Feeding and drinking behavior of mares and foals with free access to pasture and water.

This research article examines and records the feeding and drinking habits of 11 mares and 15 foals over a two-year period in their natural pasture environment with free access to water. The study reveals how these horses interact with their environment in terms of diet and hydration, noting that it varies by age, time of day, and temperature.

Feeding Patterns of Mares and Foals

The study traced the feeding patterns of foals from the day of birth, showing that:

• Foals started feeding on their first day of life.
• After their birth, foals gradually increased the amount of time they spent feeding. However, even by 21 weeks of age, they only spent about 47% of their time feeding.
• Foals’ feeding times mostly happened during the early morning and evening hours.
• Foals often fed when their mothers were also feeding.

It was also observed that mares spent approximately 70% of their day feeding.

Dietary Patterns of Mares and Foals

While mares and foals primarily consumed grass from their pasture, their diet was somewhat diversified:

• Both mares and foals also consumed clay, humus, feces, bark, leaves, and twigs.

Drinking Habits and Patterns of Mares and Foals

The study found trends among the horses’ collective drinking patterns:

• Horses frequently moved to water sources together as a herd, but not always.
• The frequency of drinking by mares increased as the temperature rose, particularly between 30 to 35 degrees Celsius, where mares drank once every 1.8 hours. However, the duration of each drinking session was not affected by temperature.
• Drinking frequency varied with the time of day, occurring least frequently in the early morning (0500 to 0900) and most often in the afternoon (1300 to 1700).

A noteworthy observation was that drinking among the foals was rare. The youngest a foal was observed drinking water was at three weeks old. Eight out of fifteen foals were never observed to drink before weaning.