Horses and Grasses

Book excerpt: In 1973, a herd of Camargue horses was released into a nature reserve in the Rhone delta of France. The comprehensive long-term study of the resulting population eruption provided the opportunity for a unique analysis of the feeding ecology of free-ranging horses. Horses and Grasses summarizes the study covering digestive physiology, behavior, growth, and demography of wild horses and zebras. It examines how these equids are affected by variations in abundance and quality of grasses and in turn, how grazing affects the plant communities. The book also provides insight into the consequences of the hind-gut fermentation system for equid behavior and ecology and contrasts this feeding strategy with that of the recently evolved, highly successful grazing bovids.