Do olfactory behaviour and marking responses of Konik polski stallions to faeces from conspecifics of either sex differ?

This study investigates whether Konik polski stallions (adult male horses) differentiate their smell and marking response to excrement from other males and females. The study found that the stallions displayed longer smelling responses and a particular breed-specific behavior towards female horse excrement, but their marking behavior did not differ significantly regardless of the sex of the other horse. The males also exclusively urinated on female excrement, which could potentially serve as a tactic to mask female presence from rivals.

Methods Employed in the Study

• The research involved observing four adult Konik polski stallions under individual settings.
• The adult male horses were exposed to their own excrement, that of other males and of females both in and out of their oestrous cycle — a mare’s recurring physiological period of sexual receptivity.
• Observations were conducted in five series, each lasting for 30 minutes on two consecutive days from March to July, totaling in five hours for each horse.

Observations and Findings

• The stallions were observed to sniff and display the flehmen response (a curling of the upper lip in response to the smell of another horse’s excrement) significantly longer towards the faeces of females.
• However, there were no significant differences found in the stallions marking — the behavior where horses will defecate or urinate on certain spots to mark their territory — male or female excrement with their own faeces.
• The male horses were observed to exclusively urinate on female excrement.
• The flehmen response, sniffing, urinations and defecations performed towards excrement from females during oestrous or dioestrous (non-receptive period) didn’t differ significantly.

Conclusions and Hypotheses

• The results indicate that while male horses do differentiate their olfactory behavior (smelling) towards excrement of different genders, they might not differentiate towards female excrement in relation to reproductive status.
• This is the first study that establishes that stallions show different marking behavior towards excrement from males and females.
• The researchers hypothesized that marking of other male’s excrement by defecation could serve as a form of advertisement of the male’s presence in the territory. On the other hand, marking of female’s excrement by urination might serve to mask the presence of the female in the territory, preventing potential rivals from locating the female.