Stallion Mate Choice and Mare Sexual Behaviour in a Herd of Sorraia Horses (Equus caballus)

Table 3

Influence of dominance status and reproductive state on proximity of mares to the stallion during oestrus, as measured by the Mann-Whitney U-test.

	Mean ± S.D.	Dominance			Reproductive state
		𝑁D	𝑁S	U	𝑁B	𝑁F	U
Associate	0.10 ± 0.12	7	3	13	6	4	21*
Nearest neighbour	0.13 ± 0.10	7	3	19*	6	4	22*
Approaches r (h^−1)	0.19 ± 0.33	7	3	21*	6	4	20
Approaches g (h^−1)	1.01 ± 0.89	7	3	15	6	4	22*

Number of mares: 𝑁_D: dominants,𝑁_S: subordinates, 𝑁_B: barren, and 𝑁_F: with foals; r: received from the stallion, g: given to the stallion; *𝑃<.05. Time as associate and as nearest neighbour are expressed as proportions. Frequencies of approaches is measured in number of occurrences per hour.