Molecular study of dietary diversity of the Exmoor-ponies (Equus feruscaballus)

Much is still to learn about the reintroducing of horses in rewilding in regards to their forage on woody species as horses are often categorized as true grazers and dwellers of the open habitat. Relative amount of woody vegetation and different woody species ingested by Exmoor-ponies (Equus feruscaballus) in the Rewilding Mols project area in the Mols BjergeNational Park, Denmark, during winter were determined using macroscopic analysis of faeces and DNA metabarcoding. This showed an increase in the relative amount of woody vegetation ingested during winter (December – February) peaking at 35.2% in January. The three most dominating woody species were common heather (Calluna vulgaris), common oak (Quercus robur), and scots pine (Pinus Sylvestris) with a total relative abundance in the diet throughout the entire study period of ‘10’%, ‘10’% and ‘6’%, respectively. No direct debarking by the Exmoor-ponies was observed nor evidence of debarking on trees in the area (data not shown).The current forage on woody vegetation during winter was concluded not to be significant in order to trigger canopy dieback and eventually cause retrogressive succession.If the goal for a specific rewilding project includes creation of clearings in forest stands one should reconsider the choice of Exmoor-ponies.