Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE

This entry was contributed to Wild Equus by Dr. Jason Ransom of Colorado State University, member and specialist of the Wild Equus Network (WEN).

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Species: Equus caballus         Subspecies/Breed/Type: American Mustang

Estimated Population size: between 80–200 horses

Country: United States

Region/Province/Range: Colorado

Population type: Free-ranging-heavily managed

Management Authority: Government Agency – Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

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Images from Jason Ransom

Details of Home Range or Territory

The Little Book Cliffs Wild Horse Range, located in Mesa County, Colorado, USA (latitude 39°12‘N, longitude 108°25‘W), consists of approximately 14,600 ha of sloping plateaus, sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) parks, and 4 major canyon systems. Elevations range from 1,500 m to 2,250 m, and the vegetation is characterized by dense stands of Colorado piñon (Pinus edulis) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma). Mean annual temperature is 11.5°C (range= -26.7– 41.1°C). Mean total annual precipitation is 235.4 mm (range=184.4–300.2 mm) and this typically falls in a monsoonal pattern of late summer rains. Pumas (Puma concolor) are present and do prey on foals, but rarely kill subadult and adult horses. Horses use all aspects of the geography, including travel routes shared with bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) on some nearly vertical cliff faces. Most horses tend to migrate to higher elevations in the summer and retreat into the canyons in winter. This area was protected for horses prior to the 1971 U.S. law that protected wild horses thanks to grassroots public interest. That interest remains today and citizens continue to monitor horses and collaborate with researchers and managers toward the stewardship of this herd.

Details of Population

The US Bureau of Land Management has managed this population with periodic round-ups, adopting removed horses to the public. Since 2003, management has more intensively been done using the immunocontraceptive PZP. Prior to PZP use, annual population growth exceeded 20% (in 2003), but between 2004-2011 when PZP was fully implemented, annual growth rate was reduced to an average of 7.6%,  resulting in less frequent round-ups.

Structure and demographics

Population size ranges from 80–200 horses and is arranged into roughly 30 bands of 2–9 horses each. Bachelors form loosely associated ephemeral bands or range independently. Most females give birth within about a 4 week time period ranging from late April to late May.

Issues worth noting and needed actions

Like most populations in the USA, available habitat for horses is finite and management is necessary to protect all natural resources while attempting to balance the multiple-use mandate for the federal lands where horses live.  The science needed for more-informed management is improving, but many obstacles persist. You can read much more in the 2013 National Research Council report “Using Science to Improve the BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program: A Way Forward”  – a free PDF is available at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13511/using-science-to-improve-the-blm-wild-horse-and-burro-program

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Additional details about this population, and specifically about behavior and fertility control, can be found in:

Ransom, J.I., Roelle, J.E., Cade, B.S., Coates-Markle, L., and A.J. Kane. 2011. Foaling rates in feral horses treated with the immunocontraceptive porcine zona pellucida. Wildlife Society Bulletin 35:343-352

Ransom, J.I., Cade, B.S., and N.T. Hobbs. 2010. Influences of immunocontraception on time budgets, social behavior, and body condition in feral horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 124:51-60

Ransom, J.I., Hobbs, N.T., and J. Bruemmer. 2013. Contraception can lead to trophic asynchrony between birth pulse and resources. PLoS ONE 8:e54972

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Feral horses of Cotopaxi WE – Entry from Javier Solis Méndez, Lucy Rees, Johanna Marlès and Juan Bermeo

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This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

Gower ponies WE

We would like to thank Equine behaviourist Jennie Nellist for registering this entry on the Gower ponies (Gower Peninsula, Wales). This is part of our ongoing Wild Equus Atlas project aiming to map and describe populations of free-living horses.

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Species: Equus caballus

Subspecies/Breed/Type Gower ponies

Country: United Kingdom

Region/Province/Range: Gower, Swansea

Population type: Free-ranging-heavily managed

Estimated Population size: over 250 horses

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Images by Jennie Nellist

Details of Population

The Gower Peninsula contains a total of 50 square kilometers of common land, split into many smaller parcels, most of which are grazed by ponies and horses. From salt marsh and sand dunes of North Gower,  heath land of Rhossili Down, the brown stone ridge and sink holes of Cefn Bryn, to the acidic moors of Welsh Moor, Pengwern, Fairwood and Clyne, Gower’s textbook fame for its remarkable geology makes sure there’s  surprising variety of habitat in an area only 19 miles long. See also.

Structure and demographics

Each common varies as to the number of ponies or horses, as well as their type or breed, sex ratio and the presence of foals and juveniles. Typically Welsh Mountain ponies are seen, with a number of active Hill Pony Improvement Societies in place – with ponies being registered with the Welsh Pony and Cob Society. There are also other Welsh ponies and cobs, cobs, cross breeds, Irish Draft horses and Shire and Shire crosses grazed on Gower commons. Some ponies are not used for breeding, are bred on private land and mares are returned to the common to give birth to and rear their young. Other scenarios include temporary turnout of a stallion over the spring and summer breeding season. Stallions may also be turned out all year round. Stallions are also abandoned by owners without common grazing rights. Over all, the population is mostly mares with geldings and stallions in the minority (tens compared to hundreds)

Issues worth noting and needed actions

There is an on going problem with abandonment of equines across the Swansea area and wider South Wales.

Further reading

Gower Commons Ponies

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

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Please share this initiative far and wide. Gracias!

This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

Baguales WE

This entry has been submitted by Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui of Horse Path Ltd.

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Species: Equus caballus

Subspecies/Breed/Type: Bagual / Creole of Patagonia

Country: Chile

Region/Province/Range: Torres del Paine National Park

Population type: Feral

Estimated Population size: between 130-150 horses (2015 estimate)

Management Authority:  Corporación Nacional Forestal (CONAF)

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Details of Population:

The herd moves through difficult terrain as one tight group with little separation between family bands, making it difficult to have a complete population count. It is not easy to recognize and identify the horses as the horses sport very similar coat colours and markings. More observations are recommended.

Preliminary evidence suggests that the herd suffers predation from puma (Puma concolor), which apparently keeps the population growth rate in check.

Structure and demographics:

From the observations made it seems that the stallion to mare ratio could be about 1,5-1,6:1. In November 2010  Horse Path Ltd. counted a total of 27 new-born foals. In February 2011, only 4 foals remained indicating a high foal mortality rate. The factors causing this high foal mortality rate are still under investigation, but it seems likely that predation by puma (Puma concolor) is the most likely cause. Stallion harrasment of mares that have recently foaled is another candidate or factor likely to cause foal deaths.

Issues worth noting and needed actions

This herd is still considered as an invasive species that need to be removed from the National Park. However, Horse Path Ltd. have been given a 1 year concession to study the horses and therefore a 10 year moratorium for possible extermination has been achieved.

Further reading

Visit the website of Horse Path Ltd. for more information. (In spanish)

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Feral horses of Cotopaxi WE – Entry from Javier Solis Méndez, Lucy Rees, Johanna Marlès and Juan Bermeo

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Please share this initiative far and wide. Gracias!

This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

Exmoor Ponies WE

This entry of the Exmoor ponies was filed by Sue McGeever of the Exmoor Pony Society, and the pictures were kindly facilitated by Tricia Gibson.

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Species: Equus caballus

Subspecies/Breed/Type Exmoor

Country: United Kingdom

Region/Province/Range: Exmoor National Park

Population type: Semi-feral / Free-ranging

Estimated Population size: about 500 registered horses (2015)

Management Authority: Exmoor Pony Society

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Images from Tricia Gibson

Details of Population

The Exmoor National Park is home to the registered Exmoor pony – one of Britain’s rare native breed recognised by the Rare Breed Survival Trust (Watchlist, Category 2 Endangered).  The Exmoor Pony Society manages the horses, and was formed in 1921 with the specific aim of ensuring that this rare native breed continues to run free on Exmoor and continues to exhibit all the traits and characteristics of its ancestors.The semi-feral herds of ponies run out all year round.  There are currently twenty herds running out on Exmoor.

Structure and demographics

There are approximately 500 ponies registered into the semi-feral herds.  There are approximately 20 stallions and 480 mares and female young-stock with the age ranging from foals to 30 plus years of age.

There are in total twenty herds belong to different moorland herd owners and these run out on different sections of Exmoor. Some herds are on single herd commons and other herds share commons with one or two other herds.  Not all of the herds are breeding herds.

Issues worth noting and needed actions

The population of registered Exmoor ponies is believed to be secure.

Further reading

Visit the Exmoor Pony Society website: Exmoor Pony Society

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Feral horses of Cotopaxi WE – Entry from Javier Solis Méndez, Lucy Rees, Johanna Marlès and Juan Bermeo

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Please share this initiative far and wide. Gracias!

This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

Tornquist feral horses WE

Atlas entry registered by Dr. Alberto Scorolli, based on work and research carried out with the feral horses at  Ernesto Tornquist Provincial Park (website).

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Country: Argentina                                                                                                       Region/Province/Range: Ernesto Tornquist Provincial Park (ETPP) – Buenos Aires

Species: Equus caballus             Subspecies/Breed/Type: Feral Creole

Estimated Population size: +/- 400 horses (2014)

Management Authority:  Ernesto Tornquist Provincial Park (ETPP)

Management Practices: Population Management Strategy is urgently needed

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Ernesto Tornquist Provincial Park (ETPP) is located in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, between 38 º 00’- 38º 07’S and 61º 52’- 62º 03’W.  This natural reserve was established in 1938 and covers 67 Km2 of hilly grassland with heights ranging between 450 and 1175 m above sea level. The climate is temperate and humid (Burgos 1968) with a mean annual rainfall of 800 mm. Rains fall mainly in spring with a second peak in autumn. Snowfalls are occasional and, in general, light. The typical vegetation is grassland steppe dominated by species of the genera Stipa and Piptochaetium (Cabrera 1976; Frangi and Bottino 1995).
This Natural Protected Area is very important for biodiversity conservation as it includes many endemic plant and animal species (Kristensen and Frangi 1995). In 1942 a small group between 5-10 horses, which became feral, were introduced to ETPP. In 1995, their descendants, 450 horses, occupied a fenced-off sector of approximately 20 Km2 (Scorolli 2007). These horses were of Creole breed, like all other feral horse populations in Argentina. This breed has originated from Spanish and Andalusian horses, of essentially African barb ancestry, brought to South America by the colonizers during the XVI century (Cabrera, 1945).

Structure and demographics

Currently approximately 40 harem-bands, most single stallion H-Bands. Population size in year 2014 400 feral horses, sex ratio 1:1. adult+sub-adult+yearling: foals (7:1).

Issues worth noting and needed actions

Current density 20 horses/km2, in year 2001-2002 population was food-limited, approaching carrying capacity and reaching 35 horses/km2 (annual mortality more than 80 horses/year).
In 2014 after a massive fire in January and a exceptionally rainy year (highest in decades) the body condition is good and the demographic potential to increase is also high!!
A Population Management Strategy is urgently needed in order to reduce current population size to appropriate levels that preclude high mortality by starvation and environmental impact in a natural protected area created by its grassland biodiversity unusual value.
There is a conflict between government authorities and some horse protection groups that see management as unacceptable.

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Bibliography and Further reading

Scorolli, A.L., A.C. Lopez Cazorla and L.A. Tejera. 2006. Unusual mass mortality of feral horses during a violent rainstorm in Parque Provincial Tornquist, Argentina. Mastozoología Neotropical 13: 255-258.
Scorolli, A.L. 2009. Feral horse management in Argentina. In 10th. International Mammalogical Congress. Mendoza, Argentina.
Scorolli A.L. y López Cazorla. 2010a. Demography of feral horses (Equus caballus): a long-term study in Tornquist Park, Argentina. Wildlife Research 37: 207-214.
Scorolli, A. and A. Lopez Cazorla. 2010b. Feral horse social stability in Tornquist Park, Argentina. Mastozoología Neotropical 17 (2): 391-396.
Scorolli, A.L. 2012. Feral horse demography and management in Tornquist Park, Argentina.  International Wild Equid Conference. VetMedUni, Viena.
Scorolli, A.L. 2012. Feral horse body condition: a useful tool for population management?. International Wild Equid Conference. VetMedUni, Viena.
About potential environmental impact
de Villalobos, A.E. and S.M. Zalba. 2010. Continuous feral horses grazing and grazing exclusion in mountain pampean grasslands in Argentina. Acta Oecologica 36: 514-519.
de Villalobos, A.E., S.M. Zalba and D.V. Peláez. 2011. Pinus halepensis invasion in mountain pampean grassland: Effects of feral horses grazing on seedling establishment. Environmental Research 111: 953-959.
Loydi, A. and S.M. Zalba. 2009. Feral horses dung piles as invasion windows in natural grasslands. Plant Ecology 201: 471-480.
Loidy, A. and R.A. Distel. 2010. Diversidad florística bajo diferentes intensidades de pastoreo por grandes herbívoros en pastizales serranos del Sistema de Ventania, Buenos Aires. Ecología Austral 20: 281-291.
Loidy, A., R.A. Distel and S.M. Zalba. 2010. Large herbivore grazing and non-native plant invasions in montane grasslands of central Argentina. Natural Areas Journal, 30(2): 148-155.
Zalba S.M. and N. Cozzani. 2004. The impact of feral horses on grassland bird communities in Argentina. Animal Conservation 7: 35-44.

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

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Please share this initiative far and wide. Gracias!

This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

Sabucedo horses WE

We would like to thank Ivan Sanmartin Eirin and the Asociación Rapa das Bestas for filing this entry.

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Species: Equus caballus

Subspecies/Breed/Type

The horses of Sabucedo, like many horses in the Galician hills are of pony type. It has been proposed that some of these horses may actually be a subspecies of wild horse, Equus ferus atlanticus (Barcena, 2011). However these claims are pending DNA testing.

Country: Spain

Region/Province/Range: Mountains around Sabucedo, Estrada, Cuntis, Moranha, Campo Lameiro, Cerdedo, Forcarei, all of which are in the province of Pontevedra

Population type: Semi-feral

Estimated Population size: about 400 horses (2015)

Management Authority: Private association: Asociación Rapa das Bestas de Sabucedo

Management Practices: Yearly round.ups – Micro-chipping – Ear clipping – Parasite control – removal of foals

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Images by Victor Ros

Details of Population:

The horses running freely around Sabucedo have been doing so since at least the 16th century when, according to legend, some horses were set free in the mountains as an offering to St. Lorenzo to protect the people from a plague. Since then, horses are rounded up and driven down to the town of Sabucedo for the annual Rapa das bestas (shearing of the beasts) festival. During the ‘Rapa’, horses manes and tails are sheared, ears clipped, and some horses are removed from the herd to keep the population number at bay.

Structure and demographics

Approximately 300 mares, their offspring (n=85) and 15 stallions live freely in the mountains surrounding the town of Sabucedo. Given the mare-stallion ratio, it is customary to find all mare groups wandering the hills with their young.

Issues worth noting and needed actions

These horses are not afforded any legal protection and are allegedly under threat from encroaching cow ranchers.

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Feral horses of Cotopaxi WE – Entry from Javier Solis Méndez, Lucy Rees, Johanna Marlès and Juan Bermeo

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Please share this initiative far and wide. Gracias!

This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

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Affiliative (af)

A review of literature on the social behaviour of horses is likely to lead many to think equine society is governed solely by the establishment of social hierarchies, usually based on the outcomes of social conflict or competition, commonly referred to as agonistic behaviour.

The description of animal societies is mainly based on agonistic classifications, in which cooperation and affiliative behaviour were overshadowed by the competition-aggression-reconciliation paradigm generally emphasized by many writers.

Affiliative interactions [af] refer to the activities between two or more (dyadic, triadic, poliadic) individuals within a social group with the function of developing, maintaining or enhancing social bonds. {Equus Ethogram Project}

Affiliative is from Medieval Latin; affiliatus, past participle of affiliare to adopt as a son, from Latin ad- + filius son

Indeed, agonistic and affiliative behaviour are inextricably intertwined (Price & Sloman, 1993) in the complexity of social interactions, making it a laborious task to filter away the units of behaviour neatly into separate compartments for either one type of interaction, or the other.

Social interactions lay on a behavioural continuum, a continuous stream of movements  (Fentress, 1990; MacNulty et al, 2007) or spectrums of behavior (Abrantes, 2011):

“The distinction between any two behaviour is a matter of function; the borderline separating one category from the other is a matter of observational skill, contextual parameters and convention; the way we understand it all is a matter of definition.” (Abrantes, 2011)

For instance, in the ‘Agonistic ethogram of the equid bachelor band’ published by McDonnell & Haviland (1994), agonistic encounters were considered based on their intensity, running or flowing across a spectrum from “very quiet affiliative behaviour to serious aggression” (McDonnell & Haviland, 1994).

In this Equus Ethogram Project, affiliative interactions will be classified separately from agonistic ones, at least when at all possible. A host of authors have extracted units of agonistic behaviours from the interwoven fabric of equine social interactions, so it should be likewise possible to extract those other units of behaviour which promote group cohesion: affiliative behaviours.

The results of a growing body of research on free-living mammals suggests that affiliative social interactions, those enhancing social bonds, have important fitness consequences for individuals ( Swedell, 2002; Weidt et al, 2007; Silk et al. 2003, 2010; Cameron et al. 2009; Frere et al. 2010; Wey & Blumstein 2012) engaged in them.

In horses as in most social mammals, affiliative interactions are usually described by mutual grooming, play and group resting. This ethogram considers including more subtle forms of affiliative behaviour, such as the frequency or duration one individual is found sharing close proximity with others as an indication of their level of bonding (Hinde 1976; Garai 1992; Kleindorfer &Wasser 2004).

This Equus Ethogram Project is an on-going work, and the general framework, or particular sections and pages will be updated as new light is shed or brought to our knowledge.

Cumberland Island horses WE

Species: Equus caballus

Subspecies/Breed/Type

Country: United States of America

Region/Province/Range: Georgia – Cumberland Island

Population type: Feral

Estimated Population size: about 170 horses (2010)

Management Authority: Cumberland Island National Seashore  National Park Service

Management Practices: Yearly Population Census

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Details of Population

Horses have been on Cumberland Island at least since the 1700s. The current population however is likely the result of breeding with post-1900 introductions to the island. Genetic analysis has revealed that the horses on Cumberland Island resemble several current domestic breeds. (Goodloe et al, 1991)

This population is considered feral, free-ranging and unmanaged, with no supplementary feeding or veterinary care.

The park conducts a census every spring to monitor the population. Based on data from the last 12 years, the herd appears to be stable at approximately 175 animals. From 186 horses tallied in 1986, the population grew to about 220 horses in 1990. However, in 1991, 18% of the herd, about 40 horses, died as a result of an outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis. The latest census (2010) accounted for 121 horses. However, it generally considered that a further 50 horses where not accounted for in the 2010 census, and adding these would take the population to about 170 individuals.

Structure and demographics

Cumberland horses live in typical Harem formations and multi-stallion bands (n=37), all female groups (n=2) and a number of bachelor groups (Goodloe 1991). The mares to stallions ratio was 0.6 females:1.0 males (Goodloe 1991; Goodloe et al, 2000). Average multi-stallion band size was 4.6 horses. Up to 32% of the Cumberland Island Population was comprised of Sub-adults. 54% of stallions travelled in bachelor groups (Goodloe 1991; Goodloe et al, 2000)..

Issues worth noting and needed actions

Not applicable.

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If you have further information or images you would like to share please contact us by email.

More entries to the Wild Equus Atlas;

Venezuelan Creoles WE – Entry from Dr. Jose Luis Canelon

Pottoka Piornal ponies WE – Entry from Lucy Ress

Pryor Mountain wild horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

McCullough Peaks horses – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Aveto horses (WE) – Entry from Evelina Isola

Galician wild ponies WE – Entry from Dr. Laura Lagos

Namibia Desert horses WE – Entry from Dr. Telané Greyling

Delft Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Little Book Cliffs Wild Horses WE – Entry from Dr. Jason Ransom

Gower ponies WE – Entry from Jennie Nellist

Baguales WE – Entry from Dr. Victor Moraga and Enrique Zunzunegui

Exmoor Ponies WE – Entry from Sue McGeever

Tornquist feral horses WE – Entry from Dr. Alberto Scorolli

Sabucedo horses WE – Entry from Ivan Sanmartin Eirin

Cumberland Island horses WE – Entry from Wild Equus

Feral horses of Cotopaxi WE – Entry from Javier Solis Méndez, Lucy Rees, Johanna Marlès and Juan Bermeo

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Please share this initiative far and wide. Gracias!

This is an ongoing work, and as such, will be updated regularly as new information is made available.

Bibliography:

Goodloe, R. B. (1991) Immunocontraception, genetic management, and demography of feral horses on four eastern U.S. barrier islands. Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. Georgia, Athens. 150Pp

Goodloe, R. B. et al. (1991) Genetic Variation and its management applications in Eastern U.S. feral horses. J. Wildl. Manage. 55(3)

Goodloe, R.B., Warren, R.J., Osborn, D.A., and Hall, C. (2000) Population characteristics of feral horses on Cumberland Island and their management implications. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 64: 114-121.

Turner, M.G. (1987) Effects of grazing by feral horses, clipping, trampling, and burning on a Georgia salt marsh. Estuaries and Coasts, 10: 54-60.

Turner, M.G. (1988) Simulation and management implications of feral horse grazing on Cumberland Island, Georgia. J. Range Manage. 41:441- 447.

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Further reading:

Position Paper: Wetland Impacts from Feral Horses, Cumberland Island National Shoreline

Wild Horses in a Georgia Wilderness? Cumberland Island National Seashore Completes Annual Count

Feral animals on Cumberland Island

Horses Gone Wild

Huddling (hd)

A huddle is characterized by individuals crowding or gathering together. Most often, huddles are linked to thermoregulatory processes, and this social thermoregulation, or “(…) the ability of some species to use sociality or grouping to regulate their body temperature” (Gilbert, 2010), is a common energy saving strategy for many endothermic species (Canals, 1998; Alberts, 1978).

By bunching together, individuals reduce the body surface area exposed to inclement weather, consequently reducing energy spent in regaining a conservative equilibrium (Humphreys, 1933), or homoeostases.

In terms of horses huddling as a means of social thermoregulation, there really is very little work done. During cold weather horses have been observed to huddle or crowd together, on windy or rainy days; horses typically stand close to one another with “backs to weather” or “backs to natural windbreak”, as described by McDonnell (2003):

Backs to weather – Typically observed during windy or rainy days, Two or more horses stand closely together with their “(…) hindquarters into the wind.” (from the Equid Ethogram p. 79)

Backs to natural windbreak – Two or more horses stand closely together with their “(…) hindquarters protected from the wind by vegetation or other feature of the environment.” (from the Equid Ethogram p. 78)

McDonnell (2003), suggests that the backs to weather behaviour reduces the body surface area exposed to inclement weather, thus minimizing heat loss; in short it serves a thermoregulatory function.

In horses, the social bonds between unrelated mares, friendships, contribute to reproductive success as suggested by Cameron et al (2009) in a study on the Kaimanawa feral horses of New Zealand.

Horses have preferred partners within their band or herd with whom they associate more often with than other members of the group. Claudia Feh (1987), found that in the Camargue horses, horses had up to two, rarely three, preferred partners. These affiliative interactions are characterized by individuals sharing “personal space” (Dierendonck & Goodwin, 1992), and synchronizing activities.

Despite huddles not being extensively studied in horses, it is frequently mentioned in equid related literature, especially regards to group rest (Tyler, 1972; McDonnell, 2003; Ransom & Cade, 2009), or social grooming such as in mutual insect control. (McDonnell, 2003; Ransom & Cade, 2009)

Before going any further, let’s differentiate two types of huddles, namely; tight huddles and loose ones (Behnke, 2012). Tight huddles are those in which the majority of group members are in physical contact with one another, or separated by < 50 cms, leaving no gaps between individuals (Behnke, 2012). In contrast, loose huddles are those in which the majority of group members are in close proximity; from > 50 cms to < 150 cms, but not in physical contact with one another. Both between individual distances are currently in use in the ongoing Equus Ethogram Project.

Whether horses are grouped tightly or loosely may seem trivial, but for the sake of alienating the functional characteristics of different huddles, and their forms, the distances between individuals is likely of prime importance.

Horses huddle loosely (Criollos-Venezuela)

A tight huddle of horses in the Los Llanos flood plains. Photo by: Victor Ros Please respect © Copyright!

Loosely huddled Koniks

Koniks huddled in Oostvaardenplasser

Horses huddletightly (Criollos-Venezuela)

A Pottoka band huddled under the shade of an oaktree forest in the Sierra of Extremadura. This is an example of a tight huddle, wherein members of the group are in physical contact with one another. In this case we see a band stallion facing us while having flies conveniently swatted off his face by his 4 month old daughter.

In tightly huddled horses, insect control is facilitated between group members. (Ransom & Cade, 2009) Several studies suggest that animals tend to group together when biting fly density or harassment is high (Bergerund, 1974; Schmidtmann and Valla, 1982; Rutberg, 1987; Rubenstein and Hohmann, 1989).

In the warmer months, which tend to correlate with an increase in insect harassment, two or more horses stand close together, typically tail to shoulder to the nearest neighbour. This is usually referred to as anti-parallel standing. In this position, individuals take advantage of one’s proximity to another to keep pesky biting insects at bay. Typically, horses have flies swished from their faces by the tail of a neighbour, but this can also be achieved by rubbing or bumping those close by.

My mentor Lucy Rees, suggests a ,’piña’ as a structured post-stampede huddle likely linked to social bonding. In these ‘piñas’ the orientation of the band stallion to the breeze is such that the huddled band is in position to inhale the scent of the stallion and may ultimately function to reaffirm band unity with him after a haphazard stampede and a return to calm.

Caging horses

Standard practice in the horse world still to often dictates that horses be stabled, and provided with food, water and a place to rest. This minimalistic requirement for keeping horses in stables is a clear limiting factor for the horse’s expression of normal behavioral repertoires which undoubtedly compromises well-being and welfare.

A stall, whether you are selling vegetables in a local market, or using the same for confining your horse, usually refers to a small compartment. Small compartments for confining animals are referred to as cages.

Even the best of stalls are just glorified animal compartments, barren environments where horses are incapable of, or not allowed to, interact naturally with conspecifics or carry out the daily activities they would engage in, in free living or even enriched conditions.

This may be quite hard to digest for the majority of “naked apes”, as our life history is quite different to theirs.  With best intentions in mind, we confine them from extreme weather, keep them away from other horses that could potentially injure them, and lock them up for their own well-being, and of course our own peace of mind. We strive to feed them the best quality feed, usually the expensive stuff, based on counsel from professionals or even just because that is what has always been done.

Confinement in cages, stalls or even aquariums in most cases prevents animals from engaging in behaviors exhibited when living in free conditions and this in turn is well known to cause suffering and distress.

Lately there has been a huge interest in improving the quality of life of captive and domestic animals which have led to the development of environmental enrichment, which in turn offer stimulation and opportunities to express species-specific behaviors.

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  A foal sandwiched by moms tail

An example from the father of Zoo Biology, Heini Hediger (1955), was an enrichment he provided in the Zurich Zoo to captive zebras.  During one of his trips to Africa, he noticed that many termite mound tops had been polished or rubbed away. Zebras would come along and rub themselves on these mounds as part of their grooming activities. In the zebra enclosure back in the Zurich Zoo, a cement make-believe termite mound was placed and the zebra were reported to be so excited by this enrichment that they rushed to it with such enthusiasm as to topple them over. Once these makeshift mounds were reinforced, Hediger reported that the mound “has been in daily use ever since” (Hediger, 1955).

On another note, Ernst Inhelder, a Swiss zoologist, studied species kept in impoverished or barren enclosures. He noted that animals kept in these conditions carried out repetitive stereotyped meaningless activities, such as walking back and forth a short distance, literally treading on their own footsteps.

Similar studies were carried out on laboratory animals and for example; rabbits were found to head sway, bite bars or walk in circles. (Morton et al., 1993). The same was true for birds (Morris,1966), carnivores (Fox, 1986), rodents (Baenninger, 1967; Wiedenmayer, 1987; Würbel et al., 1998; Callard et al., 2000; Reinhardt and Reinhardt, 2001a) and primates (Erwin and Deni, 1979; Poole, 1988; Harris, 1989).

In an attempt to improve conditions through cage size, Galef and Durlach (1993) as well as Bayne and McCully (1989), found that cage size does not necessarily reduce stereotypy. This is to be expected as it is the impoverished environment that is likely to be causing the stereotypies and not only the size of the cage.

Open stalls, or mini paddocks have been recently provisioned in many riding centers, precisely in an attempt to enrich the life of their horses. These open compartments are still barren and lack enrichment, especially of the social kind. But they are better than a kick in the bum!

A stereotypy is a ritualistic and repetitive type of behavior that serves no apparent function.  Here a quote from Katherine Houpt:

“For years, we’ve called behaviors like these stall or stable “vices.” The first part of the name is right—with the exception of fence-walking, a horse doesn’t do these things unless he’s in a stall. But the “vice” part isn’t correct, according to modern research, which indicates these actually aren’t bad habits per se, but simply the reactions of horses that aren’t getting what they need.” Katherine Houpt, from Stable Vice or Stereotypie?

Despite domestication, animals largely retain the basic behavioral repertoire of their wild counterparts. There is little evidence suggesting that the process of domestication has resulted in the loss of behaviors from the species specific repertoire (Price, 1999), or that basic motor patterns associated with the species repertoire have changed (Scott & Fuller, 1965; Hale, 1969; Miller, 1977).

“Domestic animals are sometimes provided with an environment that is physically similar to the habitat of their wild ancestors. Behavioral and physiological adaptations to such an environment will be readily achieved. Very often, however, the captive environment does not match the ancestral environment and adaptation is challenged. “ (Price,  1999)

It is no surprise that when these animals are taken out of their “boring”, isolated and rather barren confines most will react to novel stimuli with fearful or even aggressive behavior. It seems that horses “(…) show a compensatory increase in activity when released from their stalls (Houpt et al., 2001).

Social isolation is a disturbing experience for horses, and isolated subjects show behavioral and physiological stress reactions (Mal et al., 1991).

It is in the light of all exposed above that we must consider that horses confined or isolated in barren environments such as those of conventional battery stalls, or cages are insufficient in providing desirable behavioral well-being, as they cannot perform the majority of their species specific behavior, fleeing, engaging in normal social behavior, explore the environment, exercise or even graze or walk.

In the end, it is really up to you whether you decide to cage your horse or not.