Most of the confrontations between the testosterone-pumped stallions are simple situations like this: The stallions showing off their prowess, arching the neck, pawing the dirt and squealing a warning to the other male. They know where they belong in the pecking order, and the lessor stallion will back off or pull out of the fight. But, when a challenger gets confident enough to aggressively fight an established male for one or all of his mares, he must endure through the battle to win. I have watched these battles when an aggressive stallion will not back down, the fighting becomes brutal and there is obvious intent to inflict the maximum pain to the opponent. If a dominant stallion looses, and especially if he is wounded to the point that he can not defend himself, he will be chased off into the desert. The new champion will get his mares.