Topic:Mother-Offspring Interactions
Mother-offspring interactions in horses encompass the behavioral and physiological exchanges between mares and their foals, which are essential for the development and well-being of the young horse. These interactions include nursing, grooming, and social bonding, which contribute to the foal's growth, learning, and social integration. The mare provides nutrition and protection, while the foal learns survival skills and social cues. This topic explores various aspects of the mare-foal relationship, such as the timing and frequency of nursing, the impact of maternal behavior on foal development, and the social dynamics within herds. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that investigate the nature, mechanisms, and implications of mother-offspring interactions in equine behavior and development.
Lateralization of mother-infant interactions in wild horses. The manifestation of behavioural lateralization has been shown to be modified by environmental conditions, life experiences, and selective breeding. This study tests whether the lateralization recently found in feral domestic horse (Equus caballus) is evident in undomesticated horses. Mother-offspring interactions were investigated in Przewalski's horse (E. ferus przewalskii) living in their natural habitat in Mongolia. Lateral position preferences during mare-foal spontaneous reunions were used as a behavioural marker of visual lateralization. Preferences were separately assessed for foals' a...
Neonatal handling affects durably bonding and social development. The neonatal period in humans and in most mammals is characterized by intense mother-young interactions favoring pair bonding and the adaptation of neonates to their new environment. However, in many post-delivery procedures, human babies commonly experience combined maternal separation and intense handling for about one hour post-birth. Currently, the effects of such disturbances on later attachment and on the development of newborns are still debated: clearly, further investigations are required. As animals present good models for controlled experimentation, we chose domestic horses to inves...
First suckling: a crucial event for mother-young attachment? an experimental study in horses (Equus caballus). This study investigates the consequences of interference during first suckling for subsequent mare-young attachment in horses (Equus caballus). Foals brought to their dams' teats appeared, at later ages (1-3 months), to remain closer to their dams and to play less than control foals that had been allowed to suckle spontaneously. Higher levels of play and distance initiatives from the mother are considered criteria for secure attachment in horses, humans, and other species. As this unique handling was the only event that distinguished experimental from control groups, the authors concluded that...
Learning ability of orphan foals, of normal foals and of their mothers. The maze learning ability of six pony foals that had been weaned at birth was compared to that of six foals reared normally. The foals' learning ability was also compared to their mothers' learning ability at the same task; the correct turn in a single choice point maze. The maze learning test was conducted when the foals were 6 to 8 mo old and after the mothered foals had been weaned. There was no significant difference between the ability of orphaned (weaned at birth) and mothered foals in their ability to learn to turn left (6 +/- .7 and 5.1 +/- .1 trials, respectively) or to learn the reve...