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.
- ISBN13 9781461276616
- Publish Date 22 September 2011 (first published January 1992)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Springer-Verlag New York Inc.
- Edition Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1992
- Format Paperback
- Pages 287
- Language English