Reduction of inbreeding in a natural herd of horses

A genetically-isolated herd of 14 Camargue horses left unmanaged for 6 years produced 58 living foals and developed a social system similar to that of wild horses. Paternity of the foals was determined by blood-typing. Inbreeding coefficients were calculated and were lower than expected on the hypothesis that mating was random with respect to relatedness. The horses showed reduced levels of sexual behaviour with members of their entourage as juveniles — mother, herd stallion and maternal siblings.