Behavioral changes in Chilean Horse foals after abrupt group weaning

Abstract

In the equine industry weaning has been implicated as an emotional source of anxiety and physiological changes and probably represents one of the most stressful periods in the foal´s life. The aim of this study was to observe, register and analyze behavioral changes in the course as a result of weaning in a group of foals at a chilean horses studfarm located in the south of Chile. In the present study 35 foals of caballo chileno horses were observed, recording behavioral states with the scan sample method every five minutes and behavioral events, using the continuous focal sampling method. The observation period was divided in two, a pre-weaning period (two observations) and a post-weaning period (four observations). Each observation had a duration of six hours and behaviours were registered on a record sheet, and then data was analised using descriptive statistics, differences between observations were determined with Kruskall-Wallis. Significance level was set at P<0.05. The main activity of the foals during the pre-weaning period was foraging witch occupied 52% of their time-budget, followed by recumbent rest with 15.9% of the time-budget. After weaning the time-budget changed, with foals spending most of their time in standing alert (32.4%) and decreasing the time spent foraging (30.1%), while recumbent rest occupied less 3.7% of their time, statistical differences (P<0.05) were observed in practically every behavior. The behavioral events showed statistical differences (P<0.05) with an increased vocalization and aggression frequency, and a decrease in play and grooming behaviour. These results are an indicator of stress due to the weaning process, although behaviours tended to normalize along time, it can be inferred that there is an adaptation of the foals to the new management conditions.