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Discussion on Research Study: Effects of Herd Living on Aggressive Behavior in Foals
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 9:51 am:
Here is a wonderful study supporting a long time feeling of mine. Young horses raised among adult horses are far less aggressive than those raised with just their Mom and worse yet are those foals raised as orphans. All you have to do to learn this is watch the way adults will correct nipping, kicking, or just simply annoying behavior that foals always exhibit. You often see the threat (pinned ears and snaked out neck toward the foal) and if not heeded a quick kick. This is often followed by a foal with a lowered head, quietly approaching the annoyed adult as though asking for forgiveness which is almost always granted.
DrO
Adult-young ratio, a major factor regulating social behaviour of young: a horse study.
Bourjade M, de Boyer des Roches A, Hausberger M.
Université de Rennes 1, Laboratoire d'Ethologie Animale et Humaine, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Rennes, France. marie.bourjade@gmail.com
BACKGROUND: Adults play an important role in regulating the social behaviour of young individuals. However, a few pioneer studies suggest that, more than the mere presence of adults, their proportions in social groups affect the social development of young. Here, we hypothesized that aggression rates and social cohesion were correlated to adult-young ratios. Our biological model was naturally-formed groups of Przewalski horses, Equus f. przewalskii, varying in composition. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We investigated the social interactions and spatial relationships of 12 one- and two-year-old Przewalski horses belonging to five families with adult-young ratios (AYR) ranging from 0.67 to 1.33. We found striking variations of aggression rates and spatial relationships related to the adult-young ratio: the lower this ratio, the more the young were aggressive, the more young and adults segregated and the tighter the young bonded to other young. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first study demonstrating a correlation between adult-young ratios and aggression rates and social cohesion of young individuals in a naturalistic setting. The increase of aggression and the emergence of social segregation in groups with lower proportions of adults could reflect a related decrease of the influence of adults as regulators of the behaviour of young. This social regulation has both theoretical and practical implications for understanding the modalities of the influence of adults during ontogeny and for recommending optimal settings, as for instance, for schooling or animal group management.
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Member:
lhenning
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 10:37 am:
It takes a village  .
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 12:22 pm:
Ha, ha, Linda.
I don't know about that, but it does take adults who are fair and just and consistently go "by the rules" and who are not intimidated by ignorant (of social behaviour) and pushy youngsters . . . and don't care about putting them on a pedestal and being "friends" with them . . . lol.
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 12:24 pm:
How interesting.
One cannot help but wonder if meaning can be found in here too, for the human race as increasingly neighborhoods are more divided according to age because of how the developments are planned in some parts of the country. And many families move far away from their relatives/Grandparents or the elders live in "age restricted" developments.
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Member:
etiology
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 1:28 pm:
I don't know about that, but it does take adults who are fair and just and consistently go "by the rules" and who are not intimidated by ignorant (of social behaviour) and pushy youngsters . . .
The benefits of social upbringing in a complete family unit/harem band have long been documented by various ethologists, (in comparison to the anecdotals of individuals with a more selective/subjective narrowed vision.
Sometimes reaching a bit past traditional beliefs can be quite beneficial to all concerned.
Try Beck for openers: www.equine-behavior.com
and don't care about putting them on a pedestal and being "friends" with them . . . lol.
Well, all the equine magazines, lists and forums are constantly full of behavioral 'problems' and 'bad horse issues' and have been disproportionately growing for decades. (Gee, I wonder why?)
As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working' for ya?" (Not meaning you personally of course, just the horse world in general.)
Peer Attachment, that is equine 'friendship' crosses all bounds of gender, breed, age and previous life experiences. It also reaches beyond the instinctual dictates of individual survival.
For me, (and an ever-growing number of others in the horse world) a trusted FRIEND -- in every sense of the word -- carrying me is much safer and more mutually enjoyable for both horse and human than depending on the 'leader-move feet-dictatorial' methods of 'natural horsemanship.'
I mean geez, if any of their methods was TRULY successful, it would spread around the world like wildfire, (without the assistance of multi-million dollar marketing campaigns, magic aids and gimmicks).
Pedestals? All my kids are on 'pedestals.' I love and respect and appreciate each one more than words can describe.
kind regards,
Chuck & Kids
Lady, Able, Sundance, Boss, Rebel & Combustion
( And Nikki )
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Member:
hollyw
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 8:26 pm:
Charles,
You misinterpret me.
I am not saying don't be kind. I am protesting the kind of "love" that lets the "loved" have whatever he/she wants to the detriment of all concerned.
When we spoil our horses (and I trust you know better than to do that, but even the word "spoil" may mean different things to different folks) we hurt them because they become unruly and not fit for use, whatever that may be . . . pasture pet, riding partner, competitive mount, etc.
When we are afraid of "offending" by being firm and using "tough love" (and "tough" is not mean, but sets fair limits for the good of all parties) then we hurt our horses, kids, and ourselves.
I have worked long enough in the schools to see the results of pandering to kids, both by parents and teachers and other "professional educators."
Good teachers, parents and horse owners know the boundaries and set fair limits out of love . . .
That's what I was meaning . . . and if you met my horses and kids and had sat in my classroom, you would see happy "kids" who are respectful (and they all seem to like me, too  )
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New Member:
lisae
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Posted on Wednesday, May 20, 2009 - 11:21 pm:
thank you Dr O,
i have been preaching this for years to my clients. I am a big fan of the almost forgotten all around horse and social skills among many animals horses and people are a big part of a horses success. People raising horses in stalls have the hardest time understanding that horses living in this situation do not fluently speak horse language well if at all. As you mentioned the reprimand a foal gets from an adult when he ignores the first warnings is usually a quick kick with no force behind them or a quick and carefully placed nip. Before too long he speaks horse fluently and stays clear when a warning is made and pays attention to body language.Soon he will use it to find his own social status. This stays with him for his lifetime even if he goes on to speak very good human body language. On the other hand a dumb grown gelding walking into anothers space to say hi nose to nose is considered rude and out of line by the members of the herd and will be severly reprimanded. This time the kicks can cause potential career ending injuries and are placed with great force and acuracy. I have had herd members almost circle around and kick him from one member to another like a pinball machine. Then often times once the horse gets clear he is so surprised, beat up, scared and confused he runs blindly into fences and gets hurt again. Once he is healed he gets turned out once more, only to have it happen again. Because he was so scared he didn't learn anything, he is a little more careful in his approach but still breaks all the herd rules and they sence his lack of confidenmce and go to teaching him again. If a foal raised with other mares and adults is removed from this situation even years later if he turned into that dumb gelding wanting to say hi nose to nose he would sure remember what the teeth coming at him was all about and retreat. whenver i introduce new horses i always let the commotion between them die down and come back to normal before adding another one. or if you can introduce them outside the herd normal territory where very body is feeling like the new guy it can help. The other thing I can pass on is thre trouble removing a top horse on the pecking order you can put him/her back into the herd without troublew for a few days. After that a new top horse and pecking order is established and the whiole herd survives by following it in the wild. These same instincts still flow through them in a groupo pastured together 24/7. lets say that top horse had an injury requiring him to be seperated and laid up for 4-6 weeks. The herd moved on and follow their new leader but the removed horse will still approach the herd like he did before but the herd doesn't accept him as the peader anymore so they
start treating him /her like the dumb ole gelding with no manners and they camn really hurt the formerly dominant horse. This happens in other wildlife in herd or pack settings as well. It is sometiomes the reason injured animals like wolves are put to sleep if the injury will require a recovery lasting more than several days. Although it sounds cruel the reality is facing death through starvation as a wolf run out of the pack has a difficult time living and hunting alone. the other outcome is often quicker with the pack killing the returned member for breaking pack rules as an outsider. The injured animal that can return within a few days can usually comein an restablish commmand while the confusion without her is trying to fiind the leader. That animal has to be able to lead when she returns or she will loose her place on top. nature is cruel but seems to run smoothly without our intervention but it is impossible not to try and help. Stall raised horses are not helped in their own environment so it is a lifetime commitment if you choose to raise on away from the herd you may never get him to run in one as a member with complete understanding of whats goin on. Sorry guess i got a little long winded there. My point originally was thanks for saying something i haven't heard many people understand in the same way i have come to. please excuse my typos have a broken finger and i cannot seem to get the corrections to change on the post regardless.
lisae
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Member:
stek
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Posted on Thursday, May 21, 2009 - 11:03 am:
Thanks for posting Dr. O, I agree IME orphan foals get the worst of this, especially if they are coddled and treated like big dogs.
Holly, I completely agree with your sentiment above; adult horses are very effective at teaching the young ones boundaries and respect for future herd members, including us humans.
I worked on a farm back east where all the yearlings lived out in groups of 20 or so between being weaned and brought in to be prepped for yearling sales. It was a little like lord of the flies, especially with the colts...
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