Patterns of stallion sexual behaviour in the absence of mares.

This research presents a study of the sexual behaviours of adult and young stallions in different scenarios including the absence of females. Key observations include stallion reactions to sexual stimuli before and after breeding season, their sexual arousal patterns towards different simulated stimuli, and analyses of stallion erection and masturbation occurrences within a 24-hour period.

Stallions’ responses to Sex Stimuli Pre and Post Breeding Season

• The researchers monitored the reactions of 93 adult stallions to both simulated and natural sexual stimuli in two separate periods – just before and two weeks after breeding season (December and July respectively).
• The observations indicated that roughly 72% of the stallions responded in an identical manner pre and post breeding season. This was a statistically significant observation (with P value less than 0.01), which indicated that this similarity in behavior was not due to random chance.
• The rest of the stallions (28%) demonstrated mixed behaviors, where 9% exhibited relatively similar reactions and 19% displayed completely different responses.

Stallions’ Interaction with Simulated Sexual Stimuli

• A series of three simulated sexual stimuli were introduced to the stallions after which their reactions were observed.
• The first of these stimuli was a dummy, to which 25% of the stallions reacted with sexual arousal, i.e., mounting. Following this, 44% of the remaining stallions reacted in the same way to a gentle stallion, and finally, an additional 3% responded to a dummy that had been marked with mucus and the urine of an oestrous mare.

Sexual Activities in Absence of Mares

• As part of another experiment, the researchers observed the sexual behavior of 4 young stallions and 3 older stallions while they were stabled with no contact with mares.
• Findings showed that an average stallion had 7.4 erection instances in a 24-hour period, with an average of full erections being 3.8 times. Attempted masturbation was observed on average about 4.1 times within the 24-hour period.
• However, full masturbation leading to ejaculation was only sporadically noted and not a regular occurrence.
• The total time of erection across one day averaged 38 minutes. This peak time for erections was typically in the morning, with the lowest instances recorded during the night and early morning hours between 05:00-08:00.
• The researchers found no significant difference between the behaviors of young and adult stallions, although individual variations were present.