Elsevier

Animal Behaviour

Volume 32, Issue 1, February 1984, Pages 255-263
Animal Behaviour

On lactation and associated behaviour in a natural herd of horses

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0003-3472(84)80345-0Get rights and content

Abstract

Developmental changes in time spent suckling and related mother-foal behaviour are described in an unmanaged herd of Camargue horses. Male foals spent about 40% more time suckling than females during the first 8 weeks. Body weight did not differ between the sexes but time-budgets did: males grazed less and were more active. If pregnant, the typical multiparous mare nursed her foals for 35–40 weeks, males and females alike, and weaned them 15 weeks before the next foaling. Primiparae lactated longer and weaned closer to the next foaling by 5 weeks. The mares played an active role in regulating the time spent suckling in early, and particularly in late lactation.

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      Finally, we decided to consider mare parity and the sex of the foal as confounding factors when analysing the relationship between suckling behaviour and foal weight gain. Mare parity was analysed because reports have shown a relationship between parity and the volume of milk production (Gibbs et al., 1982), and the foal sex was analysed because the mare is said to have a bias investment in rearing depending on the gender of the foal (Trivers and Willard, 1973; Duncan et al., 1984). Thus, we decided to simultaneously analyse the effects of these factors on suckling behaviour and foal weight gain.

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    Present address: School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9QG, U.K.

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