To begin assessing the wide variety found within the Pony species, one must begin by analyzing the very origin of them all, the humble Equus. These creatures once inhabited all of the then much larger Equestrian continent, with the largest groups inhabiting the open grasslands of central Equestria. They, like the modern Pony, were cloven hooved, with horizontal pupils, and a lion-like tail that varied in length from one individual to the next. These hearty and strong beasts were, like their descendants, matriarchal. An elder mare and her female kin and offspring would make up the primary population of the herd, with mature males only contributing to the group when siring and protecting their offspring. The Equus lifespan was much shorter than that of the modern Pony, with the eldest recorded individuals reaching a mere 30 years compared to the 150 to 200 years a Pony can achieve through good health and magic.

1) an Equus mare and her foal. Equus coats came in a variety of unnatural colors alongside the natural ones that are common in our world. Common coat colors were green, yellow, and gray-blue. Equus mares were the leaders of their groups, with an older mare and her kin leading a group of up to 100 individuals. Fillies would stay with their birth herd when they mature, and colts would join bachelor herds after reaching maturity.

2) an equus stallion in a threat display, rearing up to strike at other males with his front hooves or to bite them. In the spring, when mares were open to suitors, males in bachelor herds would approach herds and court many mares at the same time, father foals, and then stay through the winter months to protect the mares until foaling in the following spring. Securing a mate was vital for survival and a long life for stallions. Bachelor herds fair well in winter, but will often cast out the very young, very old, and sickly males when times get tough.

2.5) our same male after securing a mate in this lavender mare. Courting is very intense, with a stallion pursuing a female day and night for many weeks until she either lashed out and sent him away, or accepted him. From there the pair temporarily leaves he herd and only returns after a few more weeks, and the pair goes their separate ways, this is when a stallion would pursue other mares. Stallions then hang around on the fringes of the herd until the end of summer, when mares begin to show their pregnancies and will approach their mate and ask them to stay in the herd until foaling. After foaling, the Stallion will be chased off, and will not be allowed to choose a mate from the herd for a few years. This keeps the gene pool relatively healthy and prevents inbreeding.

3) the herd grazing and showing off some of the variety in coat coloring. Equus herds have large home ranges that overlap with the rages of other herds, and will move about this range in order to have a consistent food supply. Equus herds of the past would have seasonally migrated, but as they became smarter and more social, migrations were abandoned in favor of a stable home range with intentional grazing

Next:>>3008160