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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / The Contribution of Mutual Grooming to Affiliative Relations...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(9); 1564; doi: 10.3390/ani10091564

The Contribution of Mutual Grooming to Affiliative Relationships in a Feral Misaki Horse Herd.

Abstract: Although herd size, structure, stability, and social rank among Misaki feral horses have been reported, no studies have been conducted on the affiliative relationships and interactions among members in a Misaki horse herd. The validity of three hypotheses regarding the function of social grooming, the affiliative relationship strengthening hypothesis, the worsened relationship restoring hypothesis, and the grooming parasite removal hypothesis, were tested in a Misaki feral horse () herd in Cape Toi, Japan. All the nine horses in the "6m" herd were investigated in terms of kinship, grooming, aggression, proximity, social rank, and social network. Mutual grooming occurred only in pairs and was almost perfectly symmetrical. For each member, there was a significant negative correlation between total grooming received from other individuals and self-grooming. Controlling for kinship, there were significant positive partial correlations between mutual grooming and proximity and between aggression and proximity. No correlation was observed between aggression and mutual grooming. The results suggest that mutual grooming symmetry may contribute that both participants simultaneously benefit from parasite removal and strengthen affiliative relationships between seasonally changing herd members; however, mutual grooming did not foster restoring the worsened relationship following aggression promoted by physical proximity. The findings of this study may elucidate the mechanisms by which interactions between herd members are maintained or strengthened.
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Publication Date: 2020-09-03 PubMed ID: 32899116PubMed Central: PMC7552250DOI: 10.3390/ani10091564Google Scholar: Lookup
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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 study scrutinizes the affiliative behaviors within a feral horse herd, particularly the role of mutual grooming. It tests three hypotheses regarding the function of such grooming sessions, and how these potentially contribute to maintaining good relationships amongst the herd or restoring strained ones.

Background and Purpose of the Study

  • In this study, the research focuses on the Misaki feral horses, a breed enclosed within the Misaki Prefectural Natural Park based in Japan. Despite studies on herd size, structure, stability, and social rank of Misaki feral horses, none have targeted the affiliative relationships and interactions of these horses.
  • The primary objective of the research is to investigate the influence of mutual grooming on the affiliative relationships among the horses. The research tests three key hypotheses: Strengthening of affiliative relationship, restoration of worsened relationships, and grooming parasite removal.

Methods and Observations

  • The Misaki horse herd studied (“6m” herd) comprises nine horses, and their interactions, including grooming, aggression, proximity, social rank, and social network, are closely studied.
  • The researchers find that mutual grooming occurs only in pairs and shows high levels of symmetry.
  • A negative correlation was observed between total grooming received by a horse from others and self-grooming from the same horse. It means when a horse is groomed more by others, it engages less in self-grooming.
  • The researchers find a positive correlation between mutual grooming and proximity, and between aggression and proximity after controlling for kinship.
  • However, there were no observable correlations between aggression and mutual grooming.

Conclusions and Implications

  • Based on the observations, the researchers suggest that mutual grooming plays a critical role in establishing symmetry, which may have dual benefits. It aids in parasite removal and simultaneously strengthens affiliative relationships within the herd, irrespective of seasonal changes.
  • Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that mutual grooming helps in restoring any worsened relationships following aggression. Such restorations are driven by proximity, not grooming.
  • The study indicates that mutual grooming may be a significant factor in maintaining or strengthening interactions among herd members, providing valuable insight into the behavioral mechanisms of free-roaming horse herds.

Cite This Article

APA
Shimada M, Suzuki N. (2020). The Contribution of Mutual Grooming to Affiliative Relationships in a Feral Misaki Horse Herd. Animals (Basel), 10(9), 1564. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091564

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 9
PII: 1564

Researcher Affiliations

Shimada, Masaki
  • Department of Animal Sciences, Teikyo University of Science, 2525 Yatsusawa, Yamanashi prefecture, Uenohara 409-0193, Japan.
Suzuki, Nae
  • Department of Animal Sciences, Teikyo University of Science, 2525 Yatsusawa, Yamanashi prefecture, Uenohara 409-0193, Japan.

Grant Funding

  • 20H01409 / Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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