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The Position of the Stallion in the Equine Dominance Hierarchy of Feral and Domestic Ponies¹

Cornell University², Ithaca, NY 14853 and and The Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto 17237

Abstract

Dominance hierarchies were determined in three herds of feral horses living on Assateague Island and in three herds of domestic horses at Cornell University. The herds varied in size from six to 10 ponies. The animals ranged in age from 1 to 15 yr and consisted of at least one stallion and several mares. Some herds contained geldings. Field observation during the summer of all social interactions was used to determine dominance in the feral herds, and paired feeding competitions were used to determine dominance in the domestic herds. The stallions were neither the dominant nor the most aggressive animals in these herds, and were subordinate to some mares in all the herds. Within the feral herds, the herd stallion ranked fourth in one herd of eight, fifth in another herd of seven and fourth in a third herd of six. In each of the three domestic herds, a gelding was the highest ranking animal. In a herd of seven animals, stallions ranked third and fourth. In a herd of six animals, the stallion, a subadult, ranked last. In a herd of 10 animals, one stallion ranked fifth and the three others were the lowest ranking animals. There were positive, but nonsignificant correlations between rank and weight in the domestic horses. There was a much higher level of aggression among the domestic herds in a paired feeding situation (47 aggressive acts/h) than among the free-ranging herds in a grazing situation (13 aggressive acts/h). Neither among the domestic horses nor among the feral horses was the stallion the dominant animal.

¹ This study was supported in part by the Morris Animal Foundation. We wish to thank Mr. D. E. Walters of The Agricultural Research Council Statistics Group, Univ. of Cambridge, for analyzing the results and Dr. Venera Martinisi for assisting with the experiments. We would also like to thank Drs. Bob Baldwin, T. R. Houpt, Peter Jewell and John Pollack for their advice.

² Dept. of Physiol., College of Vet. Med.

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