The Bump – Level 2

“Nothing is more revealing than movement. The body says what words cannot.” ~Martha Graham

The bump, the push….I cannot tell you how difficult it was to find an image that represents this next level of agonistic behavior displayed here by these two, gorgeous stallions of the Pryor Mountain Range.  In fact it, I spent the better part of Sunday scanning six years of work trying to find an example! 

Encore, the roan on the left, and this black stallion display classic Bump or Push Level II behavior. These two stallions live wild on the Pryor Mountain Range in northern Wyoming.

I did notice that foals and yearlings tend to exhibit this behavior more than the stallions, and I did not find one image of a mare/mare displaying this behavior. Of course…because this behavior isn’t one of the most heart stopping images to capture could be one of the other reasons I don’t have many samples of it.  But you will witness a horse using their head, neck, or shoulders to make forceful contact with another horse. 

I liken this to the first revealing movement to the ensuing fast and fancy footwork in the dance of stallions!  No words are needed once a viewer understands that this bump movement sets the stage for the most exciting movement in the world of wild, agonistic behavior in our beloved wild horses!