Mutual grooming and nearest-neighbor relationships among foals of Equus caballus |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Anatomy and Radiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602 U.S.A.;2. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, New York State College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14852 U.S.A.;1. Department of Earth Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;2. Department of Oriental Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy;1. Department of Animal Medicine, Production and Health, University of Padua, Legnaro, Padua, Italy;2. Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padua, Legnaro, Padua, Italy;1. Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA;2. Duke University, Durham, NC, USA;1. Departamento de Etología, Fauna Silvestre y Animales de Laboratorio, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico;2. Laboratorio Psicobiología del Desarrollo, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Universidad 3000, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de México, Mexico;3. CONACYT - Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, Unidad Psicopatología y Desarrollo, Calz. México-Xochimilco 101, Tlalpan, 14370, Ciudad de México, Mexico;1. Grazing Ecology Research Group, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil;2. Agronomy Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;3. Federal University of Pampa, School of Animal Science, Dom Pedrito, Brazil |
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| Abstract: | A 3-year study was carried out on the developmental behavior of foals from birth to 24 weeks of age and the behavior of mares living with foals. Mutual-grooming partners of foals were primarily other foals. The peak frequency of mutual grooming occurred during Weeks 9–12, when fillies mutual-groomed 1.6 times h−1 and colts mutual-groomed 0.9 times h−1. Fillies mutual-groomed more frequently than colts (P < 0.025). Fillies mutual-groomed randomly with colts and other fillies (P < 0.05), whereas colts mutual-groomed almost exclusively with fillies (P = 0.03). At all ages studied, if a foal's nearest neighbor was not its mother, it was more likely to be another foal than would be expected if the foal was associating randomly with non-mother ponies. Fillies were more likely than expected to have a filly rather than a colt as their nearest neighbor (P = 0.01). Thus, during their first few months of life, the foals studied exhibited patterns of behavior which were consistent with the development of the usual social milieu of unmanaged adults, in which several mares form a cohesive herd with one or more stallions associating with them. |
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