Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices?
Artificial weaning is a standard practice known to be one of the most stressful events in a domestic foal’s life. Research has mainly focused on ways to alleviate weaning stress. However, there is still a need for more detailed research on what should constitute best practices with respect...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-02-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/361 |
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| author | Séverine Henry Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir Aziliz Klapper Julie Joubert Gabrielle Montier Martine Hausberger |
| author_facet | Séverine Henry Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir Aziliz Klapper Julie Joubert Gabrielle Montier Martine Hausberger |
| author_sort | Séverine Henry |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Artificial weaning is a standard practice known to be one of the most stressful events in a domestic foal’s life. Research has mainly focused on ways to alleviate weaning stress. However, there is still a need for more detailed research on what should constitute best practices with respect to animal welfare. The aim of this review is to address this issue by examining the natural weaning process. We first provide an overview of the scientific literature on the natural temporal dynamics of the dam-offspring bond in horses: it is to be noted that the natural process of weaning is little documented, individual variations have been poorly investigated and immediate effects of weaning on the mare−foal relationship remain unexplored. To partly address these gaps, we performed a study around the weaning period on 16 mare−foal pairs kept with minimal human interference. Most foals were weaned spontaneously when 9-10 months old, with individual variations mainly due to the conception rate of mares. Natural weaning induced no stress response in either partner and was performed without clear signs of rejection by the dams either just before or after. We lastly open up the discussion on the need for rethinking weaning practices under domestic conditions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:22:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72d7a3e0075a494ab7be5b10451a7047 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T23:22:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-72d7a3e0075a494ab7be5b10451a70472022-12-21T23:27:41ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-02-0110236110.3390/ani10020361ani10020361Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices?Séverine Henry0Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir1Aziliz Klapper2Julie Joubert3Gabrielle Montier4Martine Hausberger5Univ Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, FranceFaculty of Subject Teacher Education, School of Education, University of Iceland, Stakkahlíð, R105 Reykjavík, IcelandUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, FranceUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, FranceUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, FranceUniv Rennes, Normandie Univ, CNRS, EthoS (Éthologie Animale et Humaine)—UMR 6552, F-35000 Rennes, FranceArtificial weaning is a standard practice known to be one of the most stressful events in a domestic foal’s life. Research has mainly focused on ways to alleviate weaning stress. However, there is still a need for more detailed research on what should constitute best practices with respect to animal welfare. The aim of this review is to address this issue by examining the natural weaning process. We first provide an overview of the scientific literature on the natural temporal dynamics of the dam-offspring bond in horses: it is to be noted that the natural process of weaning is little documented, individual variations have been poorly investigated and immediate effects of weaning on the mare−foal relationship remain unexplored. To partly address these gaps, we performed a study around the weaning period on 16 mare−foal pairs kept with minimal human interference. Most foals were weaned spontaneously when 9-10 months old, with individual variations mainly due to the conception rate of mares. Natural weaning induced no stress response in either partner and was performed without clear signs of rejection by the dams either just before or after. We lastly open up the discussion on the need for rethinking weaning practices under domestic conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/361horsesdam-offspring relationshipartificial weaningspontaneous weaningwelfare |
| spellingShingle | Séverine Henry Hrefna Sigurjónsdóttir Aziliz Klapper Julie Joubert Gabrielle Montier Martine Hausberger Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices? Animals horses dam-offspring relationship artificial weaning spontaneous weaning welfare |
| title | Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices? |
| title_full | Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices? |
| title_fullStr | Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices? |
| title_short | Domestic Foal Weaning: Need for Re-Thinking Breeding Practices? |
| title_sort | domestic foal weaning need for re thinking breeding practices |
| topic | horses dam-offspring relationship artificial weaning spontaneous weaning welfare |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/2/361 |
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