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The Importance of Friends
The Importance of Friends
In natural settings, horses form herds, which consist of multiple bands of horses forming a multi-family social structure similar to humans (1). As prey animals, they rely on the security of a herd to survive. This means horses have an innate desire to be with other horses to feel safe. Being buddy sour is simply a mechanism of survival because separation from the herd can mean death. Beyond surviving immediate threats, horses rely on each other for social needs and general maintenance like playing, grooming, sleeping, and even successful foaling (2-7). Grooming has been shown to increase oxytocin, also known as the bonding hormone, in the horse's brain, and it can reduce a horse's heart rate (6, 7). Inability to groom can cause sores on the horse's skin, which opens them up for infection (9). Individual housing has a negative effect on social dynamics of horses by way of increasing aggression and decreasing social bonds, suggesting group housing for social contact is necessary for the expression of natural behaviors (2, 3, 8, 10).
When a horse's social needs are restricted, it can lead to many issues, such as:
Stereotypic behaviors, like Cribbing and Weaving
Boredom in individual housing is often a cause of these behaviors
Mirrors in stalls have been seen to decrease Weaving, emphasizing the importance of having friends
Early/abrupt weaning can cause a horse to Weave later in life
Restricted socialization with other horses is noted to increase aggression
Being a social species and relying on each other for survival, separation from the herd can cause a lot of stress on a horse
Reduced Grooming
Horses rely on each other for grooming
In the absence of friends, horses have been observed with increased tack marks, possibly indicating a grooming issue
Grooming can also increase bonds between horses by releasing oxytocin in the brain!
Stunted Cognitive Development
Restricted access to other horses can decrease a horse's social skills as well as its ability to process information
Food For Thought: Stallions on Paternity Leave
Food For Thought: Stallions on Paternity Leave
In traditional management, stallions are generally kept separate from all other horses. This is the exact opposite of how horses survive and thrive in nature. Either through harems or with bachelor bands, stallions live peacefully with other horses, and they are an integral part of the social structure (1). Stallions are responsible for defending and protecting the herd, but they also play with their offspring (11). Play is an essential function of a horse's survival. The behaviors displayed during play are the same behaviors seen in survival. Practicing these behaviors in a safe setting among the herd helps the young horse develop the correct muscle and sharpen its skills and reaction time (12).
Human management practices typically allow the foals and weanlings to play with each other, which is great! However, it overlooks the needs of the stallion, who wants to be near his offspring to help in their development. Unfortunately with how many breeding facilities operate, allowing the stallion time to interact with their offspring is not viable, but it remains food for thought when discussing the welfare of stallions. At the very least, stallions could be turned out for group-housing with other stallions with minimal issues, so they can still get their social needs met (13).
Sources:
Sources:
Maeda, T., Ochi, S., Ringhofer, M., Sosa, S., Sueur, C., Hirata, S., & Yamamoto, S. (2021, January 8). Aerial drone observations identified a multilevel society in feral horses. Nature News. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-79790-1#Abs1
Christensen, J. W., Ladewig, J., Sandergaard, E., & Malmkvist, J. (2001, November 20). Effects of individual versus group stabling on social behaviour in domestic stallions. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159101001964
Dierendonck, M. C. van. (2006, April 19). The importance of social relationships in horses. DSpace Home. https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/8671
Glade, M. J. (2007, September 23). “social sleeping” among confined horses. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0737080686800673?via=ihub
Cameron, E. Z., Setsaas, T. H., & Linklater, W. L. (2009, August 18). Social bonds between unrelated females increase reproductive ... - PNAS. PNAS. https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0900639106
Kimura, R. (1998, November 19). Mutual grooming and preferred associate relationships in a band of free-ranging horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159197001299
Feh, C., & de Mazières, J. (2002, May 25). Grooming at a preferred site reduces heart rate in horses. Animal Behaviour. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347283713096
Hockenhull, J., & Creighton, E. (2014). Management practices associated with owner-reported stable-related and handling behaviour problems in UK leisure horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 155, 49–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2014.02.014
Yngvesson, J., Rey Torres, J. C., Lindholm, J., Pättiniemi, A., Andersson, P., & Sassner, H. (2019). Health and Body Conditions of Riding School Horses Housed in Groups or Kept in Conventional Tie-Stall/Box Housing. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 9(3), 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9030073
Costa, H., Fragoso, S., & Heitor, F. (2019, August 16). The relevance of affiliative relationships in horses: Review and Future Directions. Pet Behaviour Science. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from https://www.uco.es/ucopress/ojs/index.php/pet/article/view/11463
Šandlová, K., Komárková, M., & Ceacero, F. (2020). Daddy, daddy cool: stallion-foal relationships in a socially-natural herd of Exmoor ponies. Animal cognition, 23(4), 781–793. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-020-01388-x
Heintz, M. R., Murray, C. M., Markham, A. C., Pusey, A. E., & Lonsdorf, E. V. (2017, December). The relationship between Social Play and developmental milestones in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii). American journal of primatology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5728447/
Briefer Freymond, S., Briefer, E. F., Von Niederhäusern, R., & Bachmann, I. (2013). Pattern of social interactions after group integration: a possibility to keep stallions in group. PloS one, 8(1), e54688. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054688
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