Impacts of flavor and aromatic palatants on consumption behavior in nursing foals.

Overview

• This study explored how flavor and aromatic additives affect the eating behavior of nursing foals, focusing on both taste and smell preferences.
• It found that environmental factors and the proximity to the mare had a stronger influence on the foals’ feeding behavior than the flavor or aroma treatments tested.

Background and Objective

• Previous research on horse palatability mainly involved mature, non-lactating horses and emphasized taste (gustatory) preferences over smell (aromatic) preferences.
• The goal of the study was to understand both gustatory and aromatic preferences of young nursing foals, which had not been extensively studied before.

Methods

• Subjects: Four pairs of stock-type mares (average age 13.25 years) and their nursing foals (average age 6 weeks).
• Test Setup: Each mare-foal pair was placed in split stalls for 1800 seconds (~30 minutes).
• Treatments: Four diets were tested — flavored with apple, anise, peppermint, or a control diet with no added flavor or aroma.
• Experimental Design: Multi-preference testing allowed foals unrestricted access to all treatments simultaneously.
• Data Collected:
  • First treatment investigated (FI)
  • First treatment consumed (FC)
  • First treatment finished completely (FF)
  • Location effect in the stall (relative distance to mare)
  • Time spent consuming each treatment

Results

• No significant preference based on palatant flavor in terms of FI, FC, or FF (P-values all well above typical significance thresholds).
• Similarly, aromatic treatments did not significantly influence the initial choice, consumption, or finishing behavior statistically.
• Peppermint aroma showed a trend (not statistically significant but close) toward increased consumption time compared to apple and anise (mean 258 seconds vs. ~140-150 seconds), suggesting some possible interest in peppermint aroma.
• A strong, statistically significant location effect: foals were more likely to completely finish diets positioned closest to their mare (location 1; P = 0.0003).

Conclusions

• The feeding behavior of nursing foals was influenced more by environmental factors, especially the proximity to their mother, than by the flavor or aromatic additives tested.
• Gustatory and aromatic preferences in young foals may be minimal or overshadowed by social and environmental comfort cues related to the mare.
• Future studies might consider further exploring mother-foal dynamics or using other methods to detect more subtle preferences or influences on young foal feeding behavior.