Equine Behvaiour Flashcards
what types of groups can be found in horses?
single male harem bands most common
stable hierarchcies - particularly females
multi-male bands, but only dominant stallion breeds
bachelor
what are home ranges and why are they needed
spacial ranges that they protect
use it for food source, water and shelter
how does the size of the group fluctuate
depends on where they are and climate
the bigger the group the more control they have over resources
- types: mountain and desert groups and island groups (limited resources)
what typical behaviours are shown with high insect populations
they are close together to keep from getting bitten
what causes changes in groups
death or birth
young moving from one band to another
how does age effect group structure
young mares - driven out by older mares or taken by other stallions
young stallions - leave voluntarily or driven out by stallion
What happens when ranges overlap
stallions fighting (usually mock fighting) - in confinement where males cannot escape, leads to real fighting and injury
what types of hierarchies can be seen
feral - stallions dominant over femals
commericial - sometimes geldings dominant
what can rank be effected by
prior fighting experience
skill
strength
stamina
rank appears to be inherited
tollerance and attachment relationships
what happens in male to male interactions
dominant stallions do most of the breeding - some younger mares might be allowed to breed with younger stallions
dominant stallions patrols by defending the edges
what happens in male-female interactions
mating purposes
more interested by the male preceding oestrus
approaches the mare (high ppsture, exaggerated gait whinnies and nickers)
either accepts
what happens in female - female interactions
pair bonds - grooming
big part of group cohesion
how do horses see
large eyes on either side of their heads - wide visual field
2 blind spots - right behind, where rider would sit
right infront, what they are eating
they have monocular vision - wide field of vision to watch herd and watch for prey
how can head postion effect vision
head down the near vision is good
head up - the horse can see long distances
what is the difference between cones and rods
rods - good for night vision, important for predator control and group cohesion during the night period
cones - colours - but large disagreement as to what colours are seen
how do horses communicate? what visual signals should you look for
facial movements - relaxing or tensing of muscles around nostile, mouth and chin
clenched jaw, dilated nostrils
fixed stare
what levels of aggression are there and what are the signs
mild - lating back both ears and moving mouth towards stimulus (might bite)
tail swish - irritation (if this doesnt work they may kick with back legs )
high arousal state - head and tail held high, elevated paces
what does dropping head/tail ?
depression, pain or distress
what are the facial expressions
wrinkled nose - before a bite
drooping lower lip - relaxed
shape of mouth, eyelids and nostils can change during certain encounters
why do ears rotate
determine the location of sound
4 basic types of vocaliztion
nicker - low pitched pulsating, closed mouth (greeting maintaining contact before feeding)
whinny (neigh) - loud
squeal - agressive contacts (mating)
groan - confort or distress and discomfort
other sounds
snort
blow
what are the smell and taste
scent mark
use scetn to identify their young
groups scents
hating - mares indicate receptivity through pheromones in urine
what is smell used for
to identify environemtn - sniff through long nasal passages - intensifies the smell
vomeronasal organ - pheromone detection
