Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Fighting Stallions of Sand Wash Basin challenge painting #113

Davy G or Davy Greasewood

Meet and Greet
Unfinished
Featuring Davy G
8 by 10 Oil Painting by LindaLMartin, Artist
Tonight's painting will actually be the subject of two posts. One post tonight features Davy Greasewood and tomorrow the stallion who he is sparring with. The painting is of course unfinished.

The topic tonight and tomorrow is of the boundaries that stallions set for their own territory and how close they will allow another stallion.  This is an invisible line of demarcation that stallions for the most part observe during their every day range life, however should the opportunity arise they will  breach that line in order to add more mares to their harem.

The dance usually starts with stallions meeting at the invisible line. They will sniff each other in greeting. There maybe be some head shaking. Usually there will be  some squealing, usually some striking out while squealing, a little foot stamping  and the dramatic dance of mirroring each other with intermittent squealing. Sometimes we call  it posturing however with band stallions it generally ends with one or the other stallion leaving a deliberately placed manure pile as a warning that if the other stallion goes over that line there will be a fight.

For some more tolerant stallions that line might be relatively close. For those who are more powerful and dominant they will insist upon more distance between competing stallions and their bands. Any stallion who disrespects the boundary will be severely punished. Generally a nip on the rump and a good chase is sufficient. But younger stallions will not only violate the boundaries, they will worry a patient band stallion until they provoke a fight.

The following video shows the young stallion Voodoo  invade the space of  The black stallion, Bear,  and a gray stallion that might be Centauro. There is also a brief cameo of Picasso who stomps and squeals as a warning not to even come near him. The Video was produced by Nancy Roberts on one of her  visits to the Sand Wash Basin. 

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