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Home / Equine Research Bank / PLoS One / Mares prefer the voices of highly fertile stallions.
PloS one2015; 10(2); e0118468; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118468

Mares prefer the voices of highly fertile stallions.

Abstract: We investigated the possibility that stallion whinnies, known to encode caller size, also encoded information about caller arousal and fertility, and the reactions of mares in relation to type of voice. Voice acoustic features are correlated with arousal and reproduction success, the lower-pitched the stallion's voice, the slower his heart beat and the higher his fertility. Females from three study groups preferred playbacks of low-pitched voices. Hence, females are attracted by frequencies encoding for large male size, calmness and high fertility. More work is needed to explore the relative importance of morpho-physiological features. Assortative mating may be involved as large females preferred voices of larger stallions. Our study contributes to basic and applied ongoing research on mammal reproduction, and questions the mechanisms used by females to detect males' fertility.
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Publication Date: 2015-02-25 PubMed ID: 25714814PubMed Central: PMC4340864DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0118468Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article is about a study on the correlation between a stallion’s voice pitch, arousal, fertility rate and the preference shown by mares.

Objective of the Research

  • The main objective of this research was to understand if the whinnies, the distinctive neighing sound produced by stallions, contain information about the stallion’s size, arousal, and fertility rate. The research also aimed to study the reactions of mares to different types of voices.

Findings of the Research

  • A major finding of the research was that the acoustic features of the stallion’s voice were found to be correlated with the stallion’s arousal and reproductive success. The lower the pitch of the stallion’s voice, the slower was his heartbeat, indicating a calm state, and the higher was his fertility rate.
  • The research also observed that female horses from all three study groups showed a preference for playback of low-pitched voices. This provides evidence that mares are attracted to frequencies that symbolize a large stallion size, calmness, and high fertility.
  • There is a possibility of assortative mating being involved in this process as it was identified that larger mares preferred the voices of larger stallions.

Implications of study & Future Research Directions

  • The findings from this study contribute significantly to the ongoing research on mammal reproduction. It provides valuable insights into the potential mechanisms by which mares might be able to detect the fertility of males.
  • In the future, researchers need to explore the relative importance of different morpho-physiological features and quantify the contribution of each such feature in the mate preferences of mares.

Cite This Article

APA
Lemasson A, Remeuf K, Trabalon M, Cuir F, Hausberger M. (2015). Mares prefer the voices of highly fertile stallions. PLoS One, 10(2), e0118468. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118468

Publication

PloS one
ISSN: 1932-6203
NlmUniqueID: 101285081
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
Pages: e0118468
PII: e0118468

Researcher Affiliations

Lemasson, Alban
  • Université de Rennes 1, Laboratoire d'éthologie animale et humaine, UMR 6552- C.N.R.S., Paimpont, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, France.
Remeuf, Kévin
  • Université de Rennes 1, Laboratoire d'éthologie animale et humaine, UMR 6552- C.N.R.S., Paimpont, France.
Trabalon, Marie
  • Université de Rennes 1, Laboratoire d'éthologie animale et humaine, UMR 6552- C.N.R.S., Paimpont, France.
Cuir, Frédérique
  • Haras du Pin, Le Pin-au-Haras, France.
Hausberger, Martine
  • C.N.R.S., Laboratoire d'éthologie animale et humaine, UMR 6552- Université de Rennes 1, Rennes, France.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Female
  • Fertility
  • Heart Rate
  • Hormones / blood
  • Horses / physiology
  • Male
  • Quantitative Trait, Heritable
  • Reproduction
  • Semen
  • Sexual Behavior, Animal
  • Vocalization, Animal

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

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Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Stomp M, Leroux M, Cellier M, Henry S, Lemasson A, Hausberger M. An unexpected acoustic indicator of positive emotions in horses. PLoS One 2018;13(7):e0197898.
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  2. Briefer EF, Mandel R, Maigrot AL, Briefer Freymond S, Bachmann I, Hillmann E. Perception of emotional valence in horse whinnies. Front Zool 2017;14:8.
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  3. da Fé VCS, Dos Santos VMO, de Lima ACB, Hernandes MSP, Caldara FR, Gomes MNB. Auditory enrichment on facial and physiological responses of Pantaneiro geldings and mares under short-term stress. PLoS One 2025;20(5):e0323649.
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