The Secret Lives of Horses 4 of 5 Part article

Persistence Prevails

Until scientists applied ethological research techniques to horses, few observers believed mares to be capable of such subtle deceit. They just weren't looking closely enough. It turns out that, unlike stallions, mares do not need to have huge fights to get what they want. Instead they use the technique of persistence. By way of example, Ransom tells the story of High Tail, a plain-Jane mare with a sagging back and poor coat. High Tail, so named because the dock of her tail sat a bit too high on her croup, is part of a population of wild horses that roam the Pryor Mountains in the American West. If you didn't know her life story, you could easily mistake her for a child's riding pony or a retired plow horse. With her glory days clearly over, you probably wouldn't give her a second glance. Yet Ransom's data showed that this mare had had a rich and varied life that involved a number of long-term male associates of her choosing.

Ransom first caught up with High Tail in 2003. The mare was passing her days in the company of Sam, a stallion born in 1991. Ransom thinks the two probably encountered each other during the wanderings of their youth. They stayed together for years. Eventually other mares joined them, forming a band. Research shows that roughly half the time mares and stallions bond in this peaceful fashion. There's no need for a stallion to “conquer” the mare; she is often a more than willing partner.

Shortly after Ransom began following High Tail and Sam's band, he noticed a second young stallion hanging around a short distance away. Sam did not welcome this new stallion, dubbed “Sitting Bull.” The more Sitting Bull tried to become part of the group, the more Sam fought him off. Sam spent a good deal of energy trying to drive away the younger stallion but to no avail.

Whenever Ransom saw High Tail's band during this period, Sitting Bull was usually there, hanging around on the outskirts, stalking the mares and dogging Sam, waiting for his chance to take over. The scientific literature contains accounts of satellite stallions learning how to cooperate with the lead stallion and thus gradually gaining the ability, on a limited basis, to mate with some mares, but this was not the case with Sam and Sitting Bull. The two fought continuously. Still, Sitting Bull stayed near, biding his time.

His chance came in 2004. Horses that live at the base of the Pryor Mountains constantly face the challenge of finding freshwater. High Tail's band often descended the steep walls of the Bighorn Canyon gorge, where they could drink their fill. One day they went down as a group. Sam did not allow Sitting Bull to come along. While the young stallion waited above, the rest of the horses stood on a small ledge and drank. Off in the distance heavy rains broke out. A flash flood inundated the gorge, cutting off the animals' escape route. For about two weeks High Tail and her band, along with Sam, remained trapped without food.

Realizing that the situation was dire, people intervened and helped them escape. The severely emaciated animals managed to climb up out of the gorge. Sam in particular had lost his muscular physique. Almost dead from starvation, he was easy pickings for Sitting Bull, who had hung around above the gorge. When the horses came up, Sitting Bull “just swooped right in and drove Sam off,” Ransom says. Sam tried repeatedly to repel his younger competitor, but he was no longer strong enough.

Adapted from The Horse: The Epic History of Our Noble Companion, by Wendy Williams