Dr. McDonnell’s research interests include several areas within equine physiology, behavior and welfare. She has also traveled to study equids throughout the world. In addition to laboratory and field studies, she maintains a semi-feral herd of ponies specifically for the study of their physiology and behavior under semi-natural conditions. This affords veterinary and animal behavior students the opportunity for long-term observation of equine social and developmental behavior and for first-hand comparison of horse behavior under free-running and traditional domestic conditions.