Diurnal Activity Patterns of Jeju Ponies (Equus caballus)

We investigated seasonal variation of diurnal activity patterns in Jeiu ponies (Equus caballus). The data were collected from a semi-natural herd during daylight hours from March to September 1998. Over all months the mean proportion of time spent grazing was 83.7% ( $\pm$29.7 S.D.): that resting was 15.7$\pm$17%, grooming 0.7$\pm$1.2%, and moving 0.56$\pm$5.4%, Activity patterns varied with the seasons. The mean proportion of grazing mares peaked during late winter and early spring (March), when there was not enough food, and declined during other seasons (between May and September), when food was abundant. The mean proportion of mares that were resting and mutual grooming peaked in spring (April and May), at which time the weather was warm and food became abundant. During other seasons when grasses started to grow and the weather was mildly cool, these activities were less common. The mean proportion of mares that were moving peaked in June, although it was a small proportion of the total activity. For those mares without foals, resting periods were longer in older mares than in younger mares, but for the mares with foals this pattern was not evident. From these data, we hypothesize that the dominance hierarchy of the mares effects the diurnal activity pattern.