a fixed role as the storyteller for the herd; it varies from herd to herd.
Diggie fluffies: Another non-fixed role, like nummies finder. When a herd finds a safe place, some will be designated as workers digging out dens for the fluffies to sleep in, while others forage for food. Any fluffy can be a digger, and they often take turns and swap roles, some digging for a while while others search for food, then swapping places. In an established den, diggers essentially cease to exist as a role and all digging is done on a volunteer basis by individuals looking to expand/improve their den.
Cleaners: Typically overlapping with nurse mares and/or diggers, these are fluffies who dispose of bad poopies, rotten food, dead bodies, or other undesirable things within the den. Usually done on a volunteer basis, with each adult fluffy dealing with its own trash or that of its immediate family, but the task may be assigned if waste has become a serious problem within the den. May sometimes be assigned as a punishment.
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A perfect job for dancie babies, though it’s sure to translates into a life of depression for the fluffy. And if there’s one thing I’m always for, it’s psychological suffering of fluffies.
“Maybeh if danceh bebeh gud enuf, mummah wuv fwuffy again!”
“Mummah nevah wuved you.”
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They would fit in my first revealed headcanon (if you don’t understand why i say “first revealed head canon” go to my presentation) as in the head canon they are smart
(My head canon) Fluffy Herds would be similar to a wolf pack, it would have:
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Alpha Fluffy: The leader, decides the direction of the herd, gives the rules and punishments along with rewards. Has their pick of mares to mate with, etc. Depending on the herd (and breed of fluffies) the leader may be challenged for their position and new leader may arise.
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Alpha-Special Friend: May be the leaders special friend or one of many, they will be 2nd in command and should the herd leader their be killed/missing/dies they’ll take over until the leaders “bestest bebbeh” is old enough to lead.
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enforcers: Usually tough (for a fluffy) that work with the alphas they enforce the herd rules.
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Scout: This job is usually given to the smartest and experienced fluffy to go ahead of the herd to find food and shelter, it’s dangerous as most are killed or get lost but those that do make it back are highly respected and rewarded.
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Foragers: These fluffies will go out and gather food for the whole herd, like the scout it’s a dangerous job and most often don’t make it back.
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Nurse mare: These Mares often care for foals and wean them if their parents are killed or go missing, they’ll usually wean them and raise them until their old enough to be on their own in the herd.
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Rest of the herd: These fluffies make up the bulk they usually fill any role Scout/Forager when they don’t make it back.
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