Methods
Individually the three of us watched 2 videos of domestic Morgan horses, Equus-caballus, at the UMass Hadley Farm. Both videos had two mares and two foals of about 6 months old. We individually watched and observed the behaviors of the four horses for 48 minutes and 35 seconds, created a list of behaviors, and recorded the time each behavior occurred. We compared our lists and compiled all the behaviors into one table and categorized them into 6 categories: grooming, locomotion, playing, feeding, comfort, and body positioning. We determined the categories by grouping like behaviors together and establishing certain characteristics of each category. Grooming was categorized by the horse gnawing at himself or licking. Locomotion was categorized by moving locations. Playing included interaction with other horses by nudging, jumping, or gnawing. Feeding was categorized by behaviors that included the horse’s head touching the grass and the ground. Comfort included behaviors that involve just the horse, such as tail waving, or interactions between the foal and the mare. We categorized body positioning as movements to the horse’s posture while they remained stationary. We rewatched the videos and took a screenshot of the behaviors at the time that we observed each behavior. The screenshots were placed into the table and a description of each behavior was formulated. We organized the table by the category and within each category, the behaviors appear chronologically.
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