Basic wild social behaviours & hales list perzalskis horses

Question 1

feral horses

Answer 1

were domesticated and returned to the wild

Question 2

wild horses

Answer 2

have not been domesticated

Question 3

przewalskis horses

Answer 3

-subspecies of wild horse equus ferus (equus przewalskis)
-central asia
-near extinction, then bred in captivity and reintroduced to a park in mongolia
-never been domesticated

Question 4

social groups

Answer 4

-live in family groupings
-one stallion
-1-3 mares and there offspring
-maintain long term relationships

Question 5

hierarchy

Answer 5

-mares form hierarchy inside the herd
-males are the leaders

Question 6

the social role of offspring

Answer 6

-stay with the herd until independent (2-3 years)

Question 7

what are some reasons a family group may band together with other ones

Answer 7

-can be permanent or temporary
-for predation
-grouping up because of limited feed
-bugs

Question 8

are they ever on their own

Answer 8

-very rarely
-old or wounded stallions
-not seen in mares

Question 9

what do males not in family groups do

Answer 9

-they form “Batchelor groups”
-only males
-for safety and predation reasons

Question 10

stallions role in family group

Answer 10

-stallions actively protect all members of their band

Question 11

foals by two weeks of age

Answer 11

-playing with other foals, and stallions are involved in grooming the young
-not typical in captivity
-play is important for learning
-play helps learn how to balance, bite, test food

Question 12

mares social dynamic

Answer 12

-have one or two preferred social partners
-reject foals other then their own (individual recognition, smell, auditory, visual)

Question 13

herd dispersal for mares

Answer 13

-at 2-3 years of age, mares leave their original family group
-do that by:
-stallion or mare kicks them out
-stolen by another stallion

Question 14

herd dispersal for young males

Answer 14

-leave at 2-3 years but usually end up travelling in bachelor groups for 1-3 years
-stallion will kick them out
-learn to fight in batch groups

Question 15

play behaviour

Answer 15

-solitary play
~manipulative play (1 pattern)
~locomotor play (5 patterns)
-social
~non-contact play (10 patterns)
~contact play (10 patterns)
-colts play more then fillies (need to learn to fight)
-play reduced in adverse weather
-reduces stress
-dominance can be passed on

Question 16

current situation of horses

Answer 16

-many different systems for housing horses
-dependent on end use primarily
-more individual
-rely on humans
-males are kept separate from each other + females