The Lieutenant meets an Adversary

The Lieutenant runs out to meet his adversary

Stallion Encounter Part 1

The above video and the two videos below capture the drama that unfolded as we sat on a sand dune on Shackleford Banks watching the two-stallion band of feral ponies I wrote about in the two previous blog posts, see here and here. I had wanted to find this band when we set out on this particular day because I had wanted to see if the mare the lieutenant stallion had chased down the beach (see here) had rejoined his band.

When we located the band, as I had suspected, the mare was not with the band. The other mare that 12N had brought back down the beach was there. She was grazing with the band. We located the band very close to where we had seen them the first time. We sat down on a dune far enough away not to disturb them, but close enough to watch them through our binoculars, and we used the zoom lens on Bernie’s iPhone to shoot the video.
Over the course of a two-and-a-half-hour period, the following occurs, which is mostly captured on film:

1) As the five-member band consisting of three mares and the stallion, and the lieutenant stallion, graze, two new mares arrive. *Note the dark bay mare who eventually integrates into the band may be the young dark bay the stallion chased down the beach, and who we had seen arrive into the band with the pregnant bay mare the day before. I did not think they were the same dark bay horse, but upon further reflection, the behavior suggests this mare is already familiar with and affiliated with this band, so this would make sense. Or she could be a returning offspring of one of the other mares in this band. (Part 1)

2) The bay mare that does not integrate into the herd whinnies and orients to the west as she arrives. She never attempts to join the band and remains just to the east of them, grazing and remaining fairly conspicuous. The stallions never seem to notice her. While the dark bay mare moves in and among the five-member band. She greets the stallions, squeals a little, and starts grazing among the band members. (Part 1)

3) Another stallion appears on the western horizon. He has been standing there just as the mares have first arrived to our east. When the dark bay mare starts squealing as she greets the stallions in the band. The stallion on the western horizon breaks into a trot and comes towards the two-stallion band. He gets as close as he feels comfortable being and starts to graze and sniff and orient to the situation. (Part1)

4) After some time, the lieutenant stallion spots him and runs out to confront him. They greet right nostril to right nostril, posture, shove, nudge, paw, rub faces and perform the dunging ritual that stallions do to share information. The chestnut stallion kicks out and strikes at the lieutenant, but the lieutenant does not have to fight back. The lieutenant gets the approaching stallion to back off a bit, then he leaves, marking his territory some more by adding to the stud piles again and pawing. (Part 2)

5) The lieutenant stallion goes halfway back to his band and stands sentinel on a dune, splitting the rival stallion off from his band. (Part 2)

6) The lieutenant feels a need to go back and make it clear to the chestnut stallion that he must back off. He prances off, swinging his head, re-marks some of the stud piles, and re-confronts the chestnut stallion. They posture, dung and shove each other a bit more. The chestnut stallion eventually yields and turns away; after a moment or two, he walks off. The lieutenant goes back to his band and resumes grazing. (Part 3)

Stallion Encounter Part 2

Stallion Encounter Part 3