Abstract: Eight pairs of pony mares were observed. Members of a pair were housed in adjacent stalls and fed hay ad libitum. The behavior of both ponies was recorded simultaneously in the morning (1000 to 1200 h) and afternoon (1400 to 1600 h) for a total of 117 h. The time budget was: 70.1 {+/-} 8.6% eating; 17.8 {+/-} 7.4% standing (including stand rest, stand alert and stand nonajert); 5.2 {+/-} 7.0% pushing hay; 2.9 {+/-} 1.2% walking; 1.9 {+/-} 2.9% drinking; 1.3 {+/-} 1.1% self-grooming; .2 {+/-} .3% defecating; .06 {+/-} .1% chewing nonfood items; .06 {+/-} .03% urination; .06 {+/-} .1% licking salt; .07 {+/-} .1% pawing hay; .6 {+/-} .7% lying and .07 {+/-} .08% stretching the neck over the stall wall dividing the ponies. While eating, the ponies lifted their heads 25.4 {+/-} 11.0 times/h. In less than one-half of the occasions when urination or defecation was observed, the ponies walked away from the spot where they had been eating to eliminate. During one-half of the observations, visual contact between the ponies was prevented by a solid partition between the stalls. The ponies spent significantly more time standing nonalert when the partition prevented visual contact (12 {+/-} 7%) than when visual contact could take place (6 {+/-} 3%, P<.05). When fresh hay was supplied in the mornings, the ponies spent similar amounts of time eating whether visual contact was allowed or not, but in the afternoon significantly more time was spent feeding when visual contact was allowed (73 {+/-} 4%) than when it was not (60 {+/-} 7%). Less time was spent eating, in the absence of visual contact, despite the presence of auditory and olfactory contact. Apparently social facilitation is important in maintaining feeding behavior in ponies. N1 -

Abstract: In colts and fillies observed from birth to 24 weeks old, coprophagy occurred from Weeks 1 to 19. Its frequency was greatest during the first two months. Coprophagy was rarely observed in mares and stallions. Foals usually ate the faeces of their mother but were observed to eat their own and those of a stallion and another unrelated mare. Urination by the foal occurred before, during or after 26 per cent of the coprophagy incidents. It is hypothesised that foals may consume faeces in response to a maternal pheromone which signals the presence of deoxycholic acid or other acids which the foal may be deficient in and which it may require for gut immuno-competence myelination of the nervous system. Such a pheromone may also serve to accelerate growth and sexual maturation. Coprophagy may also provide nutrients and introduce normal bacterial flora to the gut.

Abstract: In summary, horses spend 60% or more of their time eating when grazing or when feed is available free choice. Grasses are their preferred food, but they supplement the grass with herbs and woody plants. Sweetened mixtures of oats and corn are the most preferred concentrate. Horses can increase or decrease the time spent eating and amount eaten to maintain caloric intake. Their intake is stimulated by drugs such as diazepam and by the presence of other horses. Horses stop eating when gastric osmolality increases; increases in plasma osmolality, protein, and glucose accompany digestion. Foals eat several times an hour and begin sampling solid food at the same time that their dam is eating. Several areas of particular importance to the equine industry have not been investigated. These areas include the effect of exercise on short- and long-term food intake and the influence of reproductive state on the feeding of mares.

Abstract: It is unknown whether or not wild horses“ instinct has remained during their centuries of taming. The knowledge of this matter gives riders the opportunity of knowing more not only about horse behavior but also about horse and rider safety. In the current research we try to study behavior of the two Iranian horse breed (Asil & Caspian) in confrontation with stimuli from predators. We explored which kind of stimuli (olfactory stimuli accompanied by auditory stimuli) affects horses more. We groupe horses based on breed, sex and age. All horses are adult. The test area is a room that equipped with ventilator, speaker, and other facilities that needs. The time spent in the test area varies between 5 and 20 min .The experiments were designed to investigate behavioral responses (locomotive activity ( standing , walk , trot , and exploration), eliminatory behavior (defecation, urination)) and physiological responses (measure and record of adrenalin dosages in blood samples before and after facing to stimuli and measured blood”s glucose and cortisol too) of horses to novel auditory and olfactory stimuli.
We explored which kind of stimuli(Olfactory stimuli or auditory stimuli) affects horses more. The experiments were carried out under standardized conditions a total of 60 horses (30 Caspian ponies and 30 Asil horses), of different ages.
We investigated how horses respond to two predator animals" (wolf and Iranian leopard) olfactory and auditory stimulus. The olfactory stimuli were: A: Urine /feces stimuli, B: Fur-derived stimuli. And The auditory stimulus were sound of wolf and Iranian Leopard.

Abstract: Mares quickly form a bond with their foals, probably within the first hour. They lick the foal usually beginning at the tail end, then the head and later the body of the foal. Licking behavior disappears within the first hours in most mares. Once the bond is formed the mare will let no other foal nurse and stays within a meter of the foal most of the time during the first week. The foal follows her when awake, but when he sleeps she stands over him. As the foal matures the distance the mare maintains from the foals get longer and she may graze as he sleeps. The bond of the mother to the foal gradually weakens as revealed by her response to separation from the foal. Weaning usually takes place shortly before the birth of the next foal. Some mares will attempt to steal foals and this can lead to injury of either the mares or the foal. Because of the strong and exclusive bond of most mares to their foal, foal rejection is especially abnormal. It occurs in some breeds more frequently than others, indicating a heritable component. Arabian mares reject 5% of their foals and other breeds reject less than 2%. There are three types of foal rejection- simple fear of the foal that can be quickly solved by holding the mare so the foal can suckle. The mare learns that nursing is pleasurable. This process usually takes only a few hours of holding the mare because foals suckle so frequently- about four times an hours. The second form of foal rejection is avoidance of tactile stimulation of the inguinal fold. When the foal attempts to suckle he usually strikes that skin fold and causes the mare to cow kick and move away. Desensitization to stimulation of the inguinal fold can solve this problem in a few hours. Treatment is more complex and longer for mares that are aggressive to the foal even when it does not touch them. This type of foal rejection can be treated with drugs that inhibit dopamine such as acepromazine-not the alpha adrenergic agent xylazine. Dopamine inhibits the pituitary hormone prolactin, a putative maternal hormone, which increases milk production. Blocking dopamine will increase prolactin. The mare should always have visual contact with the foal, but be restrained so she can not bite or kick the foal. A pole across the stall confining the mare against a wall is best. Maternal behavior can be induced in non-pregnant mares using injections of estrogen, progesterone, and the dopamine inhibitor sulpiride. Once lactation begins cervical stimulation can be used to elicit maternal behavior toward the next foal the mare sees.